Maude Gertrude Thornton (1887 - 1951)

Maude Gertrude Thornton was born January 14, 1887, to William Virgil and Maggie Campbell Thornton (see William Virgil Thornton entry).  She was the granddaughter of James Allen Thornton and great-granddaughter of Robert Benton Thornton, pioneering Thornton brothers who arrived in southern Kentucky in 1849.  On May 18, 1907 in Sumner County, Tennessee, Maude married Dock Jones, son of Sydney Jefferson and Margaret Thornton Jones.  They had eight children: Clarence Noel, Lucian E., Carl, Howard Burnice, Albert Franklin, Alvin Leon, Harry C. and Marvin.  Maude Jones died on January 23, 1951, in Nashville, Tennessee.  In the above photograph, courtesy of the Jones family genealogy, Maude is pictured with her daughter-in-law, Tenito Crouch Jones.

Clarence Noel Jones was born March 27, 1917.  He married Tenito Crouch (pictured above with Maude).  In the above photo, Clarence is in Burma (current, Myanmar) in 1943, during World War II.  After returning from war, Tenito and Clarence raised their family in southern Kentucky.  They had five children: Clarence, Jennifer, James, Howard, and Michael.  Clarence died on January 1, 1978.

Dual Wedding in Sumner County: December 4, 1879

Northern Tennessee has long been the place for southern Kentucky Thorntons to head for quick, simple marriage ceremonies.  On December 4, 1879, Allen M. Thornton and his older sister, Margaret, took their respective partners to Sumner County to obtain licenses.  Afterwards, Allen headed westwards to Oklahoma, while Margaret Thornton Jones remained in southern Warren County, KY.  My 2nd great-grandfather would take his bride-to-be to Sumner County in 1880; my mother and father would marry next door in Robertson County, TN, in 1970.

Death Certicate: Margaret Thornton Jones

Nora Clay Thornton

Nora Clay was born March 9, 1913, to Jesse Benton and Mary Susan Cooper Thornton. She grew up in the Hickory Flats area of Warren County, KY, catching the eye of a local farm laborer who lived on a farm a few houses down. She married William Houston Jones in 1932, and, although they didn't have children of their own, they adopted two: Roger Dale and Sue Gayle. Nora Clay died on July 12, 1993.












The Joneses at the old farm, on the road from Plano, KY, to Boyce.












Aerial view of the Jones farm.












Sue Gayle Jones married Mike Harston and had three children: Robert, Shannon, and Penny.


Picture from mid-1980s.















William Robert Harston.

Military Thorntons: World War II

Earl S. Cassetty, son of Berttina Mae Thornton
Fred Alton Thornton
Maj. Jesse Willard Thornton
Robert D. Thornton
Jay H. Thornton
Hughie Freeman Yokley, grandson of Cassandra Thornton
Stanley Leroy Thornton
Richard Drifmeyer, grandson of Sarah Ann Thornton
Donald Lee Kinnaird, great-grandson of Mary Elizabeth Thornton
Ray Henderson Owen, grandson of Alice Jane Thornton
Richard Benjamin Gillett, great-grandson of Martha Elizabeth Thornton
Nelson Dean Wyant, grandson of Mary Ann Thornton
* Gaines Snyder, great-grandson of Sarah Ann Thornton
* Survived Bataan Death March, The Phillipines
Harry Joseph Thornton
Capt. James Worth Thornton
Lt. Col. Raymond Allen Thornton (also served in Korea and Vietnam)
Porter Milton Kitchens, son of Ruby Mae Thornton
Albert "Doc" Franklin Jones, son of Margaret Thornton
Glenn E. Wright, grandson of Cassandra Thornton
Clifton Charles Thornton
Edwin Drifmeyer, grandson of Sarah Ann Thornton
Lloyd McCown, grandson of Mary Etta Thornton
Theodore Kemp Thornton
Hal Ervin Thornton, grandson of Allen M. "Tobe" Thornton of Kay County, Oklahoma
Eugene Wendell Thornton, grandson of Allen M. "Tobe" Thornton of Kay County, Oklahoma
Robert Brown Thornton
Harry Rairdon Jr., son of Betty Lola (Lela) Thornton

Family Biography: Richard Carlton Thornton

Richard Carlton Thornton (b. 1946) with his first wife, Christine Jones, and sons, Patrick Sean (b. 1974) and Colin Jesse (b. 1978). Richard retired from the Fort Knox School System. Currently, he serves as spokesperson for the Hardin County Schools. Christine has since remarried.






Below, Colin Jesse Thornton and Amy with daughters: Sasha Belle and Juliet Dahlia (b. 2007). Check out Colin and Amy's blog, http://www.julietandsasha.blogspot.com/.

 In the above photo, Richard poses with Patrick, the father of Drew and Nick.  It should be noted that Nick carries the Benton middle name, which has been passed down for 7 generations.

Patrick's wife, Candis, poses with Drew...

Tombstones

1) The gravesite of Allen and Polly Ray Thornton. Allen was born in North Carolina and was the brother of Robert Benton Thornton, from which my line descends;

2) Pete Ray Thornton, son of Allen and Polly Thornton, and his wife, Minnie Walton Thornton;

3) Robert F Thornton, son of Robert Benton Thornton and Elizabeth (Smith ?), and his second wife, Eliza Jane Kirby Thornton;

4) Woodie Smith Thornton's military plate at his grave site. He was the son of William Virgil Thornton and Bertha Dobbs;

5) The graves of Albert (Dock) F Jones, son of Margaret Thornton and Sydney Jeff Jones, and his wife, Maude G Thornton, daughter of William Virgil Thornton and Maggie Campbell, daughter of Polly Thornton and Robert Campbell (and granddaughter of Robert Benton Thornton).