Col. Francis Thornton, II

Francis settled at Snow Creek, near the present Fredericksburg about 1703. There is a recorded deed in Essex County, dated Mar 1703/04 from Francis Thornton of Stafford conveying to Francis Thornton, Jr., then of Essex Co., VA, a tract of about 700 acres at Snow Creek.

Notes

• Born in Stafford County, VA
• Settled at Snow Creek, near the present Fredericksburg about 1703. Snow Creek flows into the Rappahannock River a short distance below Fredericksburg. When John Taliaferro and Francis Thornton settled there, that section belonged to Essex Co. and they were near neighbors and brothers-in-law. The act creating Spotsylvania Co. in 1720 specified Snow Creek as its Southern boundary. This put John Taliaferro into the new county and left Francis Thornton in the old.
• There is a recorded deed in Essex County, dated Mar 1703/04 from Francis Thornton of Stafford conveying to Francis Thornton, Jr., then of Essex Co., VA, a tract of about 700 acres at Snow Creek. Snow Creek was in Essex County and then part of it was in Spotsylvania County when it was formed.
• First Justice in Caroline County, VA.
• Justice of Essex County
• Burgess for Spottsylvania 1723-1726
• Lt. Col. of His Majesty's Militia in Spottsylvania Co., VA
• Three of their sons married Gregory sisters; his son Francis built Fall Hill in Fredericksburg, Va.
• Died at Snow Creek, Essex Co., Va

Sources

1. Family Bible Francis Thornton 1651 - 1726, printed in London 1672

References

1. Old King William homes and families : an account of some of the old homesteads and families of King William County, Virginia, f [database on-line]. Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005. Original data: Clarke, Peyton Neale,. Old King William homes and families : an account of some of the old homesteads and families of King William County, Virginia, from its earliest settlement. Louisville: J.P. Morton and Co., 1897.

Links

• Charlotte Carpenter Johnson, Rootsweb database last updated 2011

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• Col Francis Thornton, Jr
• Birth: Jan. 4, 1682 Gloucester County, Virginia, USA
• Death: Feb. 6, 1739 Spotsylvania County, Virginia, USA
• Died at "Snow Creek".
• Submitted by Find A Grave contributor Mark Hale:
• By the time Francis Thornton 2nd was born, his family had left Gloucester County for "Old" Rappahannock County (later Richmond Co., now King George Co.); a 1678 deed from Anthony Savage to Francis Thornton 1st notes that both were then of "Old" Rappahannock County. "The Hills" is a fiction. There are no records in Gloucester County to document that the Thornton home there had been named "The Hills" in remembrance of their home in Yorkshire, England. Origins in Yorkshire are incorrect. DNA testing and a scholarly comparison of English records with those in Gloucester Co., Virginia by Robert Thornton of Duluth, Georgia, demonstrate that the immigrant William Thornton was from Lancashire. The inaccurate calendar in use at the time of Francis Thornton 2nd's birth had the months of Jan., Feb. and part of Mar. at the end of the year. This was corrected when the Gregorian calendar came into use in the 18th century, so that the birth of Francis Thornton 2nd was actually in 1683.
• Family links:
• Parents:
• Francis Thornton (1652 - 1726)
• Alice Stafford Savage Thornton (1653 - 1695)
• Spouse:
• Mary Taliaferro Thornton (1685 - 1741)
• Children:
  • Alice Thornton Taylor (1708 - 1739)*
  • Francis Thornton (1712 - 1749)*
  • Elizabeth Thornton Lewis (1713 - 1774)*
  • Francis Thornton (1714 - 1749)*
• Siblings:
• Elizabeth Thornton Gibson (1675 - 1733)*
• Margaret Thornton Strother (1678 - 1727)*
• William Thornton (1680 - 1743)*
• Sarah Thornton Taliaferro (1680 - 1757)*
• Francis Thornton (1682 - 1739)
• Francis Thornton (1683 - 1737)*
• Rowland Thornton (1685 - 1742)*
• Ann Thornton (1689 - ____)*
• Anthony Thornton (1691 - 1757)*
• Burial: Unknown
• Find A Grave Memorial# 69887463
• From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=69887463

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