James Innes Thornton
| James Innes Thornton | |
|---|---|
| Secretary of State of Alabama | |
|
In office 1824–1834 |
|
| Preceded by | James J. Pleasants |
| Succeeded by | Edmund A. Webster |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 28, 1800 Fall Hill Fredericksburg, Virginia |
| Died | September 13, 1877 (aged 76) Thornhill Greene County, Alabama |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ann Glover, Ann Amelia Smith, Sarah Williams Gould |
| Children | George Francis Thornton, Mary Amelia Thornton, Jean Stirling Thornton, Delia Forbes Smith Thornton, James Innes Thornton, Fitzgerald Thornton, George Francis Thornton II, Katherine Marshall Thornton, Innes Thornton, Butler Brayne Thornton, Harry Innes Thornton |
James Innes Thornton (October 28, 1800 – September 13, 1877) was a prominent Alabama, USA, planter and politician.
Thornton was born on October 28, 1800, at Fall Hill near Fredericksburg, Virginia, to Francis Thornton IV and Sallie Innes. His father was a successful physician, politician and planter who was second cousin to George Washington and held great prominence in the local community. His mother was the daughter of a wealthy Scottish merchant who had arrived in Virginia around the time of the American Revolution. Thornton was largely educated by private itinerant educators who would reside at the Thornton family estate. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1820 and moved to Huntsville, Alabama, to practice law with his brother Harry Innes Thornton.
Thornton's strong familial ties encouraged an endeavor into politics fueled by a successful law practice and considerable wealth from the plantation he had developed upon arriving in the state. He was elected in 1824 as Secretary of State of Alabama and in the same year appointed by the Governor of Alabama as the official state escort to the Marquis de Lafayette on his 1825 return and tour of the United States. Thornton proved to be highly successful and respected in his political office and subsequently dissolved his law practice. He served for ten years as Secretary of State lasting through five Governors.
In 1824, Thornton began to actively develop a large plot of land he had acquired in Greene County, Alabama. A significant reason for his emigration to the Deep South, like many men from prominent Virginia families, was to expand his wealth far beyond what was feasible in Virginia. In 1825, he married his first wife, Mary Ann Glover, whose family had already begun to develop lucrative cotton plantations in the area. Thornton's business prowess resulted in his plantation which he named Thornhill becoming one of the most successful in the region. The house is traditionally believed to be a derivation of the name of William Thornton the first of Thornton's ancestors in America. The main house at Thornhill was completed in the Greek Revival style in 1833. The architect or housewright responsible for the design and construction of the house is not known though it is similar in style and construction to Rosemount, a neighboring plantation which belonged to his brother-in-law Williamson Allen Glover. There is strong evidence to indicate that both buildings were designed by the Alabama architect William Nichols, who served as State Architect during Thornton's tenure in government. In addition to the main house there is a small school house stylistically in keeping with the main house; the structural arrangement reflects that of Thornton's childhood home Fall Hill which has a small school house set several yards away from the carriage entrance of the house. Thornhill is considered one of the most significant antebellum plantation complexes in Alabama. The plantation buildings were recorded in the 1930s by the Historic American Buildings Survey. The main house and one of the slave cabins have been recreated in miniature as an example of plantation architecture for the American Museum in Britain near Bath, UK.
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