Harry Innes Thornton Jr. (c. 1834 – February 25, 1895) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Democratic politician and attorney in California. Born in

Greene County, Alabama Greene County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,730, the least populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Eutaw. It was named in honor of Revolutionar ...

, Thornton followed his family to California. In 1841, his father, Harry Innis Thornton Sr., was a judge and member of the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the state government of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both chambers serv ...

, residing in

Eutaw, Alabama Eutaw ( ) is a city in and the county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The e ...

. By 1851, Thornton Sr. moved to California and was appointed to the federal

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

to address property ownership in California. By 1854, Thornton Jr.'s sister and her husband,

James D. Thornton James Dabney Thornton (January 19, 1823 – September 27, 1902) was an American lawyer and judge who served as associate justice of the Supreme Court of California from 1880 to 1891. Early life and education Thornton was born January 19, 1823, a ...

, had moved to San Francisco, also. Thornton Jr. was a member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

during the 1850s. At the start 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 ...

, he gave a speech on the floor of the Senate defending the Southern states' rights to succeed. He resigned from the Legislature and went to serve in the

Army of the Confederate States of America The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. He was wounded at the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

Sept. 18–20, 1863 while serving with the

58th Regiment Alabama Infantry The 58th Alabama Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Service Increasing the 9th Battalion Alabama Infantry to ten companies by addition of Capt. John A. Avirett's "St. ...

. After the war, he returned to California and practiced law in that state and Nevada, handling complex mining litigation. He died in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, on February 25, 1895.

References

1830s births 1895 deaths Confederate States Army officers People of Alabama in the American Civil War People of California in the American Civil War Democratic Party California state senators Lawyers from San Francisco 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American legislators 19th-century California politicians {{California-CASenate-stub