Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Thornton, John 
************************************************
Copyright.  All rights reserved.
http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm
http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm
************************************************

File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com December 3, 2007, 6:22 am

Author: Past & Present, 1907

John Thornton, now deceased, was numbered among the honored pioneers of Will 
county, where he was well known for his honesty and upright dealing in all his 
transactions with his fellowmen. Mr. Thornton was born in Cales, Meath county, 
Ireland, December 23, 1816, and his death occurred in Wilmington, March 27, 
1898, when he had reached the very advanced age of eighty-two years. He was 
reared and educated in his native country where he also learned the trade of a 
stonemason, and there he remained until he had reached the age of thirty 
years, when, thinking to better his financial condition in the new world, in 
1846 he crossed the Atlantic in a sailing ship from Liverpool, being seven 
weeks in making the voyage. Soon after his arrival on American shores he 
entered the service of the United States government at West Point, where he 
continued for some time. Wishing, however, to resume work at his trade, he 
made his way westward to Illinois in 1856, for this was at that time a new and 
rapidly developing country and much work was to be had in his line. He located 
at Wilmington, where for a time he worked at his trade of a stone-mason, while 
later he entered the employ of the St. Louis, Alton & Chicago Railroad 
Company, now the Chicago & Alton Railroad Company, being thus engaged for two 
decades. It was during Mr. Thornton's residence in the east that he was united 
in marriage to Bridget Burns. She was likewise a native of the Emerald isle, 
her birth having occurred in Sligo, County Roscommon, in 1824, and it was 
1847, in Cold Springs, New York, that she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. 
Thornton. She preceded her husband to the home beyond her death having 
occurred in Wilmington, December 19, 1879, when she was fifty-five years of 
age. Their marriage was blessed with eight children, of whom six still 
survive, namely: Mary A., the wife of Michael Brennan a resident of Braidwood, 
Illinois; James, Joseph, Catherine and Margaret, all residing in Wilmington; 
and Nellie M., the wife of Thomas Fitzpatriek, a resident of Minnesota. Mr. 
Thornton was a Jacksonian democrat, stalwart in his support of that party, 
while he was a communicant of the Roman Catholic church. He was a man highly 
honored and respected in the community and was a trusted employe of the 
corporation which he so long represented. As a pioneer settler of Will county 
he was interested in the growth and development of his home locality and gave 
his loyal support to every movement and measure that was calculated to advance 
the interests of his community. The sons and daughters who now reside in 
Wilmington, occupy a beautiful home on one of the most attractive spots of 
this part of the state, situated on the banks of the Kankakee river. Their 
residence is surrounded by five acres of ground and fine oak trees, and during 
the summer months this is a most inviting place for people who wish to leave 
the city to enjoy a period of rest and recreation. 

Additional Comments:
Past and Present of Will County, Illinois, by W. W. Stevens, President of the 
Will County Pioneers Association. Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing 
Company, 1907.

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/thornton1921nbs.txt

This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/ilfiles/

File size: 3.7 Kb