William Thornton (immigrant)

William Thornton (about 1622 – after 22 December 1708) was a planter and colonist in 17th–century Virginia. He was one of approximately thirty early Virginia colonists to progenerate descendants that through intermarriage would establish themselves as a political and social 'aristocracy' in America. Among his most notable descendants are U.S. Presidents James Madison and Zachary Taylor.

Life

William Thornton was born about 1622 in England.[1] He died after 22 December 1708.[2]

It is not known whom William married but references[3] indicate that Anne Alicia Bellington m. abt 1642 was his first wife with whom he had sons Luke (b 1642 Old Rappahannock Lunenburg V d. 1725) and Edward (b 1646 d 1703) and later married Elizabeth Rowland in 1648. No record from the 17th or 18th century of who his wife was has been found.[4]

William Thornton steps onto the pages of history on 10 August 1642 when he is listed, among others, as a person transported by William Prior in a land grant to Prior located in Charles River Shire, Virginia.[5] This would indicate he arrived in Virginia before that date, possibly in 1641.

In 1641 Charles I had been king of England, Scotland, and Ireland for 16 years. He was struggling with the English Parliament and England was on the verge of a civil war that would last from 1642 to 1651.

In 1641 Virginia had been settled 34 years and had been a royal colony for 17 years. Shires later called counties as a form of government were introduced 7 years earlier, Charles River Shire, the location of William Prior’s land grant, being one of the first eight shires created was on the northern frontier of Virginia. It was renamed York County in 1643.[6] The population of Virginia was estimated to be in 8,100 in 1640.[7] Sir William Berkeley was appointed governor of Virginia in 1641. He would serve from 1641 to 1652 and then again from 1660 to 1677. Though appointed governor in 1641 he would not arrive in Virginia until 1642.

On 18 April 1644[8] the Powhatan Confederacy launched a coordinated attack on the settlements in Virginia killing around 400 colonists.[9] This attack was the beginning of the Third Anglo-Powhatan War that lasted until a peace treaty was signed and ratified in October 1646. That treaty gave the land north of the York River to the Indians and made it a felony for any Englishman to go north of the York River contrary to the terms of the treaty.[10]

Shortly before the peace treaty was signed ending the Third Anglo-Powhatan War and four years after William Thornton was listed as a headright in William Prior’s land grant, William Thornton agreed in York County Court on 11 May 1646 to care for the cattle of John Liptrott, until John came of age. [11]

In 1646 the forces of Parliament defeated King Charles. He was beheaded three years later in 1649 and England was proclaimed a Commonwealth. In 1652 three Parliamentary commissioners arrived in Royalist Virginia. Virginia surrendered without firing a shot. The Interregnum lasted until Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660 and Virginia became a royal colony once again.

The prohibition of English settlement north of the York River only lasted three years. In October 1648 the House of Burgess passed an act allowing settlement north of the York River with an effective date of 1 September 1649. Colonists were allowed to apply for land grants immediately.[12] It was two months later on 21 December 1648 that Richard Lee was granted 1250 acres on the north side of York River.[13] Sometime before 16 February 1653 Lee assigned the northern portion of his grant to William Thorne [Thornton] thus it appears William Thornton moved north of the York River between 1 September 1649 and 16 February 1653.[14] This land is in present day Gloucester County, Virginia, on the south side of Bland Creek. Gloucester County was created in 1651 from York County.[15]

It was on this parcel in Gloucester County that William would live until he moved to Stafford County, Virginia, between 23 April 1706[16] and 28 December 1708.[17] On 16 February 1665/6 William Thornton of Petsoe (Petsworth) Parish, Gloucester County, increased the size of his holdings when he received a grant of land for 164 acres on land joining the land where he lived.[18] This is the first reference to Petsworth Parish that is known.[19]

Even though he continued to live in Gloucester County, on 27 September 1673 William purchased land further to the west up the Rappahannock River in what was then Rappahannock County, Virginia, apparently to provide for his two younger sons.[20] William purchased 2000 acres in the freshes of the Rappahannock on the north side of the river from John Mott and George Mott.[21] That same day William, of Gloucester County, Virginia, gave James Kay a power of attorney to accept possession of the 2000 acres he had purchased from the Motts.[22] William gave this land on 16 July 1675 to his sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, if he had no heirs to Ester Thornton.[23] On 22 December 1708 William, “Late of the County of Gloucester and now of Stafford County,” gave a power of attorney to Jonathan Gibson to acknowledge the deed in Richmond County where the land was then located.[24]

Bacon’s Rebellion in 1676 in Virginia.[25]

William was a vestryman in Petsoe (Petsworth) Parish from 1677-1706.[26] He was listed as William Thornton, Senior, in the Petsoe Parish, Gloucester County, quit rent roll for 1704/5 as having 525 acres.[27] On 23 April 1706 William asked for a "quietus" from serving as a vestryman. The vestry granted his request and appointed a new vestryman in his stead.[28] Sometime before 22 December 1708 William moved to Stafford County, Virginia. On that date William, “Late of the County of Gloucester and now of Stafford County,” gave a power of attorney to Jonathan Gibson to acknowledge a deed of gift for 2000 acres of land he had given to his sons in 1675. He had acknowledged the deed in Gloucester County Court, but wanted to record it in Richmond County where the land was then located.[29] This is the last record of William Thornton that has been found.

Family

It is not known whom William married.[30] He is known to be the father of at least three sons, William (1649–1727), Francis (1651–1726) and Rowland (? – 1701).[31]

Historical places and estates

The following historic places are communities, estates, houses directly associated with Thornton descendants.

Ash Lawn–Highland, Avery Island, Louisiana, Belle Grove (Port Conway, Virginia), Bellair (Stafford County, Virginia), Ben Lomond Manor (Manassas, Virginia), Blandair, Blenheim (Albemarle, Virginia), Camden (Port Royal, Virginia), Castle Hill (Virginia), Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Churchill Downs, Dodona Manor, Dr. Richard Thornton House, Fall Hill, Farley (Culpeper County, Virginia), Flagler Museum, Fredericksburg, Virginia, General George Patton Museum of Leadership, General George S. Patton Memorial Museum, Gloucester County, Virginia, Kenmore (Fredericksburg, Virginia), Locust Hill (Albemarle County, Virginia), Montpelier (Orange, Virginia), Montpelier (Sperryville, Virginia), Nanzatico (King George, Virginia), Northumberland House (Virginia), Norwood (Powhatan County), Orange, California, Oaken Brow (King George, Virginia), Ormsby (Caroline County, Virginia), Ravenwood (Blackstone, Virginia), Rippon Lodge, Roaring Spring (Gloucester, Virginia), Rolling Hill (Charlotte County, Virginia), Rokeby (King George, Virginia), Smith Tower, St. Julien (Spotsylvania County, Virginia), Thornhill (Forkland, Alabama), Thornton Gap, University of Virginia, Woodlawn (King George, Virginia).

The list above is compiled through reference with historic files of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and/or through the available sources of the individual Wikipedia article.[32]

Notable descendants of William Thornton

Notable descendants of William Thornton:

The list above is compiled through reference with available genealogical resources from the Library of Virginia, Library of Congress, multimedia referencing through Ancestry.com and through internal wikipedia cross-referencing.[33][34][35]

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gollark: Any decent computer can easily generate a few random picks from a list.
gollark: Why would they not be generated hourly or whatever?
gollark: ∞≈π
gollark: Maaaaybe.

References
  1. This is a guess, both as to the date and place. The date is an estimate guessing he was about 19 years old when he came to Virginia. He does appear to be the Wm. Thorneton, who William Prior listed as a headright or person who was transported to Virginia in Prior’s 1642 land grant. Prior, William, grantee, Land grant 10 August 1642, for transportation of among others Wm. Thorneton, [Charles River Shire], Virginia, Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 802 (Reel 1); Virginia. Colonial Land Office. Patents, 1623-1774, Library of Virginia; digital images, Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ : accessed 20 March 2019).
  2. Richmond County, Virginia. General index to deeds, 1692-1915; deeds, 1692-1869. Richmond County courthouse, Warsaw, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 19 March 2019), Deed book 5, p. 51, power of attorney dated 22 December 1708 from William Thornton to Jonathan Gibson to acknowledge the deed to his two sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, Junr., if William had no heirs to Ester Thornton, 2000 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia, dated 16 July 1675; FHL microfilm 33689.
  4. W.G. Stanard in his history of “The Thornton Family” published in serial form in the William and Mary College Quarterly from 1895 through 1897 wrote, “It is not known whom [William] married.” W.G. Stanard, "The Thornton Family," William and Mary College Quarterly, October 1895, page 90; Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 4 March 2019). William’s wife may be the “Mrs. Thornton” who was Sexton of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, listed in the Petsworth Parish vestry book in entries dated January 1677, September 1677, and August 1678, see, C. G. Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933), pages 1, 4, and 8; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 March 2019). The William Thornton family lived in Gloucester County, Virginia, from as early as 16 February 1653 until after 23 April 1706, thus one would have expected to find records of William’s wife in the records of Gloucester County. Unfortunately, all of Gloucester County’s colonial history recorded in the court house perished in a fire in 1820. After that fire many of the records were rerecorded, however these and the other county records were taken to Richmond for safe keeping during the Civil War and those records, too, were lost to fire this time in 1865 when Richmond was burned. Polly Cary Mason, Records of Colonial Gloucester County, Virginia, 2 volumes (Newport News, Virginia: self-published, 1946), vol. 1, p. ix; digital images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 April 2019).
  5. Prior, William, grantee, Land grant 10 August 1642, for transportation of among others Wm. Thorneton, [Charles River Shire], Virginia, Land Office Patents No. 1, 1623-1643 (v.1 & 2), p. 802 (Reel 1); Virginia. Colonial Land Office. Patents, 1623-1774, Library of Virginia; digital images, Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ : accessed 20 March 2019).
  6. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Junior, 1809), vol. 1, page 249, Act XIII, 2 March 1642/3, "Charles River county shall be distinguished by this name (the County of York)," digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : 2 April 2019).
  7. Edmund Sears Morgan, American Slavery, American Freedom (New York: W.W. Norton, 1975), p. 404. This does not include the Indians living in Virginia at the time.
  8. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Junior, 1809), vol. 1, page 290, Act IV, 17 February 1644/5, "THAT the eighteenth day of April be yearly celebrated by thanksgivings for our deliverance from the hands of the Salvages.", digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : 2 April 2019).
  9. Joseph Frank, editor, “News from Virginny, 1644,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. 65, no. 1, 1957, pp. 84–87, citing the Mercurius Civicus, No. 104 for the week of May 15-22, 1645, London; JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4246282 : accessed 14 April 2019.
  10. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Junior, 1809), vol. 1, page 323-326, "Act I," 5 October 1646, ratification of the peace treaty between the Indians and English giving land north of the York River to the Indians [Article 2, pp. 323-324] and making it a felony for any Englishman to go north of the York River contrary to the treaty's terms [Article 4, pp. 324-325], digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : 2 April 2019).
  11. York County, Virginia. Deeds, orders, wills, 1633-1710. York County Courthouse, Yorktown, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 13 April 2019), Deeds, orders, wills No. 2, pp. 278-279, William Thornton agreement to care for the cattle of John Liptrott, a minor, dated 11 May 1646; FHL microfilm 34402.
  12. William Waller Hening, editor, The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of all the Laws of Virginia, from the First Session of the Legislature in the year 1619, 13 vols. (Richmond: Samuel Pleasants, Junior, 1809), vol. 1, pages 353-354, "Act II," 12 October 1648, settlement allowed north of the Charles [later York] River after 1 September 1649, digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org : 2 April 2019).
  13. Richard Lee land grant 21 December 1648 1250 acres on the north side of Yorke River opposite to the poplar Neck on the south side of the river, [York] Co., Virginia, Land Office Patents No. 2, 1643-1651, p. 153 (Reel 2); Virginia. Colonial Land Office. Patents, 1623-1774, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; digital images, Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ : accessed 8 April 2019). Richard Lee was the immigrant ancestor of Light Horse Harry Lee of Revolutionary War fame and General Robert E. Lee of Civil War fame.
  14. Ralph Green land grant 16 February 1653, 400 acres upon the north side of York River beginning at the mouth of Jones’s creek, mentions “upon the land of William Thorne which was Assigned him by the aforesaid Col. Lee”, Gloucester Co., Virginia, Land Office Patents No. 3, 1652-1655, p. 369 (Reel 2); Virginia. Colonial Land Office. Patents, 1623-1774, Library of Virginia; digital images, Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ : accessed 8 April 2019).
  15. Gloucester County appears to have been created between 3 April and 21 May 1651. On 3 April 1651 the Governor issued at least four patents for land in York County. The tracts were all located in what became Gloucester County, see, Polly Cary Mason, Records of Colonial Gloucester County, Virginia, 2 volumes (Newport News, Virginia: self-published, 1946), vol. 1, pages 6, 38, and 58, citing Virginia Land Office Patents No. 2, 1643-1651, pages 301, 302, 304, and 324; digital images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 April 2019). The earliest reference to the existence of Gloucester County is a land patent dated 21 May 1651, see, James Roe and Peter Richeson land grant 21 May 1651 for 1,500 acres first mention of Gloucester County, Gloucester Co., Virginia, Land Office Patents No. 2, 1643-1651, pp. 319-320; Virginia. Colonial Land Office. Patents, 1623-1774, Library of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia; digital images, Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ : accessed 2 April 2019).
  16. C. G. Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933), page 88; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 March 2019).
  17. Richmond County, Virginia. General index to deeds, 1692-1915; deeds, 1692-1869. Richmond County courthouse, Warsaw, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 19 March 2019), Deed book 5, p. 51, power of attorney dated 22 December 1708 from William Thornton to Jonathan Gibson to acknowledge deed to his two sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, Junr., if William had no heirs to Ester Thornton, 2000 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia, dated 16 July 1675; FHL microfilm 33689.
  18. Thornton, Wm. grantee, Land grant 16 February 1665/1666, Gloucester Co., Virginia, Land Office Patents No. 5, 1661-1666 (v.1 & 2 p.1-369), p. 573 (Reel 5); Virginia. Colonial Land Office. Patents, 1623-1774, Library of Virginia; digital images, Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.virginia.gov/ : accessed 14 March 2019).
  19. Polly Cary Mason, Records of Colonial Gloucester County, Virginia, 2 volumes (Newport News, Virginia: self-published, 1946), vol. 1, p. 74; digital images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 April 2019).
  20. At that time primogeniture, the right of the first born son to succeed to the land of his father at his father’s death, was in effect in Virginia and if William had done nothing all of his land would have passed to his oldest son, William, when he died.
  21. Rappahannock County (Old), Virginia. Deeds, wills, etc., 1656-1901. Essex County Courthouse, Tappahannock, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 15 March 2019), Deed book 5, pp. 257-259, John Mott and George Mott to William Thornton 2000 acres in the Freshes of the Rappahannock 27 Sep 1673; FHL microfilm 1929927.
  22. Rappahannock County (Old), Virginia. Deeds, wills, etc., 1656-1901. Essex County Courthouse, Tappahannock, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 15 March 2019), Deed book (Transcript) 5, p. 181, power of attorney dated 27 Sep 1673 from William Thornton to James Kay to accept possession of 2000 acres deeded from John Mott and George Mott to William Thornton in the Freshes of the Rappahannock; FHL microfilm 33647 Item 4.
  23. Richmond County, Virginia. General index to deeds, 1692-1915; deeds, 1692-1869. Richmond County courthouse, Warsaw, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 19 March 2019), Deed book 5, pp. 49-51, William Thornton to his two sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, Junr., if William had no heirs to Ester Thornton, 2000 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia, 16 July 1675; FHL microfilm 33689.
  24. Richmond County, Virginia, was created on 16 April 1692 from Rappahannock County. Richmond County, Virginia. General index to deeds, 1692-1915; deeds, 1692-1869. Richmond County courthouse, Warsaw, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 19 March 2019), Deed book 5, p. 51, power of attorney dated 22 December 1708 from William Thornton to Jonathan Gibson to acknowledge deed to his two sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, Junr., if William had no heirs to Ester Thornton, 2000 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia, dated 16 July 1675; FHL microfilm 33689.
  25. The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish begins in 1677. “Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. … The immediate cause of the rebellion was Governor Berkeley's refusal to retaliate for a series of Native American attacks on frontier settlements.” "Bacon's Rebellion," Wikipedia (https:/en.wikipedia.org : 20 April 2019). “Gloucester County was one of the chief centers of the disturbance.” Bacon died in the house of Mr. or Dr. Pate in Gloucester County and “in 1677 a Major Thomas Pate was one of the church wardens of Petsworth Parish.” Mr. C.G. Chamberlayne suggested in his book that the “parishes directly and fundamentally affected by Bacon’s Rebellion” found it advisable the year following the Rebellion (1677) to destroy their existing parish registers, thus the reason that the Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish begins in 1677. C. G. Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933), p. viii; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 March 2019).
  26. C. G. Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933), ; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 March 2019).
  27. Polly Cary Mason, Records of Colonial Gloucester County, Virginia, 2 volumes (Newport News, Virginia: self-published, 1946), vol. 1, p. 86; digital images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 April 2019).
  28. C. G. Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933), page 88; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 March 2019).
  29. Richmond County, Virginia. General index to deeds, 1692-1915; deeds, 1692-1869. Richmond County courthouse, Warsaw, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 19 March 2019), Deed book 5, p. 51, power of attorney dated 22 December 1708 from William Thornton to Jonathan Gibson to acknowledge deed to his two sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, Junr., if William had no heirs to Ester Thornton, 2000 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia, dated 16 July 1675; FHL microfilm 33689.
  30. No record from the 17th or 18th century of who his wife was has been found. W.G. Stanard in his history of “The Thornton Family” published in serial form in the William and Mary College Quarterly from 1895 through 1897 wrote, “It is not known whom [William] married.” W.G. Stanard, "The Thornton Family," William and Mary College Quarterly, October 1895, page 90; Internet Archive (https://archive.org : accessed 4 March 2019). William’s wife may be the “Mrs. Thornton” who was Sexton of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, listed in the Petsworth Parish vestry book in entries dated January 1677, September 1677, and August 1678, see, C. G. Chamberlayne, The Vestry Book of Petsworth Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia, 1677-1793 (Richmond: Division of Purchase and Printing, 1933), pages 1, 4, and 8; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 March 2019). The William Thornton family lived in Gloucester County, Virginia, from as early as 16 February 1653 until after 23 April 1706, thus one would have expected to find records of William’s wife in the records of Gloucester County. Unfortunately, all of Gloucester County’s colonial history recorded in the court house perished in a fire in 1820. After that fire many of the records were rerecorded, however these and the other county records were taken to Richmond for safe keeping during the Civil War and those records, too, were lost to fire this time in 1865 when Richmond was burned. Polly Cary Mason, Records of Colonial Gloucester County, Virginia, 2 volumes (Newport News, Virginia: self-published, 1946), vol. 1, p. ix; digital images, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : accessed 2 April 2019).
  31. The names of his sons are found in the following deed: Richmond County, Virginia. General index to deeds, 1692-1915; deeds, 1692-1869. Richmond County courthouse, Warsaw, Virginia, digital images that have to be viewed at a family history center, FamilySearch (https:/familysearch.org/ : 19 March 2019), Deed book 5, pp. 49-51, William Thornton to his two sons Francis and Rowland Thornton, if they had no heirs to his son William Thornton, Junr., if William had no heirs to Ester Thornton, 2000 acres in Rappahannock County, Virginia, 16 July 1675; FHL microfilm 33689.
  32. "City or County Listings: Virginia Landmarks Register & National Register of Historic Places". www.dhr.virginia.gov. Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  33. Stanard, W. G. (1982). The Thornton Family: Genealogies of Virginia Families from the William and Mary College Quarterly. Baltimore, MD: William and Mary College/Genealogical Publishing Co.
  34. "Ancestry.com". Ancestry.com. Permira CMGI. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  35. Virkus, Frederick A. (1925–1942). The Compendium of American Genealogy, First Families of America (Vol 1 - 7 ed.). Library of Congress: A.N. Marquis and Company.
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