The Thornton Family(1); Wm. and Mary Qrtly., Vol. 4, No. 3

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Pages 157 - 164


                            THE THORNTON FAMILY(1)
 
                              BY W. G. STANARD.

                          [Continued from page 93.]

   In the first installment of this geneaology it was stated that it would be "assumed
tentatively" that Francis3 Thornton, who settled at Snow Creek in 1703, was the ancestor of
the "Fall Hill" family of the name.  Additional evidence since examined now makes it certain
that he was.  An old Bible in the possession of the late Col. Lewis B. Thornton, of Tuscumbia,
Ala. (a descendant of Anthony3 Thornton), contains entries giving the dates of the births of
the children of Francis2 Thornton, of Stafford county.  It states that his son Francis was
born January 4, 1682.  The deposition of "Francis Thornton, of Caroline county, gentleman"
(printed in Slaughter's St. Mark's Parish), dated in 1735 (not 1733), states that he settled
at Snow Creek about thirty years before, and that he was at the time of making the deposition,
aged fifty-three years and upwards, which would be the case with a man born early in 1682.
There is recorded in Spotsylvania county a deed dated June 1, 1736, from Francis Thornton,
of St. Mary's Parish, Caroline county, gent., to his son Francis Thornton, Jr., coveying
forty-one acres at the falls of Rappahannock, which were granted to Francis Thornton, the
father, on February 25, 1720.  There is also a power of attorney, dated in 1735, from Thos.
Griffin, of Ledenhall street, London, merchant, to Francis Thornton, Sr., of Caroline, mer-
chant, and Francis Thornton, the younger of Spotsylvania, merchant.  On December 15, 1739,
Mrs. Mildred Willis, formerly the wife of Roger Gregory, made a deed to her three daughters,
one of whom was "Frances, wife of Francis Thornton, Jr."  That the "Fall Hill" Thorntons
were descended from Francis and Frances (Gregory) Thornton is certain, and it appears
equally certain from the above that this Francis Thornton, was the son of Francis Thornton of
Caroline, who appears to be clearly identified with 24 Francis2 Thornton of the genealogy.
It was of course Francis3 Thornton who was Burgess in 1723 and 1726.  His son would hardly 
have been old enough.

   There is recorded in Orange a deed, dated November 1, 1737, from Francis Thornton, of
St. Mary's Parish, Caroline, and Mary,
_______________________________________________________________
   (1)The compiler of this genealogy wishes to express his obligation to Mr. Arthur Conway
Thornton, of Richmond, for information, without which it would have been impossible to
prepare any fairly complete account of the family.

Page 158.

his wife; and another, dated May 21, 1738, from Francis Thornton, of St. Mary's Parish,
Caroline, gentleman, to his daughter, Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Meriwether, of Hanover
county.

   It appears from the will of 31. Reuben4 Thornton, that Francis3 Thornton also had issue,
daughters, Sarah who married Slaughter, one who married Buckner, another who married
Woodford, and (from another source her name appears to have been Alice), and another who
married James Taylor, of Caroline county.

   28. William4 Thornton (Francis3, Wm.2, Wm.1), called "Wm. Thornton, Jr.," born December 20,
1717, d. -----.  He removed from Gloucester to Brunswick county, and was a member of the
House of Burgesses from that county in 1756, 1757, 1758, 1759, 1761, 1762, 1765, 1767, 1768
(Virginial Almanacs).  He married, June 25, 1738, Jane Clack (born January 9, 1721), of
Brunswick county, probably a daughter of Sterling Clack, who was long clerk of that county.

   Issue: 42. Francis5 born June 25, 1738, died July 16, 1746; 43. James5 born July 11, 1743;
44. John5 born September 13, 1744; 45. Elizabeth5 born March 23, 1745, died September 27,
1746; 46. Francis5 born January 22, 1747; 47. Mary5 born December 1, 1749, died December 15,
1749; 48. William5 born April 14, 1751; 49, Sterling Clack5 born August 12, 1753; 50. Reuben5
born March 28, 1756; 51. Anne Sterling5 born March 27, 1758; 52. Mary5 born July 21, 1760;
53. Jane5 born January 9, 1763; 54. Peter Presley5.  (It is very probable that there are
many descendants of the sons of Wm4. Thornton; but I am informed only of those from Peter
Presley5).

   30.  FRANCIS4 THORNTON (Francis3, Francis2, William1) of "Fall Hill", near Fredericksburg,
Spotsylvania county; born ----, died 1749; was a member of the House of Burgesses from
Spotsylvania, 1744, 1745, 1752, 1754 (Journals of Burgesses); was a justice of Spotsylvania,
and appointed Colonel of Militia in 1742 (original commission preserved.)  He is stated to 
have been aged thirty-five at his death.  He married shortly after November 3, 1736 (date of
marriage licence), Frances, daughter of Roger Gregory, deceased, and his wife, Mildred
Washington, aunt of President Washington.  Mrs. Mildred Gregory had before this date become
the wife of Col. Henry Willis, of Fredericksburg (Spotsylvania Records).  His will was dated
November 11, 1748 (with a codicil November 21, 1748), and proved in Spotsylvania September 5,
1749.  The following is an abstract.

Page 159.

   I, Francis Thornton, give my wife Frances twelve negroes for her life, and one-fifth part
of my cattle, horses, &c., and during her widowhood, the lower half of the plantation I live
on, with the houses and half the orchard, making two hundred acres; also the use of all the
household goods during her widowhood.  To son Francis, the remaining part of the plantation
where I live, with the reversion of that devised to his mother.  To son George, all the land
in King George I bought of Mr. Benjamin Berry, and two tracts of land in Orange county.  To
son William, all my lands in the great mountains of Orange county, about 2,600 acres.  To
son John, the land lying on the branch of the Naull and Massaponax Rivers, about seven 
hundred and fifty acres, and two lots in Fredericksburg.  To daughter Mildred Thornton, 
L500, and one negro girl.  To daughter Mary Thornton L500, and one negro girl.  My executors
are to buy young men and women negro slaves with the cash left in the house for the use of
my four sons, and also to give them stocks of all kinds.  Wife to divide household goods,
&c., among all my children.  Appoint wife Frances Thornton, father Francis Thornton, brother
John Thornton, and son Francis Thornton, executors.

   Issue: 55. Francis5; 56. George5; 57, William5; 58. John5; 59. Mildred5, married Charles
Washington, brother of the President; 60. Mary5, married (1), Wm. Champe, of King George
county, who was Colonel of Minute Men in 1774, and died without issue April 19, 1784; (2)
Churchill Jones, of "The Wilderness", Spotsylvania, and had no issue.

   31. REUBEN4 THORNTON (Francis3, Francis2, William1) of Drysdale Parish, Caroline Co.,
b. -----, d. 1768; married Elizabeth, daughter of Roger and Mildred Gregory, and widow of
Henry Willis, Jr., of Spotsylvania County. (Spotsylvania Records).  According to the
account preserved in the family, Mrs. Thornton married, 3d, Dr. Thomas Walker, of Albemarle,
and 4th, Dr. Alcock, of the British Army.  (It has been stated that Elizabeth, 2d wife of
Dr. Thomas Walker, was a daughter of Col. Francis Thornton; but a close examination of all
the evidence shows that the statement just given is doubtless correct.)  Reuben Thornton had
no issue.  A very much mutilated copy of his will has been preserved, of which the following
is a copy:
   "In the name of God, I Reuben Thornton of Drysdale Parish in the County of Caroline being
sick and weak but of sound and disposing mind for settling my temporal affairs to make and
or-

Page 160.

dain this my last will and testament Hereby revoking all other wills by me before made.
Imprimis. I lend to my dear wife Elizabeth Thornton . . . (land beginning at Green Swamp to
my mill pond) . . . to contain [?] on west side with Capt. Wm Buckner's line . . . Thence
to the river and down to Peter Thornton's line to the Beginning . . . her dower out of her
former husband's estate . . . Item. I give to my beloved brother John Thornton all that tract
of land lying in Culpeper which he has now in his possession . . . Item. I give to my
nephew James Taylor . . . Item. I give to my niece Mary Woodford . . . Item. I give to my
nephew Thornton Washington . . . Slaves to remain under direction of my brother John
Thornton till the said Thornton Washington shall marry or arrive at the age of 21 years, and
then to him and his heirs forever.  And if the said Thornton Washington shall die before he
marries or becomes of age . . . I give the said . . . to be equally divided between my
nieces Betty Thornton and Lucy Thornton . . . Item. I give to my beloved sister Sarah
Slaughter . . . I give to Reuben Thornton son of Anthony Thornton but if the said Reuben
Thornton shall die before my said wife, then my will is that . . . be divided between my
three nephews George, William and John Thornton.  Item. I give to my nephew Richard Buckner .
. . Item. I give to my nephew Francis Thornton L50.  Item. I give to my niece Lucy Gilmer
[daughter of Thomas Walker] L50; but do not intend that legacy to be any bar against Dr.
Geo Gilmer in his charge as attending me as physician.  Item. I give to my niece Mildred
Washington L50.  Item. I give to rancis Hermes [?] L50.  Item. I give to Dr. Hugh Mercer
L20 . . . and the residue to be equally divided between my three nephews George Thornton,
Wm. Thornton and John Thornton . . . Lastly I constitute and appoint my beloved wife
Elizabeth Thornton, my beloved brother John Thornton, my two nephews James Taylor and George
Thornton, and friend Wm. Woodford Executrix and Executors of this my last will and
testament.
   "In witness whereof I have herewith set my hand and seal this 23d day of March 1768.
REUBEN THORNTON".   [Seal]
   "Signed sealed and published in the presence of Wm Buckner, Matthew Gale Jr., Anthony
Thornton, Geo Todd."
   [Proved] Carolina May court, 1768.

   32. JOHN4 THORNTON (Francis3, Francis2, William1), of Spotsylvania, and afterwards of
Caroline, County, b. ----, d. 1777 (Call's Reports) was appointed J. P. of Spotsylvania,
1742; was sheriff in

Page 161.

1751 (his bond dated September 3d); elected member of the  House of Burgesses for that
county December 6, 1753.  In 1756 he was senior colonel of the Spotsylvania militia, and
led the opposition made by several of the officers to Col. John Spotswood, the county
lieutenant.  He presented to the Governor a paper dated at Williamsburg, October 29, 1756,
complaining that Col. Spotswood had given a captain's commission to a man who was returned
delinquent in the county levy, and to another, who had neither land nor slaves in the
county, and who had lived there for three years without following any just calling; while a
major's commission had been given to a man in regard to whose character there was no
complaint, but who had no estate, and who kept an ordinary, "when there are many Gentm in
the county of good Estates that never had any of the above commissions offered them".  The
dispute is one of numerous illustrations of the jealous pride with which the colonial militia
officers held their commissions.  At the session of October, 1778, the General Assembly
passed an act reciting that "John Thornton, late of the county of Caroline, esq., died intes-
tate, seized and interested in fee-simple of and in the following tracts of land lying in
that county and Spotsylvania, to wit: His manor plantation of Rappahannock River, containing
three hundred and fifty acres; a tract called Moorfield, containing four hundred and eighty
acres; a tract of two hundred and ninety acres, purchased on Daniel Duval; a tract called
Long Branch, containing eight hundred acres; a tract of one thousand seven hundred acres,
lying on Mattapony River, purchased of Griffin Jones and the executors of Reuben Thornton,
gentlemen, but not conveyed; and the reversion in fee expectant on the death of Mrs. Betty
Thornton, widow of the said Reuben Thornton, of and in another tract of five hundred and
thirty acres, lying on Mattapony River, in the said county of Caroline, purchased of Francis
Thornton, but not conveyed; and was also possessed of sundry slaves and a considerable
personal property", and directed that the said lands should be sold, and the proceeds divided
among the heirs.  Subsequently there was a suit in regard to the property, which is reported
in Call's Reports.  It is stated that the lands were sold in January, 1779 for L41,583 (equal
to $5,197.18.2 specie), and that if credit had been given they would have brought more.  He
married, thirdly, after October 28, 1740 (the date of the license), Mildred, daughter of
Roger Gregory.  Issue (as given in the act in Hening, IX., 573): 61. Mildred5, married
Samuel Washington (a

Page 162.

brother of hte President), and died before her father, leaving Thornton Washington only son
and heir; 62. Mary5, married Brigadier-General Wm. Woodford, of the Revolutionary army;
63. Elizabeth5, married John Taliaferro, Jr., of "Dissington", King George Co.; 64. Lucy5,
married John Lewis, of Spotsylvania Co., and died before her father, leaving a daughter,
Mildred Lewis, her only heir.  It has been stated that Mildred (born 1739, died 1764),
daughter of Col. Jno. Thornton, married, 1st, Nicholas Meriwether, and 2d, Dr. Thomas Walker
(his first wife); but the act in Hening shows that his daughter Mildred married Samuel
Washington, who survived her.  It is possible that Mrs. Walker may have been a daughter of
Col. Francis Thornton.

   33.  FRANCIS4 THORNTON (Rowland3, Francis2, William1), of "Crowes", King George county;
b. ----, d. 1767.  (His will was proved that year in King George county.)  There is recorded
in King George a deed, dated 1760, from Francis Thornton, of King George, and Elizabeth, his
wife, conveying land bought in 1733 by his father, Rowland Thornton.  He may have been
the Francis Thornton who was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Stafford militia in 1752;
but this was more probably Col. Francis Thornton, of "Society Hill".
   Issue:  65, William5; 66, Francis5, of King George county, d.s.p. 1800, when his will was
proved.  He bequeathed his residence to his nephew, Francis Thornton, and legacies to his
nieces, Susan Couts and Elizabeth and Anne Thornton, and appointed Col. Henry Fitzhugh, Col.
Anthony Thornton, Col. Francis Thornton executors.

   37. PRESLEY4 THORNTON (Anthony3, Francis2, William1), of "Northumberland House", North-
umberland county; b. 1721, d. December 8, 1769 (epitaph), inherited almost all the large
estates of the Presley family, under the will of his grandfather, Col. Peter Presley, of
"Northumberland House".  At an early age he was elected to the House of Burgesses, and
served continuously in that body, certainly from 1748-1760 (Burke's Virginia, III.; Journals
of Burgesses; Virginia Almanacs), until 1760, when he was appointed to the council.  He
appears to have been a man of influence and high standing in the colony.  Washington, writing
in 1777, when appointing one of his sons to office, speaks of "the great worth of his
father", and again in 1799, says he was "one of the most respectable gentlemen, now deceased,
of this State" (meaning colony). - Ford's Writings of Washington.  One of the Virginia Ga-

Page 163.

zettes says of him, on December 14, 1769: "On Friday last died at his house, in Northumber-
and county, the Hon. Presley Thornton, Esq., one of his Majesty's council in this colony.
The virtues of this gentleman are so generally known that it may be unnecessary to enlarge 
on them in this place.  In justice to his memory, we must say his mind was an exalted as
his station; that in his youth he imbibed the sentiments of benevolence, honour, and in-
tegrity, and to his death invariably practiced them.  The happiness of the good and the
estimation of mankind, he amply and deservedly enjoyed.  It is much to be wished that his
survivors would follow his fair example".
   The other Gazette of the same date, says: "On Friday last died at his house, in Northumber-
land, after a short illness (though he has been for sometime in a declining state of health),
the Hon. Presley Thornton, Esq., one of his Majesty's council of this colony, a gentleman
possessed of every amiable qualification, which will endear and keep his memory alive with
his family and the publick, who were all his friends, to many a one of whom he was a most
liberal comforter."
   Meade, in Old Churches and Families of Virginia, II., p. 143, gives the following notice
of "Northumberland House":  "On the Potomac, and within sight of the bay, are the remains
of an old graveyard belonging to what has always gone by the name of the 'Northumberland
House'.  The place was originally settled and a house built on it by a Mr. Presley, one of
the earliest settlers, who was murdered by his own servants.  [This is a mistake.  The person
murdered was Col. Peter Presley, the last of this name, and the grandfather of Col. Presley
Thornton.]  It was afterwards owned by Mr. Presley Thornton, who lies buried here."
   The following extract from the letter of a friend is worthy of insertion:  "I have, 
according to promise, visited the graveyard of old Northumberland House, and found the remains
of but one tombstone.  This, although erected of the heaviest materials, has been so much
mutilated by lightning and the waste of time that nothing more can be deciphered than that
it was erected to the memory of Presley Thornton, who was elected in early life to the House
of Burgesses from the county of Northumberland, which office he held until 1760, when he was
appointed one of the council of state for this colony; that he filled both offices with great
credit to himself and to the public emolument.  He departed this life on the 8th of December,
1769, in the forty-eighth eyar of his age, having enjoyed all the chief honours of his
country".

Page 164.

   The will of Col. Presley Thornton was dated March 9, 1763, and proved in Northumberland,
May 14, 1770.  He directs that all his estate, excepting certain specific legacies, shall be
equally divided between his sons, Peter Presley Thornton and Presley Thornton, and if they
die without issue, between his daughters Elizabeth, Winifred and Charlotte; gives each of
these daughters 150L current money; to wife, Charlotte, during her widowhood, the use of his
dwelling-house and furniture, the choice of eight slaves, and 150L current money annually.
Desires his friend, Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of Dr. Wm. Flood, to have charge of his daughter,
Winifred, and appoints his friends, John Tayloe, esq., Dr. Nicholas Flood, his brother
Francis Thornton, and friend Capt. Richard Hull, executors, and wife, executrix.  It will be
observed (post) that two sons were born after this will was made.
   It appears from the earliest of the State land tax books, that Peter P. Thornton owned
1200 acres, and Presley Thornton, 1800 acres, both in Northumberland county, so the size of
the "Northumberland House" estate was, doubtless, 3000 acres.
   Col. Presley Thornton married (I) Elizabeth ---, (II) Charlotte Belson, "an English lady,
adopted daughter of Col. Jno. Tayloe of Mt. Airy" (Judge J. T. Lomax in De Bow's Review,
Vol., --- p. --).  In the Richmond Enquirer, March 27, 1812, is notice of a suit in the
Supreme Court of chancery, for the Richmond District, by Charlotte Thornton, of the Kingdom
of Great Britain, widow of Presley Thornton, plaintiff, against (apparently) all the other
heirs and legal representatives of her deceased husband.  A few years before the Revolution
broke out, she removed, with her children, to England.
   Issue:  (1st m.) 67. Elizabeth5 born March 2nd, 1748-'9 (St. Stephen's Parish Register);
68. Peter Presley5; 69. Winifred5 married John Catesby Cocke, of Prince William county, a
captain in the Virginia marine corps during the Revolution; (2nd m.) 70. Presley5;
71. Charlotte5; 72. Charles Wade5, 73. John Tayloe5.

                           [TO BE CONTINUED.]