Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton (1775?–1865) was a prominent

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

socialite A socialite is a person from a wealthy and (possibly) aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having traditio ...

diarist A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...

, and the wife of architect

William Thornton William Thornton (May 20, 1759 – March 28, 1828) was a British-American physician, inventor, painter and architect who designed the United States Capitol. He also served as the first Architect of the Capitol and first Superintendent of the Uni ...

, who designed the first

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

building. She rubbed shoulders with figures such as

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

and

Dolley Madison Dolley Todd Madison (née Payne; May 20, 1768 – July 12, 1849) was the wife of James Madison, the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. She was noted for holding Washington social functions in which she invited members of bo ...

Life

Anna Maria was probably born in

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and emigrated at a young age along with her mother, Ann Brodeau, who moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and set up a schoolhouse by 1780. In 1790, at the age of 16, Anna Maria married William Thornton, age 31 years. Unlike her husband, Anna Maria was not a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

, so William was expelled from the

Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

. William Thornton came from a slaveholding family based on the island of

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

, and after he died in 1828, though his will seemed to grant freedom to his slaves, his wife and mother-in-law continued to reside with slaves in their Washington, D.C. home.

Historic events

Thornton's diaries are kept in the Library of Congress and have been used as a source concerning several historic events. After the death of George Washington, Mrs. Thornton lobbied Congress on behalf of her friend

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

, concerning the planned re-burial of the former president in Washington, D.C. She met with

Abigail Adams Abigail Adams ( ''née'' Smith; November 22, [ O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife and closest advisor of John Adams, as well as the mother of John Quincy Adams. She was a founder of the United States, an ...

three days after the new president and first lady moved to Washington. She recorded the movements of

during the 1814

burning of Washington The Burning of Washington was a British invasion of Washington City (now Washington, D.C.), the capital of the United States, during the Chesapeake Campaign of the War of 1812. It is the only time since the American Revolutionary War that a ...

Bowen incident

One night in 1835, one of her slaves, John Arthur Bowen (possibly under the influence of alcohol), ventured into the bedroom of Anna Maria Thornton, then about 60, wielding an axe. Fortunately, Anna and her mother, who shared her room, both escaped unscathed. However, Bowen was arrested and faced the possibility of hanging. In response to the abortive attack, white residents of Washington started the

Snow Riot The Snow Riot was a riot and lynch mob in Washington, D.C., which began on August 11, 1835, when a mob of angry white mechanics attacked and destroyed Beverly Snow's Epicurean Eating House, a restaurant owned by a black man. This violence, born of ...

, burning a black school amid other acts of destruction. The capital's restrictive " black codes" were also tightened in response to the incident. Despite Bowen's threat to her life, Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton was tormented by his imprisonment - especially after he wrote her a letter about awful jail conditions (this letter is still in the Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton papers at the Library of Congress) and went to extraordinary lengths to try to get him pardoned. Her diary chronicles how she appealed to many powerful Washington men at the time, such as Congressman and future Vice President

Richard Mentor Johnson Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was an American lawyer, military officer and politician who served as the ninth vice president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren ...

- who, ironically enough, considered a slave woman to be his common-law wife. She also appealed to military men such as Gen. George Gibson, former Quartermaster General, who was a close personal friend of President

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

, and to a member of the Washington family. The widow Thornton presented a petition signed by numerous Washington notables to President Jackson, in person, and he acted on it on the symbolic date of

July 4th Events Pre-1600 *362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans. * 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed ...

, 1836, releasing Bowen from confinement. Thornton immediately sold Bowen to

John Henry Eaton John Henry Eaton (June 18, 1790November 17, 1856) was an American politician and diplomat from Tennessee who served as U.S. Senator and as Secretary of War in the administration of Andrew Jackson. He was 28 years, 4 months, and 29 days old whe ...

to work on a

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. In her petition to Jackson, Thornton consistently described Bowen as a "boy," though he was about 19, and she speculated that he had been under the influence of drink. In other words, he had not "really" attacked her; it was not him doing the acting, but merely the "demon rum." The modern writer Jefferson Morley has suggested that the sale of Bowen was meant to get him out of Washington, where many angry whites still hated him for his alleged violence and his criticisms of slavery. Morley also notes the possibility that Thornton was so forgiving and protective of the young slave because he may have been William Thornton's son. QR CC both Thorntons

After Bowen's release from jail and subsequent sale, Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton went about her daily life, finally freeing her few remaining slaves shortly before her death in 1865 (in which year they would have been freed, anyway, with the end of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

). Her diary, which is a rich source of information about social life in Washington, D.C., in the late 18th and early-to-mid-19th centuries, is available at the Library of Congress. Her petition to Andrew Jackson is stored in the Andrew Jackson papers at the Library of Congress.

References

External links

Library of Congress

National Gallery of Art

Ladies of Liberty
by

Cokie Roberts Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne "Cokie" Roberts (née Boggs; December 27, 1943 – September 17, 2019) was an American journalist and author. Her career included decades as a political reporter and analyst for National Public Radio, PBS, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Anna Maria Brodeau American socialites 1865 deaths Year of birth uncertain