Biographical Details
Date of Birth: January 9, 1827
Birth Location: Salem, IN, USA
Graduation Year(s): 1848
Degree(s) Earned: Bachelors
Date of Death: July 26, 1905
Death Location: Warrensburg, MO, USA
Jefferson Clay Thornton
Life Experience
One of nine children, Jefferson Clay Thornton graduated from IU in 1848. A minister of the Gospel, he pastored congregations in St. Charles and Liberty, Missouri. In 1853, he was hired as a professor at the William Jewell College. From 1861 to 1863, he was pastor of the Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church in Illinois. Due to failing health, he had to give up his pastoral duties for several years. In 1871, he returned to the ministry and was a traveling preacher in Kansas and Missouri. He lived until 1905.
Marriage and Family
Thornton’s father died in 1849 at age thirty-eight. In 1854, Thornton married Kate Bird. Their son, James, was born in 1864.
References
- Wylie
- myheritage.com/names/Jefferson_Thornton
- werelate.org/wiki/Person:Jefferson Thornton (1)
- Indiana University Bulletin February 1917 (Vol. 15 #2)