Thomas William House IV (March 8, 1904 - December 14, 1935) was born on March 8, 1904 in Houston, Harris County, Texas, United States.

He was the son of Bessie Forbes (1877-1946), originally from Sherman, and Thomas William House III (1877-1956), who handled oil leases and was the founder of River Oaks in Houston, Texas.

His mother Bessie Forbes, was the great-granddaughter of Susannah Foster (1784-1865), married to Captain Cleaveland Alexander Forbes (1780-1857).

His uncle, Frank Andrew Forbes (1887-1953) enlisted in World War I in 1918 in Sherman, Texas, and was active in the oil business.

Thomas William House IV was the grandson of Thomas William House II (1847-1923) and great-grandson of Thomas William House (1814-1880), Mayor of Houston in 1862 and a veteran of the Texas Revolution who provided financial assistance to the Confederacy during the war American civilian.

He had emigrated to Texas in 1834 from Somerset, England, and another of his sons, Edward Mandell House (1858-1938), served in the administration of President Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924).

The family was of Anglo-Saxon origin, possibly Norse (Old English and Old Norse hūs).

Marriage in Newport

Thomas William House IV married Bina Day Deneen (1906-1974) on April 30, 1931 in Newport, Campbell, Kentucky and together they had a son.

Bina Day Deneen (1906-1974) was the daughter of Bina Day Maloney (1868-1950), Illinois's first first lady in two terms, and the first to give birth at the Illinois Executive Mansion, known at the time as 'the ideal wife for a governor' for her calm and unpretentious style.

Bina's father, Charles Samuel Deneen (1863-1940), was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Illinois from 1905 to 1913 and the first Governor of Illinois to serve two consecutive terms for a total of eight years.

In particular, he was governor during the infamous Springfield race riot of 1908, which he helped quell.

Death

Thomas William House IV died at age 31 in Waco, McLennan, Texas, and the funeral was held at Glenwood Cemetery in Harris County, Texas, United States. His wife died 39 years later at age 68 in Chicago, Illinois.