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Histories &
Mysteries
Judy and John Tole
evrgreenl@earthfink.net
Washington thus accomplishing a magnificent hat trick of life events: bom well, married well, connect well. And connection not just to any famous and powerful figure; he won the good buddy sweepstakes, my little ones, linking up with the Father of the Country. For you see, my children, Jane was the daughter of Augustine Washington by his second wife, Anne. By happy coincidence (for the Thorntons), Augustine was also the father of the first George W. (begat via Mary Ball Washington). This did not hurt the Thornton’s progress in real estate or other endeavors.
William’s son, Dr. Philip Thornton married Caroline Homassel, who was of French descent, in 1812. Before her marriage, Caroline was a frequent visitor at President James Madison’s Montpelier, giving some credence to the possibility that she chose the name for the Thornton home. Tradition also indicates that when Louis Philippe, future king of France, was in exile in America in the early 1800s, Caroline entertained him at Montpelier. Philip, a member of the Virginia Legislature, was also a physician to Edgar Allan Poe.
With an interlude in the late 1800s through early 1900s and until very recently, Montpelier remained in the Thornton family. Thornton Hill even today retains a familial connection to GW.
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