Nathaniel Thornton

1848 - 1901  (~ 52 years)

• Name	Nathaniel Thornton
  Born	Sep 1848	Chenango County, New York
  Gender	Male
  Died	7 Apr 1901	McDonough, Chenango County, New York
  Buried	Union Cemetery McDonough, Chenango County, New York
  Person ID	I272008488667	Eby/Aebi and Bernethy Family
  Last Modified	26 Mar 2014

  
  

  Father	Samuel Thornton,   b. 1786, Berkshire County, Massachusetts ,   d. Unknown, New York
  Mother	Rebecca Benedict,   b. 1806, Connecticut ,   d. Unknown, New York
  Family ID	F246729427673	Group Sheet

  
  

  Family	Emma Jayne,   b. 1850,   d. 15 Feb 1928, McDonough, Chenango County, New York  (Age 78 years)
  Children	1. Marion Thornton,   b. Abt 1872, Chenango County, New York ,   d. Abt 1904  (Age ~ 32 years)   2. Charles Thornton,   b. 1873, Chenango County, New York ,   d. 2 Jul 1924, McDonough, Chenango County, New York  (Age 51 years)   3. Rosa E Thornton,   b. 1877, Chenango County, New York ,   d. 1878, McDonough, Chenango County, New York  (Age 1 years)   4. Howard Lafayette Thornton,   b. 8 Aug 1878,   d. 23 Dec 1932, McDonough, Chenango County, New York  (Age 54 years) + 5. Raymond Lewis Thornton,   b. Unknown
  Last Modified	26 Mar 2014
  Family ID	F246729428041	Group Sheet

  
  

• Event Map		Born - Sep 1848 - Chenango County, New York Died - 7 Apr 1901 - McDonough, Chenango County, New York Buried - - Union Cemetery McDonough, Chenango County, New York  = Link to Google Maps   = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Nathaniel Thornton From Pete Thornton

  
  

• Notes

  1850 Census Plymouth, Chenango, New York as Nathaniel THORNTON From Pete Thornton: 1848 Georgetown, NY Madison County Nathaniel was born in September 1848 to Samuel Thornton and Rebecca Benedict. He was the youngest of 5 children. By the 1850 census, the family was living in Plymouth, Chenango County, NY His siblings were, in order of birth, Samuel, Isaac, Delphina, and Esuriah. 1870 Georgetown, NY At the age of 23, Nathaniel marries Emma Dean, age 20, a dress maker from Fishkill in Dutchess County, NY. Her parents were Willis Dean and Catharine Dean. 1872 McDonough, NY Nathaniel and Emma have their first child Mary A March 17th. She would later go by the name Marion. The 1880 census lists Nathaniel?s daughter as Mary A and is 7 years old. 1873 or 1874 They have another child, Charles 1875 Source: Jim Thornton. The 1875 census states that Nathaniel owns land and works at the local tannery. The framed house worth $500. (I (Pete) have yet to find Nathaniel in the 1875 census. 1876 Source: Jim Thornton. A boy named Ross is born but dies shortly after birth. I have not been able to verify but there is a listing for a Rosa E. Thornton assigned to Nathaniel that dies in 1878. The 1890 census for Oxford, NY, district 0075 says that Nathaniel and Emma had 5 children but only 4 were living. Nathaniel buys a cemetery plot for four people at Union Cemetery. 1878 Howard Lafayette is born on August 8th. 1880 Oxford Census (for Oxford, NY) lists Nathaniel employed as a cooper. 1880 plus McDonough (or Oxford) Nathaniel learns the craft of a cooper, probably from one of four coopers who had shops in McDonough in 1863. Now there are only 2 shops in McDonough, the other being run by Thomas Dunning. A cooper makes wooden barrels to hold things like wine, flour, and sugar. They also made large and small butter churns. A cooper made about $50 per month. 1889 McDonough Eleven years after Nathaniel and Emma thought their family was finished, Ray Lewis was born on September 13th. 1890 Oxford, NY and 8 miles east With a larger family and a new job opportunity in Oxford, the family moves to Columbia Street (probably the last house on the right which is still standing today). Nathaniel works for the F.G. Clark Co. as a stone planer. 1890 plus F.G.Clark Co. had the two largest blue stone (slate) quarries in the US. They supplied sidewalks and curbs to New York City, Philadelphia, Boston and other major cities via specially equipped trains. 1890 plus Nathaniel joins up with the Independent Hose Co., one of four fire companies in Oxford. The Oxford paper said Nathaniel was ?very popular with his fellows.? 1894 Oxford In the middle of winter the oldest daughter Marion, marries Louis Manzer on January 24, 1894. 1894 plus Charles moves to Ithaca, NY. 1889 Oxford Howard at age 21 marries Grace Badger Shapley. Mrs. Shapley lost her husband that same year. Her husband died near Port Crane, NY. 1900 Oxford At the turn of the century, Oxford was a booming town with a bank downtown and a good boarding business due to the railroad and the Chenango Canal. The stone business was also doing well. Nathaniel was 52 and Emma was 50. Ray, the only child still at home, was 10. The had a whole new century ahead of them. 1901 Oxford The year Nathaniel died. -------------------------------------------------------- It was Easter - April 7th, 1901. the day started out alright but early afternoon it clouded over and by late afternoon it stared to drizzle. Nathaniel and two buddies, Verne Stratton and Dolph Bennett, decided to boat down the Chenango River to Brisben (about 6 miles). Bennett lived down that way, and Thornton and Stratton planned to take the train back to Oxford. Things went fine until they reached Warn?s Pond. The three decided to come ashore and search the inlet for fish. They were a little less than a mile from their destination. When they got back in the boat, Bennett decided to change seats and took the stern. Dolph Bennett,?being a much heavier man?, caused the bow of the boat to raise up as the stern sank lower. It was about this time that they struck an object in the swollen river. The boat began to be filled with very cold water from the stern. Stratton swam to the west shore and made it to an island. Bennett told Thornton to stay with the boat and swam for the east shore. He got caught in small trees where he rested for a while but did finally make it to shore. Bennett watched the boat until it went out of sight but did not see Thornton. Ed Leach, who?s farm house was nearby, was notified by his daughter who saw the accident. Ed ran to the river and helped Stratton find a bridge that was under the water because of the flood. Stratton did make it across the bridge. Bennett looked up stream and saw two men. As the sky was now darkened he thought it was Stratton and Thornton, so he left to find his way home. But the two men were Stratton and Ed Leach. After Stratton went into the house to get on dry clothes the two men returned to the river to look for Thornton. They found the boat but no Thornton. The next day, many from the community searched for Thornton but the river was very high and muddy. We can only imagine how Emma and her 11 year old son Ray found out about the horrible news and what anxious hours of hope continued on for some time. Twelve days later the local paper reported that Thornton?s body had not been found despite a diligent search. I imagine the other children and their spouses came to comfort Emma and Ray but how long could they stay? Days went by, and weeks went by. Finally, on a Sunday morning around 10:30 am, a possible answer. Six miles down stream in Greene,NY, near the Fair Grounds, the ?badly bloated and decomposed? body was found. The coroner, L.P. Blair, who knew Thornton, needed help to identify the body. The face had been bruised by the trip down the river. Mrs. Marion Manzer, Nathaniel?s only daughter came to Greene to identify the remains. Marion also made funeral arrangements at that time and Nathaniel Thornton was buried the next day, Monday, May 13th, 1901. He was placed next to his infant son in Union Cemetery, McDonough. Howard and Grace eventually moved back into the house on Columbia Street with Emma and Ray (Source: Jim Thornton, trying to verify). Howard and Grace have seven children. Obviously, this was quite a tragedy for young Ray to face. He grew up on Columbia Street and eventually worked as his father did at the stone quarry. He apparently also learned to work with wood from his dad the cooper. Ray became a patternmaker at the Fairbanks Valve Company in Binghamton, NY. Emma out-lived her husband and 3 of her 5 children. As was reported earlier, Ross (or Rosa) had died as a baby. We also know that Marion died just three years after her dad at the age of 32. Charles died four years before Emma, at the ago of fifty. Emma died on February 15, 1928 in Oxford. She had two brothers, Ed Dean of Long Island and Bill Dean of NYC. She also had a sister, Miss Mary Dean, R.N. of Rochester.