Odessa McClain Thornton Wilkerson (1892-1990)

Odessa McClain was born January 31, 1892, to John and Fannie Looney McClain in Missouri.  Prior to 1913, she married James Erwin Thornton, son of Allen "Tobe" and Sallie Miller Thornton.  Allen was the son of Robert Benton and Elizabeth Smith Thornton.  James and Odessa had three daughters: Ruth Esther, born January 5, 1913; Leona Mildred, January 6, 1914; and Elsie Lee, April 14, 1918. Prior to James's death just after World War I, the family lived in Big Hill, Osage, Oklahoma.  James died in 1920; afterwards, Odessa lived in the home of her sister-in-law, Gertrude Thornton Looney who married Odessa's uncle William Walter Looney.  Odessa met Stillman Atley Wilkerson (1887-1962), and the two married and moved to Perryton, Ochiltree County, Texas.  Odessa gave birth to a son: Stillman Jr.  Before her death in 1990 in Amarillo, Texas, she was married to Delmar Rutledge.

In the above photo, she is posed with her three daughters, approximately in 1920/21.

Porter Thornton's Grandchildren 2014

At the 2014 Thornton Family Reunion, twelve of Porter and Edna Gaddie Thornton's grandchildren posed on the steps of White's Chapel, Warren County, Ky.  Porter, son of Jesse Benton and Mary Susan Cooper Thornton, was born in 1908 and died in 1976.  In the mid 1970s, the family reunion was often held at his home.

Porter and Edna's fourteen grandchildren are Stephen Earl Thornton, Thomas David Thornton, Kathy Thornton Ramsey, Janet Thornton Abelein, Julie Thornton Carden, Michael Thornton, Timothy Alan Thornton (dec.), Roger Carroll Thornton (dec.), Kevin Martin Thornton, Tana Carol Watts Hancock, Sharon Watts Windham, Carmen Elise Thornton, Kenneth Matthew Thornton (not pictured), and Katie-Laine Thornton.

Frances Calvert Cline Thornton (1879 - 1950)

Frances Calvert, daughter of Samuel Burge and Martha Dowell Calvert, was born July 15, 1879.  She married James K. Cline in 1901.  After James's death in 1926, in the early 1930s, she married Thomas Benton Thornton, son of Robert Benton and Elizabeth Smith Thornton.  He had returned to Kentucky from Indiana, after the death of his wife Jeannette.  Thomas was born on December 15, 1862, and died on April 8, 1943.  Frances died on November 1, 1950.  Thomas and Fannie lived in New Roe, Allen County, Kentucky.

Fannie is pictured above with her first husband, James.

2014 Thornton Family Reunion

From as far away as Oregon and Florida, family members gathered at White's Chapel, just south of Plano, Kentucky, to interact with Jesse Benton and Susie Cooper Thornton descendants and their families. This Labor Day weekend tradition has persisted for four decades.  The last member of the first generation of Thornton children, Winnie Carene Thornton Copas, passed away on January 2, 2014.

Danijela Lewis and daughter Evelina are entertained by grandfather, Bill Lewis, husband of Diane Thornton Lewis.

Danny White, son of Evelyn Daniel White and grandson of Eva Thornton, with sons.

Bill, Damon, Carter, and Jansen Lewis (husband, son, and grandchildren of Diane Thornton Lewis)

White's Chapel, which has frequently hosted Thornton Family Reunions over the last 40 years.

Bill Lewis and Kitty Baker Sparks, widow of Jesse Willard Thornton.

Tom Reagan, son of Pauline Thornton, chatting with Kitty Baker Sparks.

Thornton Cousins: Thomas Monroe Kitchens (1869 - 1945)



The Kitchens family arrived in Southern Kentucky with Jesse Kitchens and his wife, Elizabeth Lucinda Cassity.  Many of their children and grandchildren would marry Thorntons, most notably Sarah "Lizzie" Kitchens who married John H. Thornton, my 2nd Great Grandfather. 

The family, pictured above, is that of Thomas Monroe and Narcissa Mittie Huffines Kitchens and seven of their children: Clarence, Columbus "Lum," Velma, Mary, Erma Lee, George, and Ernest.  Erma Lee would later marry James Herschel Thornton, son of John and Lizzie.





Thomas Monroe and Mittie Huffines Kitchens.



Obituary: Carene Thornton Copas

Last child of Jesse Benton and Susie Cooper Thornton passes away:

Carene Copas, 84, of Bowling Green, died Jan. 2, 2014, at her residence. 

She was a member of Old Union Missionary Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Cloyd Copas, as well as four brothers and five sisters. She is survived by two sons, Allan Copas and Rodney (Debbie) Copas; two sisters-in-law, Helen Thornton and Elizabeth Moore of Burbank, Calif.; five grandchildren, Bryant (Kim), Chad, Lorri (Duke), Cori (Chris) and Jessica (Patrick); six great-grandchildren, Lauren (Anthony),  Michael, Wyatt, Dalton, Logan and Abigail; a great-great-granddaughter, Addyson; four stepgrandchildren; several nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and a host of friends.

Funeral services will be conducted Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the J.C. Kirby & Son Broadway Chapel, with burial in the Old Union Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from noon until 8 p.m. Saturday, and from noon until service time Sunday at the funeral home.

Jesse Willard Henson (1917 - 1981)

Jesse Willard Henson was born July 16, 1917 in Simpson County, KY, to Lee B. and Ophelia Ruth Wright Henson.  Ophelia was the daughter of Charlie Wilson and Lassie Wright, daughter of Cassandra Thornton of the Allen and Polly Ray Thornton branch.  In 1925, Ophelia Henson passed away, when Jesse was eight years old and his younger sister, Eris, was three.  Raised in Simpson County, he married Mary Sue Spears, daughter of Denver and Nellie Middleton Spears, and raised his family on the rolling farmland of southern Kentucky.  Jesse and his wife had several children: Jerry Galen, Larry Willard, Ophelia, Terry Marlin, and Katherine.  Jesse passed away in February 1981, in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

In the above picture, Jesse is with his father, Lee Henson.

The Henson family:  Top row, left to right, William Ranburger, Mary Sue Spears Henson, Jesse Willard Henson, Diane McCoy Henson, Terry Marlin Henson, Larry Willard Henson; Second row, left to right, Katherine Henson Toney, Ophelia Ranburger, with Teresa Dyer in lap, Lee Henson, Jane Lightfoot Henson, with Bonnie Henson Monroe in lap, Lorie Fisher Henson, and Sherry Henson Edmunds.

Ophelia, daughter of Jesse Willard, poses with Xavier Henson-Stevens, son of Stefanie Henson-Stevens and Timothy Stevens.

40th Wedding Anniversary: Larry, Ophelia, Willard, Sue, Terry, and Katherine

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.

Addie Laura Thornton Shinn (1884 - 1978)

 Addie Laura Thornton was born November 21, 1884, in southern Kentucky to Allen M. "Tobe" and Sallie Miller Thornton. In the mid-1890s, Allen and family headed westward to Missouri and, then, Oklahoma, where Addie met and married John J. Shinn, son of John and Elizabeth Autry Shinn. They had five children: Agnes Frances Shinn Kelley, John J. Shinn, Lee Roy Shinn, Raymond James Shinn, and Betty Faye Shinn Trimm (all, except Betty, pictured below). After spending several decades in Oklahoma, John and Addie moved to Sutter, California, where Addie died on December 19, 1978.

The Shinns at John and Addie's Golden Wedding Anniversary (circa mid-1950s).

Allen "Tobe" and Sallie Miller Thornton Family

Above, we have Allen M. "Tobe" Thornton who married Sally J. Miller on Dec. 4, 1879, at a dual wedding with his sister Margaret (married Sydney Jeff Jones).  Allen was the son of Robert Benton and Elizabeth Smith Thornton.  In the mid 1890s, Allen and family headed west, first moving to Butler, Missouri, and then to Indian Territory, Creek Nation (present day, Oklahoma).  Sally passed away in 1907.  Allen died in 1939 and was buried at Odd Fellow Cemetery, Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Allen and Sally with children: Maggie, born July 1881, married William Thornton Darr; Addie Laura, born November 21, 1884, married John J. Shinn; Gertrude, born 1887, married 1)William Walter Looney and 2) James Murphy; James Ervin, born 1889, married Odessa McClain; Robert Earl (see entry), born 1894; Betty Lela, born 1899, married Harry W. Rairden, a member of the Osage Nation.

 Gertrude Thornton Looney Murphy.

James Ervin Thornton in military (WWI) uniform and his draft registration card (below), showing his birthplace as Bowling Green, KY.  James married Odessa McClain on April 18, 1911, in Oklahoma.  They had three daughters: Ruth, Mildred, and Elsie L. Thornton.  Sadly, James died shortly after the war, and Odessa married Stillman A. Wilkerson.  The family moved off to Texas where the three Thornton girls were later joined by their half-brother: Stillman A. Wilkerson Jr.  Stillman and Odessa met when Stillman was a roomer in the boarding house of her sister-in-law, Gertrude Thornton Looney (see above).

Wedding Certificate: John H. and Lizzie Kitchens Thornton

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 Certificate: Elizabeth Smith Thornton

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.

Death Certicate: Margaret Thornton Jones

Robert D. Thornton

Robert D. Thornton "Bob" was born February 19, 1924, to Jesse Benton and Mary Susan Cooper Thornton of Warren County, KY. Like his older brothers, Robert would be active in local sports: he was a regular on the Woodburn High and South Warren High School basketball teams (#77). After completing high school in 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Marines and served during the last year and a half of World War II. Bob married Juanita Meredith, daughter of Henry and Florence Kirby Meredith, and had two children: Jana and Mike Thornton. Robert Thornton died Dec. 12, 1989.

In the third photograph below, Bob is standing next to his teammate and brother, Jesse W. Thornton (holding the trophy), my grandfather.

James Thomas Sloan

James Thomas Sloan was born August 9, 1873, to Fernly Alexander and Mary Elizabeth Thornton Sloan. He was a grandson of southern Kentucky Thornton pioneer, Allen Ellis Thornton and wife, Polly Ray Thornton. With his first wife, Victoria Aden (1876-1904), he had four children: Charles "Boss," Polly Jessie Kinnaird, Oma Arterburn, and Mayme Kinnaird. With his second, Victoria Mifflin (1872-1932) (pictured, below), he had three more children: Gladys Perdue Travelstead, Thurman Morris, and Lawrence. James died December 24, 1915.

Gloria Dean Reagan Moore (1935-2003)

Gloria Dean Reagan (seated in chair in photograph) was born in Warren County, KY, to Thomas Odell and Pauline Thornton Reagan. She married William Odell Moore (b: 1933) and had two children: Bonita Kaye (b: 1956) and Mark. Bonita married James Allen Cooper (b: 1954) and had two daughters: Heather Kaye (b: 1977) and Allison Renee (b: 1979). Mark Moore had two sons: Barry Joe and Nick. Most of Dean's grandchildren now have their own growing families, some of whom are pictured below.

Charles "Boss" Sloan

Charles A. Sloan was born January 24, 1897, to James Thomas Sloan (son of Fernly Alexander and Mary Elizabeth Thornton Sloan) and Victoria Aden. During his lifetime, he was known as a wild one, and his sister Mayme often referred to him as "hobo." Others called him "Boss." He drove the produce truck for his brother Lawrence who owned a produce market in Louisville, KY. Charles died on June 20, 1965, in Jefferson County, KY. His daughter, Loretta, attended the Sloan-Kinnaird Reunion in 2008. Charles is pictured on the right in both photographs below:

Charles married Anne...

Gary David Daniel

Gary David Daniel was born Dec. 12, 1947, to Arthur and Eva Thornton Daniel. He married Margaret Jean Overstreet, daughter of Homer and Wanda Blanton Overstreet. They had two children: Stephen David and Christina Jean. Gary David Daniel died in 2007, Bowling Green, KY.

Evelyn Daniel White

Evelyn Daniel was born Feb. 21, 1930, in Warren County, KY, to Arthur and Eva Thornton Daniel. She married Louie E. White, son of Elmer and Blanche Smith White, on Aug. 7, 1948. Louie was born Sept. 7, 1929, and died Sept. 23, 2007.










































Aunt Carene and Evelyn...
































The Whites: Louie, Evelyn, and children, Deborah, Denise, and Louie Daniel ("Danny").


















Louie, Evelyn, and Danny.