Brief Life History of Charles John
When Charles John Thornton was born on 1 March 1831, in Petersburg, Dinwiddie, Virginia, United States, his father, Sterling Clack Thornton, was 55 and his mother, Agnes Craig, was 52. He married Martha Anette Stebbins on 22 April 1855, in Shullsburg, Lafayette, Wisconsin, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 7 daughters. He lived in Stromsburg, Polk, Nebraska, United States in 1880 and Ventura, Ventura, California, United States in 1900. He died on 20 June 1913, in Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, United States, at the age of 82, and was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood, Los Angeles, California, United States.
Photos and Memories (2)
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Family Time Line
Sources (25)
- Charles Thornton, "United States Census, 1870"
- Charles John Thornton, "California Deaths and Burials, 1776-2000"
- Chas John Thornton, "California, Los Angeles, Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery/Crematory Records, 1884-2002"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
World Events (8)
1832 · The Black Hawk War
Convinced that a group of Native American tribes were hostile, The United States formed a frontier militia to stop them in their tracks. Even though Black Hawk was hoping to avoid bloodshed while trying to resettle on tribal land, U.S. officials opened fire on the Native Americans. Black Hawk then responded to this confrontation by successfully attacking the militia at the Battle of Stillman's Run and then left northward. After a few months the militia caught up with Black Hawk and his men and defeated them at the Battle of Wisconsin Heights. While being weakened by hunger, injuries and desertion, Black Hawk and the rest of the many native survivors retreated towards the Mississippi. Unfortunately, Black Hawk and other leaders were later captured when they surrendered to the US forces and were then imprisoned for a year.
1836
Historical Boundaries: 1836: Dubuque, Michigan Territory, United States 1836: Dubuque, Wisconsin Territory, United States 1837: Clinton, Wisconsin Territory, United States 1838: Clinton, Iowa Territory, United States 1846: Clinton, Iowa, United States
1860
Historical Boundaries: 1860: Polk, Nebraska Territory, United States 1867: Polk, Nebraska, United States
Name Meaning
English and Scottish: habitational name from any of numerous places throughout England and Scotland so called, from Old English thorn ‘thorn tree’ + tūn ‘farmstead, estate’. The placename is most frequent in northern England, especially Yorkshire, where there are at least 16 possible sources for the surname.
Irish: Anglicized (translated) form of Gaelic Mac Sceacháin ‘son of Sceachán’ (see Skehan ).
Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Draighneáin ‘descendant of Draighneán’ (see Drennan ).
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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