Thomas Whitmell (1713-1788) was a Bertie County merchant, officeholder, and legislator. In 1736, the colonial Assembly appointed Whitmell and others to serve as commissioners of Indian affairs. He represented Bertie County in the colonial Assembly from 1754 to 1760. In 1755, he joined other merchants, traders, and planters in petitioning the Board of Trade for relief on trade restrictions. He was the colonel of the Bertie County Militia from 1775-1778. Later in 1779 he signed a petition to the North Carolina General Assembly asking that William Burket be exempted from militia service.