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Thornton (Lucy Smith Crittenden) Papers
mssHM 68280-68322
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
The Huntington Library
Title: Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton papers
Creator:
Thornton, Lucy Smith Crittenden.
Identifier/Call Number: mssHM 68280-68322
Physical Description:
1.2 Linear Feet
(1 box)
Date (inclusive): 1856-1869
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.
Language of Material: Materials are in
English.
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department.
For more information, contact Reader Services.
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.
[Identification of item]. Lucy Smith Crittenden Thornton papers, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Carmen Valentino, November 26, 2004.
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.
Processed by Brooke M. Black in 2005. In August 2024, Mari Khasmanyan updated the
collection's linear feet and finding aid.
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.
Arranged chronologically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Freedmen -- Southern States -- History -- Sources
Lawyers -- West (U.S.)
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Public opinion --
Sources
Veterans -- Confederate States of America
Women -- California -- Correspondence
California -- Politics and government -- 19th century
California -- Social life and customs
Oakland (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources
San Francisco (Calif.) -- History -- 19th century --
Sources
Southern States -- Social conditions -- 19th century --
Sources
United States -- Politics and government -- 19th century
Letters (correspondence) -- California -- 19th century
Crittenden, John J. (John Jordan), 1787-1863 -- Family
-- Correspondence
Davis, Jefferson, 1808-1889
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875 -- Impeachment.
Thornton, Harry I. (Harry Innes), 1797-1861
Thornton, Lucy Smith Crittenden.
Thornton, Harry I. (Harry Innes), 1834-1895