THORNTON
THORNTON
of his active life. His writings frequently ap-
peared in such periodicals as the Dial, Atlantic,
Putnam's and Graham's. His poems are of un-
even merit, some of them reaching a high plane.
Following is a list of his published books : A
Week on the Concord and Merrimack iiivers (1849) ;
Walden ; or. Life in the Woods (1854); Excursions
(1863 and 1866); The Maine Woods (1864) ; Cape
Cod (1864); Early Spring in Massachusetts (1881);
Summer (1884), Winter {\^^1), a,ndi Autumn (1892),
all from the journal of Henry David Thoreau,
edited by H. G. O. Blake. For biographies of
Thoreau, see life by F. B. Sanborn in American
Men of Letters series (1882); sketch by R, W.
Emerson in the Riverside Edition of Thoreau's
works (1893) ; life by W. E. Channing under the
title "The Poet-Naturalist" (1873); life by H.
A. Page (1877); and sketch by R. L. Stevenson in
"Familiar Studies of Men and Books." His
name in Class A, Authors and Editors, received
three votes for a i^lace in the Hall of Fame for
Great Americans, New York university, in Octo-
ber. 1900. Thoreau died in Concord, Mass., May
6, 1862.
THORNTON, Gustavus Brown, sanitarian, was born in Bowling Green, Caroline county, Va., Feb. 22, 1835 ; son of James Bankhead and Mariana Tabb (Horner) Thornton ; grandson of James Bankliead and Mildred Rootes (Thornton) Thornton, and of Dr. Gustavus Brown Horner, an assistant surgeon in the Rev- olutionary army ; great-grandson of Col. Anthony Thorn- ton, a Revolutionary soldier ; and a de- scendant of AVilliam Thornton, who came frona Yorkshire, Eng- land, and settled in York county, Ya., about 1640. James Bankhead Thornton was a lawyer, who removed to Memphis, Tenn., in 1847, and is the au- thor of : •• Digest of Conveyancing Testamentary and Registry Laws of the States of the Union." Gustavus B. Thornton was graduated from the University of New York, M.D.. 1860, and in 1861 became a surgeon in the Confederate army, being made chief surgeon of a division, 1862. He was pliysician in charge of the Memphis city hospital, 1868-79, and was president of the Mempliis board of liealth. 1879-89, and again, 1893-98. It was due to his influence and persistent energy during his last period of official service as president of the board of health that the new city hospital was
f^ /y ^U'€>t^CiA<^
built. Dr. Thornton was married first, Dec. 1,
1869, to Miss Martha Louisa HuUum of Memphis,
by whom he had two children, Anna May and
Gustavus Brown, Jr.; and secondly, on Ajiril 4,
1887, to Mrs. Gustavus A. Henry, nee Winston,
of Alabama. He was president of the Tennessee
state medical society, 1881-82 ; a member of the
American medical association and the American
public health association, and a member of the
Tennessee state board of health, 1877-87. He is
the author of several monographs including :—
Yelloio Fever Pathology and Treatment (1880) ;
Memphis Sanitation and Quarantine in 1S79-S0
(1880) ; The Negro Mortality in Memphis (1882) ;
Sanitation of the Mississippi Valley (1884) ; Gulf
Coast Quarantine (1884) ; Six Years' Sanitary
Work in Memphis (1886), etc ; and fifteen annual
reports as president of the Memphis board of
health.
THORNTON, James Shepard, naval officer, was born in Merrimack, N.H., Feb. 25, 1826. He was warranted midshipman, U.S.N. , Jan. 15, 1841 ; advanced to passed midshipman, Aug. 10, 1846, and resigned. May 9, 1850. He re-entered the navy again in 1854 ; was commissioned master, Sept. 14, 1855, and promoted lieutenant the following day. In 1861 he served in block- ading duty on the Bainbridge ; was executive officer on the Hartford in tlie passage of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, April 24. 1862 ; was pro- moted lieutenant-commander, Juh' 16, 1862, and given command of the steam gun boat Winoni. He was made executive officer of the Kearsarge, April 1, 1863, and it was in accordance with his suggestions, while at the Azores, that the ship's sides were hung with 120 fathoms of heavy chain, covering a space amidships of 49i feet by 6 feet 2 inches, to protect the engines when the coal bunkers were nearly empty ; an experiment he had seen tried on the Hartford. Thus it was that the Kearsarge was protected during her duel with the Alabama, off Cherbourg, June 19,
^^.V'C
Battle between
i?k^^^;^6
1864. During that engagement, Tliornton super-
intended the working of a battery, and special
mention of his coolness and courage was ma.le
in the official report of Captain "Winslow. He
