| William Thornton | |
| Birth Place: | Gloucester County, Colony of Virginia, British America |
| Death Place: | Brunswick County, Virginia, United States |
| Occupation: | Planter, Politician |
William Thornton (December 20, 1717 – 1790) was a planter and public official in Colonial Virginia. Thornton served as member of the House of Burgesses for Brunswick County from 1756 to 1768 and as justice of the county and of the quorum as early as 1760 and as late as 1774/5. Thornton was the great-grandson of William Thornton who arrived in Virginia from England as late as 1646 settling in Gloucester County, Virginia. He was through his paternal line a cousin of fellow burgesses, Francis Thornton of Spotsylvania, Presley Thornton of Northumberland, George Thornton of Spotsylvania, William Thornton of King George and William Thornton of Richmond County, Virginia.
William Thornton was born in Gloucester County, Virginia, to Francis Thornton (1692–1737) and Ann Sterling.[1] His father was a wealthy planter of Petsworth Parish, where the Thornton family had been established since the 1640s.[2] Thornton's mother was Ann Sterling a daughter and heiress of Peter Sterling, a colonial surgeon and planter. Peter Sterling was first recorded in 1670 as 'Peter Sterling Gent.' owning approximately 1000 acres in Baltimore County, Maryland. By 1671 Sterling was in Gloucester County, Virginia and where he gave power of attorney to Thomas Long to oversee his landholdings and legal matters in Maryland. Sterling's daughters Ann (later Mrs. William Thornton) and Mary (Later Mrs. James Clack) were orphaned by 1711 and appear to have prudently managed their father's estate adding 400 acres on Horn Harbor Creek through a land patent for the importation of nine women to the Colony.[3] Thornton's father would go on to inherit the lands of his grandfather and would serve as a vestryman of Petsworth Parish. As part of the planting elite he was afforded an education far above that of most colonial Americans. Though it is not precisely known where he received his education it is likely he attended the College of William & Mary, as currently no records indicate he was sent to England as a number of sons of Virginia planters were. He married his first cousin Jane Clack on June 25, 1736, at Ware Parish.[4] The church had been built by her paternal grandfather, an Oxford educated Anglican minister during his tenure.
In 1752, William Thornton removed to Brunswick County, Virginia. At the time the country was in the frontier reaches of the Colony. Thornton quickly rose to be one of the foremost citizens of his county through his large land grant and familial connection. His prominence gained him political prowess ultimately leading to his election to the House of Burgesses in 1756. By 1760 he was able to expand his power in Brunswick County by attaining the position of Justice. Thornton appears to have over-reached in the powers of his office, in 1764, the citizens of Brunswick County sent a petition to the Acting Colonial Governor, Francis Fauquier complaining of the conduct and character of the justices of the county court.[5] The petition specifically alleges that Thornton and his brother-in-law John Clack appeared on the bench in cases they had a personal interest in and refused to hear evidence in cases which resulted in innocent people having to pay costs. If the petition had any effect it appears not to have taken so until 1768, when Thornton finally left the office of Burgess. Little is known of his later years, he appears to have focused on planting and retired from the political realm of Williamsburg before the Revolution.
William Thornton and Jane Clack were the parents of thirteen children. Four of his sons, Francis, William, Sterling and Reuben are known to have served during the American Revolution receiving the ranks of officers. Many of his descends held vast tracts of land and prominent social and political positions in the Southside of Virginia.[6]
Children of William Thornton and Jane Clack are: