Thornton, James T.

Born: 1823-08-04 Greensburg, Kentucky

Died: 1898-02-08 Putnam County, Illinois

Flourished: Magnolia, Illinois

James T. Thornton was a farmer, businessman, merchant, and druggist. He attended school only one year in his native Kentucky and, after moving to Illinois with his mother in 1833, was largely self-educated. In March 1845, Thornton married Mary Graff, with whom he had four children. After he married, he lived in Menard County for a year before moving to Iowa to become a farmer. In 1849, Thornton returned to Illinois and settled in Magnolia in Putnam County, where he began a general merchandise and grain business. In 1850, he owned real property valued at $1,500. After five years, Thornton sold his interest in the general merchandise and grain establishment and opened a drug store. He also bought and sold stock and purchased a farm. He added to his farm acreage, becoming one of the largest landowners in Magnolia. Politically, Thornton originally supported the Whigs and, after that party's demise, joined with others to organize the Republican Party in Putnam County. He was postmaster of Magnolia during Abraham Lincoln's presidency, serving in that capacity from March 1861 to April 1864.

The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall, and Putnam Counties, Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1896), 290-93; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Morgan County, 13 March 1845, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Putnam County, IL, 349; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971, NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls, Records of the Post Office Department, RG 28, 1855-1865, 20a:115, National Archives Building, Washington, DC; Henry Semi-Weekly Times (IL), 11 February 1898, 2:5.