Jacob Montgomery Thornburgh (July 3, 1837Rothrock (''French Broad-Holston Country'', p. 497) lists July 5 as his date of birth. Thornburgh's grave monument at Old Gray Cemetery gives July 3 as his date of birth.– September 19, 1890) was an American attorney and politician who represented

Tennessee's 2nd congressional district The 2nd congressional district of Tennessee is a congressional district in East Tennessee. It has been represented by Republican Tim Burchett since January 2019. Current boundaries The district is located in East Tennessee and borders Kentucky ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1873 to 1879. The son of a prominent state legislator, Thornburgh fought in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, and served as attorney general of the state's third judicial district after the war. Following his congressional term, he formed a law partnership with several prominent Knoxville attorneys, and engaged in philanthropy.East Tennessee Historical Society, Mary Rothrock (ed.), ''The French Broad-Holston Country: A History of Knox County, Tennessee'' (Knoxville, Tenn.: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1972), pp. 497-498.

Biography

Early life

Thornburgh was born in

New Market, Tennessee New Market is a town in Jefferson County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Morristown metropolitan area. The population was 1,334 at the 2010 census and 1,349 at the 2020 census. History On September 24, 1904, two passenger trains co ...

in Jefferson County. His father, Montgomery Thornburgh, was a Tennessee state senator and attorney general. His mother was Olivia. He attended Holston College (in New Market), and studied law under his father and Judge Robert McFarland. He was admitted to the bar in 1861, after which he commenced practice in Jefferson County. His brother, Major

Thomas Tipton Thornburgh Thomas Tipton Thornburgh (1843–1879) was a career soldier, starting during the American Civil War when he enlisted with the Sixth East Tennessee Volunteers for the Union Army. Mid-war, he left the ranks to study at the United States Military Acad ...

, was commander of Fort Steele and was killed during the

Battle of Milk Creek Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879 in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute Indians ( Native Americans) attacked the Indian agency on their reservation, killing th ...

in 1879.

Civil War and aftermath

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Thornburgh fled to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and enlisted as a private in a brigade commanded by General

George W. Morgan George Washington Morgan (September 20, 1820 – July 26, 1893) was an American soldier, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He fought in the Texas Revolution and the Mexican–American War, and was a general in the Union Army during the Ameri ...

.''Reunion of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland'' (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke and Company, 1891), p. 283-284. In 1862, he joined what would eventually become the

4th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry The 4th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was originally recruited as the 4th East Tennessee Cavalry. Service The 4th Tennessee Cavalry was organized at Cumberland Ga ...

with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He became commander of the unit following the resignation of Colonel Richard M. Edwards in July 1863. He saw action at the Battle of Okolona, and led one of the first units into Mobile, Alabama, after the city fell in 1865. Thornburgh's father, a prominent Unionist, was arrested by Confederate authorities during the war and died in a Confederate prison in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. His brother,

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, enlisted in the Sixth East Tennessee Volunteers and rose through the ranks, establishing a career as an officer in the military. He died in the western frontier during the

with the Utes in 1879. Thornburgh was appointed attorney general of the third judicial circuit of Tennessee in 1866, and was elected to this office in 1868 and 1870. In spite of his family's hardships during the war, he was conciliatory in his actions toward former Confederates, and briefly practiced law with his old mentor, Robert McFarland, who had supported the Confederacy. In 1872, Thornburgh was appointed United States commissioner at the

International Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

held in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Congressional career

In the early 1870s, Tennessee's

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

-controlled legislature gerrymandered the 2nd Congressional District in hopes of breaking Republicans' electoral dominance in the district. Sensing defeat, the district's Republican congressman, Horace Maynard, withdrew from the race for the 2nd District seat and instead ran for the state's at-large district seat. Thornburgh accepted the Republican Party's nomination for the 2nd District seat, and in spite of the Democrats' redistricting efforts, won the seat in the general election.Gordon B. McKinney, "The Rise of the Houk Machine in East Tennessee," East Tennessee Historical Society ''Publications'', Vol. 45 (1973), pp. 61-78. In the election of 1874, Leonidas C. Houk challenged Thornburgh for the Republican nomination for the 2nd District's seat. After a very competitive campaign, both candidates claimed the nomination, and both intended to run in the general election, which would have split the Republican vote and threaten the party's hold on the seat. Senator William G. Brownlow, by this time a revered figure among East Tennesseans, intervened on Thornburgh's behalf, and Houk withdrew, allowing Thornburgh to coast to an easy victory. Thornburgh ran unchallenged in 1876, and decided not to seek reelection in 1878.

Later life

Thornburgh largely retired from political life after 1879, although he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1880. He returned to Knoxville and formed a law partnership with Charles D. McGuffey (a nephew of

William Holmes McGuffey William Holmes McGuffey (September 23, 1800 – May 4, 1873) was a college professor and president who is best known for writing the '' McGuffey Readers'', the first widely used series of elementary school-level textbooks. More than 120 million c ...

, author of the ''

McGuffey Readers The Eclectic Readers (commonly, but informally known as the McGuffey Readers) were a series of graded primers for grade levels 1–6. They were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, and ...

''), and later formed a partnership with future Supreme Court justice

Edward Terry Sanford Edward Terry Sanford (July 23, 1865 – March 8, 1930) was an American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1923 until his death in 1930. Prior to his nomination to the high court, Sanford served as a ...

. In 1889, Thornburgh donated a large number of books to the burgeoning

Lawson McGhee Library The Lawson McGhee Library is the main library of Knox County Public Library in Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's po ...

. Thornburgh died on September 19, 1890, and was

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in Old Gray Cemetery. His daughter, Laura Thornburgh, was a journalist and author, perhaps best known for publishing one of the first hiking guides to the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, w ...

in 1937. His son, John Minnis Thornburgh, was a prominent Knoxville lawyer and Republican Party leader during the early 20th century.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thornburgh, Jacob Montgomery 1837 births 1890 deaths People from New Market, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Politicians from Knoxville, Tennessee Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee 19th-century American politicians