Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton papers, 1856-1869

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Summary

Creators:
Thornton, Lucy Smith Crittenden.
Abstract:
This collection contains 43 letters of Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton (1802-1885), wife of United States Government Land Commissioner in California Harry Innes Thornton (1797-1861), chiefly to her son attorney Harry Innes Thornton, Jr., as well as other Thornton family members. Even though the letters chiefly deal with family matters and the Thorntons' social lives in San Francisco and Oakland, California, many of the letters also discuss the social conditions in the post-Civil War South and family friends who left the South because of failing plantations.
Extent:
1.2 Linear Feet (1 box)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of 43 letters. Thirty of the 43 letters are from Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton to her son Harry Innes Thornton, Jr. The remaining letters are written by other Thornton family members including (piece counts in parenthesis): Bessie Thornton (3), Sarah Thornton (2), Margaret Thornton Fall (1), Katherine Marshall Thornton (2), Harry I. Thornton, Jr. (3), and Ann Mary [last name unknown] (2). Even though the letters chiefly deal with family matters and the Thorntons' social lives in San Francisco and Oakland, California, many of the letters also discuss the social conditions in the post- war South and family friends who left the South because of failing plantations. The Thorntons also comment upon the numerous "Yankees" with whom they have to socialize after the war. The family also mentions the freedmen in the South, Jefferson Davis, the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, and politics in California. The 3 letters by Harry I. Thornton, Jr., discuss his travels in the American Southwest, his legal career, and specific court cases with which he was involved. Harry I. Thornton, Sr., is mentioned briefly in one letter.

Biographical / historical:

Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton (1802-1885), sister of Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden, was married to Harry Innes Thornton (1797-1861), Judge of the Supreme Court of Alabama. The couple had four children: Harry Innes Thornton, Jr., Bessie Thornton, Margaret Thornton Fall, and Sarah (Sallie) Thornton. In 1849 the Thorntons moved to San Francisco, California after President Fillmore appointed Harry Innes Thornton Government Land Commissioner. Harry Innes Thornton, Jr., became an attorney and politician. Although the Thorntons lived in California, the family remained loyal to Alabama and the South and when the Civil War began Harry Innes Thornton, Jr., resigned his position as California State Senator, traveled to Alabama and joined the 58th Alabama Infantry. After the war, Harry Innes Thornton, Jr., lived in Texas, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and California while he continued to practice law, specializing in mining litigation and criminal defense. The younger Thornton married his cousin Katherine Marshall Thornton in 1868.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Carmen Valentino, November 26, 2004.
Processing information:

Processed by Brooke M. Black in 2005. In August 2024, Mari Khasmanyan updated the collection's linear feet and finding aid.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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