Perhaps the oldest member of the Thornton family to have ever lived in southern Kentucky, Elizabeth Smith Thornton (Oct. 1814 - Sept. 11, 1916) died in Simpson County, KY, just shy of her 102 birthday. Her children often told tales that she was part Cherokee and would brush her teeth with ashes in the traditional manner. Her birth location was unclear even to her children who reported her as having been born in Tennessee, North Carolina, or Virginia. She married Robert Benton Thornton in 1840 and had ten children: William Frank, Margaret Jones, Polly Thornton (mother of Maggie Campbell Thornton), Elizabeth, Nancy, James Allen, John H. (my 2nd great-grandfather), Allen M., Thomas Benton, and Robert Franklin.
5 comments:
This is great to find. One correction, she would have been 102 had she lived to Oct. She was 101 yrs and 11 months when she died. She was my great-great grandmother, her son Robert Franklin being my great grandfather. His son Charlie Cook Thornton was my grandfather. His second son, Michael Frederick "Pete" Thornton is my father.
Dina Jo (Thornton) Capek, Laveen, Arizona
Thank you, Dina, for notifying me of the error: sometimes, it helps to have an extra pair of eyes. As always, if you have any other information, family tales, or photos, please feel free to send our way so that we may update Robert F.'s line...Glad you liked the blog.
My father refers to Robert Franklin as Pa Bob, and his grandmother, Ma Jane. His parents, Charlie and Sadie lived next to them on a small farm in Simpson County, KY, off of 31-W, between Franklin and Bowling Green, where my dad lived until he was 10 years old. Charlie Thornton, had bought the Shaker Bend Farm in south Logan County, and moved the family there. There were 6 boys of Charlie and Sadie Thornton: Raleigh Franklin, Michael Frederick, Marvin Davis, Eddie ?, Bobbie Morris, and Hank Carson.
Thank you, Will Lewis, for posting all this, it's been a blessing and a great help. My grandmother was Lillie Francis, the sister to above named Charlie Cook. Dina and I have corresponded and helped each other out. I always thought Robert's (Pa Bob) middle name was Francis, due to the fact Ma Lillie and my mother's name was Frances. I need to know where she found that. I have a good picture of Pa Bob setting on a log. Lillie Frances married twice,1st to James Riley Goad and had my mother Nettie Frances and a brother, Willie Winfred Goad, she divorced and married John Qualls and had Robert, Waymon and Betty Deran , who died young.
Robert Joseph Green
Limestone Co, Alabama
Hello Will, Do you know where Elizabeth Smith Thorton is buried? The reason I ask is when I was about ten years old, I remember my Dad telling us about a Cherokee relative buried in Simpsin County at Blackjack cemetery...and had a hatchet at her burial site...
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