Archives for THORNTON / STRAWSER
Nonie
My aunt Babe told me that my great grandfather Nonie drowned but no one knew when. She showed me this photo of him (seated) and his uncle Davy taken shortly before he died. Finally I tracked down an article that filled in this hole. I have yet to find any…
The Nonie Puzzle SOLVED
For years I struggled to confirm my great grandfather's name. He is listed clearly on one of his children's birth certificates as Nonie Monroe Thornton along with his wife Agnes Elkins. My aunt told me that he had drowned at a young age leaving his wife and 3 young sons.…
Mr. Goad sent his photo to Bessie Sutphin
Around 1910, a young man dressed up in his best suit and bowler hat and had his photo taken. He sent it to Miss Bessie Sutphin in East Radford, ; The back had a message scrawled and signed by a D. Goad: “Please don't leave home when you see my…
Old Pittsburgh Maps
1910 map of the Point "The Pittsburgh Mapping and Historical Site Viewer provides a window into the past, allowing anyone to see how the city took shape over time. It shows how the city of 22,433 people in 1835 changes over time: how neighborhoods grow and expand, while others were…
Rev. David Elkins and Abraham Lincoln and Spencer County, Indiana
Rev. David Elkins was the brother of my 4th great grandfather (John H. Elkins) on my father's side of my family tree. David was born about 1779 in Montgomery County, Virginia, where most of my father's ancestors lived for generations. Around the year 1800, when he was about 21, David…
Grimm’s Landing, Pittsburgh
When I was born in 1964, my parents, Charles and Lois Thornton, were living on a 1-room houseboat docked just above "Grimm's Landing" (previously "Zubik's Landing") on the Allegheny River on the North Side of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Back then the river was lined with "squatters". The land that ran along…
Graham-Thornton Cemetery
In 2016 I visited the graves of my great great grandparents GJ Thornton and Maggie Boothe. They are buried in the Graham-Thornton Cemetery near Snowville in Pulaski County, ; The Graham-Thornton Cemetery has 32 identified burials between 1912 to 1979 spanning 4 generations of Grahams and ;All but one buried…
George Wade Thornton
George Wade Thornton was my great grandfather Nonie’s brother. Wade (as he was called for most of life) was a little more nebulous than some of the other ;His father’s obituary in 1941 mentioned Wade living in Marion, West Virginia and I didn’t think anything of it - until I…
Rhoda Elizabeth Roop
Another sad story. Rhoda was admitted to Southwestern Mental Hospital in Marion, Virginia after she tried to kill herself. Southwestern was the same place Rhoda's sister's daughter Daisy's husband George Wade Thornton ended up (they were there at the same time for a while). Download Rhoda's PDF Chapter
Ernest gets arrested
On November 25, 1940, my grandfather Ernest Monroe Thornton was arrested after firing 3 shots at James Rucker during a fist fight at West Park Cafe at 1111 Federal St. (3 blocks from his apartment) North Side, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The “cafe” was a rough place with gambling, drinking and repeated…