Thomas Bradley Thornton
Thomas Bradley Thornton, farmer and stock-raiser. His parents, Thomas and Leva Thornton, were natives of Norfolk, Virginia. They came to Ohio in 1809, and settled in the town of Franklington (now included in the city of Columbus), where, two years after, the father died. Mrs. Thornton remained a widow some three years, when she married, for her second husband, James Coil, with whom she lived some seven years, when she died. There were two children by the first marriage. James Thornton, at the age of twenty, left home, and his whereabouts since that time are unknown. Thomas B. was born after the death of his father. There were three children by the second marriage, two sons and one daughter. William H. married, and died early. Elizabeth married, moved to Mercer County, and is now a widow. Perry married and moved to Missouri many years ago.
Thomas B., our subject, was born December 11, 1812. Being left without father, mother, or kinfolks, to care for him, he was compelled to care for himself as best he could. He found a good home in the family of Peter Fultz, with whom he remained until twenty-one years of age, learning the cabinet business. In 1834 he married Mahala Harper, daughter of Jacob C. Harper. Soon after their marriage they commenced housekeeping in the woods, on the same spot of ground where they now reside. They are the parents of eight sons. Amos, the oldest, married, and has a family living in Washington. James is married, and lives at Baxter Springs, Kansas. Anderson is married, and lives on his own farm near Washington. William II. is married, and lives near Solon, Madison County. Austin married, and died at the age of twenty-four. His widow is the daughter of Adam Glaze, and she remains single. Elan is married, and lives in the neighborhood. Thomas married, owns, and lives on the old George Miller farm, near Washington. Noah owns and lives on a farm near Jeffersonville, in this county.
But few parents have been permitted to see so large a family of sons all grown up to manhood, married, and so well to do in life, as have Mr. and Mrs. Thornton. Seven out of the eight sons are now living, each in good circumstances, an honor to their parents, with bright prospects before them.
Mr. Thornton commenced life very poor, without money or kindred influences. He determined, early in life, to pursue a straightforward, honest, truthful, industrious course, which he has carried out thus far, and it has proved to be a great success. He is one of the solid, wealthy men of Fayette County. He has dealt largely in real estate in his own county and elsewhere, which in the main has been a financial success. He was one of the originators of the Peoples and Drovers Bank of Washington, and has been one of its directors and principal stockholders to the present time. He has served his county as one of its commissioners and infirmary directors for a number of years, and though nearly seventy years of age, is one of the most active, energetic, enterprising business men of the county.
Mr. Thornton lives on a five-hundred-acre farm, some four and a half miles west from Washington, situated between the Jeftersonville and Jamestown pikes. He and his amiable wife commenced their married life on this farm more than forty-seven years ago, when all was a wilderness. They had the milk sickness, serpents, and all the difficulties incident to this new country, to contend with; but these forty-seven years of earnest, honest toil, have brought grand results to this noble couple.
From R. S. Dills' History of Fayette County