Jesse Quinn Thornton
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| Jesse Quinn Thornton | |
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5th Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon
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| In office 1847 – 1847 |
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| Appointed by | George Abernethy |
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| Preceded by | Peter Hardeman Burnett |
| Succeeded by | Columbia Lancaster |
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Member of the Oregon House of Representatives
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| In office 1864 – 1865 |
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| Constituency | Benton County |
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| Born | 1810 Mount Pleasant, Virginia |
| Died | 1888 Oregon |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Nancy M. Logue |
Jesse Quinn Thornton (1810-1888) was an American politician and judge in Oregon. He was the 5th Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon in the Oregon Country of what would become the United States. He also was sent to Washington, DC by the governor to push for territorial status for Oregon, served in the Oregon Legislature, and wrote the state’s motto.
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[edit] Early life
In 1810, Jesse Thornton was born in Mount Pleasant, Virginia which during the American Civil War became part of West Virginia.[1][2] In Virginia he read law was admitted to the bar, which allowed him to practice law.[1] After passing the bar, he then attended the University of Virginia[3] Thornton later moved to Quincy, Illinois where he was a well educated person and was friends of Senators Thomas Hart Benton and Stephen Douglas.[2] He also married Nancy M. Logue.[1] On April 18, 1846 they set out for Oregon, hoping to improve the health of Mrs. Thornton.[4]
[edit] Oregon
In May of 1846 Thornton and his wife hired two drivers and set out from Independence, Missouri for Oregon Country.[2] On May 15, 1846 they joined a wagon train led by Colonel William Russell.[2] During the trip to Oregon Thornton and John B. Goode argued over their partnership in a wagon and those bound for Oregon left the wagon train upon request in order to prevent future arguments.[5] At Fort Hall Thornton’s party met Jesse Applegate and others from the Willamette Valley settlements who were surveying a southerly route into the Willamette Valley that would avoid the Columbia River. On August 9, 1846 the group broke off from the Oregon Trail and took what would be named the California Trail.[6] This Southern Route across the Great Basin was also taken by the Donner Party that Thornton would comment on in his journal.[2] Levi Scott, David Goff, and Lindsay and Jesse Applegate were the main people surveying the road from near Fort Hall to the Willamette Valley as authorized by the Provisional Government of Oregon that would swing north after crossing the Cascades around Klamath Lake.[6] This trail would become known as the Applegate Trail.[6]
The road that was built by the party led by Jesse Applegate was inadequate for wagon travel and required many improvements by the first party that slowed down their journey.[6] Some, such as Thornton and his wife were forced to abandon their wagons and possessions along the way.[6] On November 30, 1846 Thornton arrived at Salt Creek in Yamhill District and soon after wrote a letter to the editor of the Oregon Spectator pleading for the residents in the Euro American settlements to send relief parties to the Umpqua Valley to save the remaining members of the wagon train.[7] In 1849 Jesse Quinn Thornton published his account of the journey as Oregon and California in 1848.[8]
[edit] Politics
On February 20, 1847 Governor George Abernethy of the Provisional Government appointed Thornton to the position of Supreme Judge where he served until November 9, 1847 when he resigned.[9] He resigned after Abernathy asked him to go to Washington, DC as a delegate from the Provisional Government to push for territorial status for the region that was now part of the United States, but unorganized.[1] He sailed for the east on the ship Whiton along with a memorial created by the Provisional Legislature of Oregon.[10] He spent the summer of 1848 there until the creation of Oregon Territory on August 14, 1848.[11] After the creation of the territory he returned to Oregon and practiced law in the Willamette Valley.[1]
In 1854 Thornton wrote the state motto “She Flies with Her Own Wings” that he then translated to into Latin.[12] The Latin translation, Alis Volat Propiis, was adopted as the motto for the Oregon Territory and incorporated into the territorial seal by an act of the Territorial Legislature on January 18, 1854.[12] In 1864 and 1865, Thornton returned to politics when he served in the Oregon House of Representatives as a Republican from Benton County.[13] From 1872 until 1888 he served on the Board of Trustees for Willamette University in Salem.[3] Jesse Quinn Thornton died in 1888 and was buried at Salem Pioneer Cemetery.[1][5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f Yamhill County Circuit Court History. Oregon Judicial Department. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Phil Norfleet: Biographical Sketch of William Campbell (1793-1885) of Santa Clara, California
- ^ a b Gatke, Robert Moulton. 1943. Chronicles of Willamette, the pioneer university of the West. Portland, Or: Binfords & Mort.
- ^ Thornton, Jesse Quinn. Oregon and California in 1848. Harper & Brothers, 1849.
- ^ a b Flora, Stephenie. Emigrants To Oregon In 1846. OregonPioneers.com. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e Applegate's Road to Oregon. End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ Smith, Ross. Chapter 14: Rescue Efforts. Oregon Overland. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ 2007 Catalog. William R. Talbot Fine Art, Antique Maps & Prints. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon. Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ History of the Pacific Northwest Oregon and Washington 1889 Volume I. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ Horner, John B. (1919). Oregon: Her History, Her Great Men, Her Literature. The J.K. Gill Co.: Portland.
- ^ a b State Motto Timeline. Oregon Legislature. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
- ^ Oregon Legislative Assembly (3rd) 1864 Regular Session. Oregon State Archives. Retrieved on January 31, 2008.
