Archives for THORNTON / STRAWSER
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…
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…
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…
Are we related to Matthew Thornton?
There is a rumor in our family that we are descended from Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Our Thorntons came from England and Matthew Thornton immigrated from Ireland. Sorry
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…
Pittsburgh 1928 film
1928 is about when my grandparents Earnest Thornton and Helen Strawser connected in Pittsburgh. Earnest is listed in the 1930 census living on North Side. My Eckert, Giegerich, Weiler and Wagner ancestors were also here at that time.
Thornton DNA Update
For years, many people (including me) have assumed our Thorntons descended from William "the immigrant" or Luke (spoiler alert - we aren't). William and Luke immigrated from England in the 1600s and settled in Virginia. Their descendants were connected to some famous names - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others…