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, at Oak Hill in

Cumberland, Virginia Cumberland is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, betwee ...

, to William Mynn Thornton and Elizabeth Anderson. He studied at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, graduating in 1841. After college, he read law for a year and then worked three years in a commercial house in Richmond, Virginia, while continuing his legal studies. In November 1848, he and his wife moved to

Eutaw, Alabama Eutaw ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Greene County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,937. The city was named in honor of the Battle of Eutaw Springs, the last engagement of the American Revolutionary War ...

, where his wife's father, Harry Innis Thornton Sr., was a judge and member of the Alabama Legislature. By 1851, Harry I. Thornton had moved to California and was appointed to the federal Public Land Commission to address property ownership in California. In 1854, James Thornton also determined to move to California, arriving in San Francisco in June 1854. There, he started a law firm with his father-in-law and John James Williams, whom he had befriended in Richmond, Virginia.

Judicial career

In 1856, Thornton served as a district court commissioner for the Fourth district court in San Francisco. In August 1858, he was nominated by the Democratic Lecompton Party for judge of the Fourth district court. In June 1861, he attended the state convention of the Breckenridge Democratic Party, with pro-Southern sympathies. 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 ...

, he refused to take the oath of allegiance to the United States, as did

Solomon Heydenfeldt Solomon Heydenfeldt (1816 – September 15, 1890) was an American attorney who was an associate justice of the California Supreme Court from 1852 to 1857. He was the second Jewish justice of the court, after Henry A. Lyons, but was the first ...

, who was born in Charleston, South Carolina. At that time, his wife's brother, the attorney Harry Innis Thornton Jr., gave a speech on the floor of the California State Senate defending the Southern states' rights to succeed, and afterwards left to fight for the Confederacy. In 1878, James Thornton was appointed judge of the Twenty-third district court by Governor William Irwin. In 1879, when adoption of a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

required elections for all seats on the Supreme Court, Thornton was nominated by both the Democratic Party and Workingman's Party and was elected. The newly elected judges drew lots to determine the length of term, and Thornton drew an 11-year term, the same length as Elisha W. McKinstry. In November 1890, just prior to the end of his term, he ran unsuccessfully as a

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 ...

for judge of

San Francisco County Superior Court The Superior Court of California of the County of San Francisco is the state superior court with jurisdiction over the City and County of San Francisco. History In 1976 the Court helped to create the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, a ...

. Instead, after stepping down from the high court he returned to private practice. He died September 27, 1902, in San Francisco.

Personal life

On February 17, 1848, he married Sarah Frances Thornton in Eutaw, Alabama, and they had eleven children, including six who lived to adulthood: Crittenden Thornton, a lawyer in San Francisco; Harry I. Thornton, Jr., who graduated from

Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a public law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the first law school of the University of California ...

; Elizabeth Anderson 'Lizzy' Thornton (Mrs.

John Crittenden Watson John Crittenden Watson (24 August 1842 – 14 December 1923) was an admiral of the United States Navy. Biography Watson was born in Frankfort, Kentucky, on 24 August 1842, the grandson of Kentucky politician John J. Crittenden. He graduated from ...

, an admiral); William M. Thornton, a banker in Montana and later businessman in Chicago; Margaret Thornton (Mrs. Abbott Kinney of Santa Monica); and John Thurston Thornton, also a lawyer in San Francisco. Two other daughters died before adulthood: Ann Mary Thornton (1851–1870) and Gertrude Thornton (1855–1877).

References

External links

James D. Thornton
California Supreme Court Historical Society. *

Early life and education

Judicial career

Personal life

References

External links

See also