Jesse Quinn Thornton
Encyclopedia
Jessy Quinn Thornton was an American settler of Oregon
, active in political, legal, and educational circles. He served as the 5th Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon
, presented Oregon's petition for official territorial status to Congress
, served in the Oregon Legislature
, and wrote the state’s motto.
(now West Virginia
). He grew up in Champaign County, Ohio
, and studied law in London
for nearly three years. Returning to the United States, he read law in Virginia and was admitted to the bar in 1833, afterward attending lectures at the University of Virginia
. In 1835 Thornton moved to Palmyra
in western Missouri
, where he practiced law; he also edited a newspaper. On February 8, 1838, he married the widowed Agnes (Nancy) M. Huston Logue, a teacher. Thornton, an abolitionist, ran into difficulty in pro-slavery Missouri and in 1841 he and his wife moved across the Mississippi River
to Quincy, Illinois
. Thornton corresponded with newspaper editor Horace Greeley
and was acquainted with senators Thomas Hart Benton
of Missouri and Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois.
, joined the William H. Russell wagon train on May 15. This company was made up of travelers bound for both Oregon and California; among the latter were many of the emigrants who later formed the Donner Party
. On June 1 Thornton and his partner John B. Goode became involved in a dispute about their wagon and team, and the following day arbitrators requested the Oregon-bound wagons to leave the group. When they reached Fort Hall
, near present-day Pocatello, Idaho
, Thornton's party met Jesse Applegate
, Lindsay Applegate, David Goff, and Levi Scott
, who were authorized by the Provisional Government of Oregon
to survey a new route to the Willamette Valley that would avoid the Columbia River
. On August 9, 1846, Thornton's group set off on the California Trail
, which they followed until they reached central Nevada. From there the new Applegate Trail
(also called the Southern Route) went northwest and entered Oregon from the south.
The road built by the party was inadequate for wagon travel and required the first group to take it to make many improvements, slowing their progress. Some emigrants, including the Thorntons, were forced to abandon their wagons and possessions along the way. 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 settlers to send relief parties to the Umpqua Valley
to save the belated emigrants.
of the Provisional Government appointed Thornton to the position of Supreme Judge where he served until November 9, 1847. He resigned when Abernathy asked him to go to Washington, DC as a delegate from the Provisional Government to present Oregon's bill requesting official territorial status to Congress
. He sailed for the east on the ship Whiton along with a memorial created by the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
. During a one-month layover in San Francisco he met survivors of the Donner Party, who provided him with information about their disastrous journey to California. Thornton arrived in Boston in May 1848 and spent the summer in the East until the creation of Oregon Territory
on August 14, 1848. During his travels Thornton wrote up his overland diary, which was published as Oregon and California in 1848 in early 1849. After his legislative work was done, Thornton returned to Oregon and practiced law in the Willamette Valley.
Thornton's motto “She flies with her own wings,” translated into Latin as Alis volat propriis
, was adopted as the motto of Oregon Territory and incorporated into the territorial seal by an act of the Territorial Legislature
on January 18, 1854. In 1864 and 1865, Thornton returned to politics when he served in the Oregon House of Representatives
as a Republican from Benton County
. From 1872 until 1888 he served on the Board of Trustees for Willamette University
in Salem. Thornton died in Salem on February 5, 1888, and was buried at Lee Mission Cemetery
. Mrs. Thornton died the following year and is buried beside him. They had no children of their own, but left an adopted daughter.
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, active in political, legal, and educational circles. He served as the 5th Supreme Judge of the Provisional Government of Oregon
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
, presented Oregon's petition for official territorial status to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, served in the Oregon Legislature
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...
, and wrote the state’s motto.
Early life
Jessy Quinn Thornton was born August 24, 1810, near Point Pleasant, VirginiaPoint Pleasant, West Virginia
Point Pleasant is a city in Mason County, West Virginia, United States, at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. The population was 4,637 at the 2000 census...
(now West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
). He grew up in Champaign County, Ohio
Champaign County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,890 people, 14,952 households, and 10,870 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 15,890 housing units at an average density of 37 per square mile...
, and studied law in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for nearly three years. Returning to the United States, he read law in Virginia and was admitted to the bar in 1833, afterward attending lectures at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
. In 1835 Thornton moved to Palmyra
Palmyra, Missouri
Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,467 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area.- Geography :Palmyra is located at...
in western Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, where he practiced law; he also edited a newspaper. On February 8, 1838, he married the widowed Agnes (Nancy) M. Huston Logue, a teacher. Thornton, an abolitionist, ran into difficulty in pro-slavery Missouri and in 1841 he and his wife moved across the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, Illinois
Quincy, known as Illinois' "Gem City," is a river city along the Mississippi River and the county seat of Adams County. As of the 2010 census the city held a population of 40,633. The city anchors its own micropolitan area and is the economic and regional hub of West-central Illinois, catering a...
. Thornton corresponded with newspaper editor Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
and was acquainted with senators Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (senator)
Thomas Hart Benton , nicknamed "Old Bullion", was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms...
of Missouri and Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
of Illinois.
Oregon
Hoping to improve their health, the Thorntons decided to emigrate to Oregon. They left Quincy on April 18, 1846, and after a brief stop in Independence, MissouriIndependence, Missouri
Independence is the fourth largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri, and is contained within the counties of Jackson and Clay. It is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area...
, joined the William H. Russell wagon train on May 15. This company was made up of travelers bound for both Oregon and California; among the latter were many of the emigrants who later formed the Donner Party
Donner Party
The Donner Party was a group of American pioneers who set out for California in a wagon train. Delayed by a series of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–47 snowbound in the Sierra Nevada...
. On June 1 Thornton and his partner John B. Goode became involved in a dispute about their wagon and team, and the following day arbitrators requested the Oregon-bound wagons to leave the group. When they reached Fort Hall
Fort Hall
Fort Hall, sitting athwart the end of the common stretch shared by the three far west emigrant trails was a 19th century outpost in the eastern Oregon Country, which eventually became part of the present-day United States, and is located in southeastern Idaho near Fort Hall, Idaho...
, near present-day Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
, Thornton's party met Jesse Applegate
Jesse Applegate
Jesse Applegate was an American pioneer who led a large group of settlers along the Oregon Trail to the Oregon Country. He took part in the early government of Oregon, and helped establish the Applegate Trail as an alternative route to the Oregon Trail.-Early life:Jesse Applegate was born in Henry...
, Lindsay Applegate, David Goff, and Levi Scott
Levi Scott (pioneer)
Levi C. Scott was a politician in the Oregon Territory of the United States in the 1850s. A native of Illinois, he was a captain during the Cayuse War, helped lay the Applegate Trail, served in the Oregon Territorial Legislature, and in 1857 was a member of the Oregon Constitutional Convention...
, who were authorized by the Provisional Government of Oregon
Provisional Government of Oregon
The Provisional Government of Oregon was a popularly elected government created in the Oregon Country, in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. It existed from May 2, 1843 until March 3, 1849. Created at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region, this independent government...
to survey a new route to the Willamette Valley that would avoid the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. On August 9, 1846, Thornton's group set off on the California Trail
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
, which they followed until they reached central Nevada. From there the new Applegate Trail
Applegate Trail
The Applegate Trail was a wilderness trail through today's U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon, and was originally intended as a less dangerous route to the Oregon Territory.-Background:...
(also called the Southern Route) went northwest and entered Oregon from the south.
The road built by the party was inadequate for wagon travel and required the first group to take it to make many improvements, slowing their progress. Some emigrants, including the Thorntons, were forced to abandon their wagons and possessions along the way. On November 30, 1846, Thornton arrived at Salt Creek
Salt Creek, Oregon
Salt Creek is an unincorporated historic locale in Polk County, Oregon, United States on Oregon Route 22 about six miles northwest of Dallas. As an early European American settlement of the Oregon Country, the cemetery at Salt Creek has graves dating back to 1847. Salt Creek, a tributary of the...
in Yamhill District
Yamhill County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 84,992 people, 28,732 households, and 21,376 families residing in the county. The population density was 119 people per square mile . There were 30,270...
and soon after wrote a letter to the editor of the Oregon Spectator
Oregon Spectator
The Oregon Spectator, was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The Spectator was the first American newspaper to be published west of the Rocky Mountains and was the main paper of the region...
pleading for the settlers to send relief parties to the Umpqua Valley
Umpqua River
The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...
to save the belated emigrants.
Politics
On February 20, 1847, Governor George AbernethyGeorge Abernethy
George Abernethy was an American pioneer, notable entrepreneur, and first governor of Oregon under the provisional government in what would become the state of Oregon in the United States...
of the Provisional Government appointed Thornton to the position of Supreme Judge where he served until November 9, 1847. He resigned when Abernathy asked him to go to Washington, DC as a delegate from the Provisional Government to present Oregon's bill requesting official territorial status to Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. He sailed for the east on the ship Whiton along with a memorial created by the Provisional Legislature of Oregon
Provisional Legislature of Oregon
The Provisional Legislature of Oregon was the single-chamber legislative body of the Provisional Government of Oregon. It served the Oregon Country of the Pacific Northwest of North America from 1843 until early 1849 at a time when no country had sovereignty over the region...
. During a one-month layover in San Francisco he met survivors of the Donner Party, who provided him with information about their disastrous journey to California. Thornton arrived in Boston in May 1848 and spent the summer in the East until the creation of Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
on August 14, 1848. During his travels Thornton wrote up his overland diary, which was published as Oregon and California in 1848 in early 1849. After his legislative work was done, Thornton returned to Oregon and practiced law in the Willamette Valley.
Thornton's motto “She flies with her own wings,” translated into Latin as Alis volat propriis
Alis volat propriis
Alis volat propriis is a Latin phrase used as the motto of U.S. state of Oregon.The official English version of the motto is "She Flies With Her Own Wings," in keeping with the tradition of considering countries and territories to be feminine...
, was adopted as the motto of Oregon Territory and incorporated into the territorial seal by an act of the Territorial Legislature
Oregon Territorial Legislature
Oregon’s Territorial Legislature was a bicameral legislative body created by the United States Congress in 1848 as the legislative branch of the government of the Oregon Territory...
on January 18, 1854. In 1864 and 1865, Thornton returned to politics when he served in the Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....
as a Republican from Benton County
Benton County, Oregon
-National protected areas:*Siuslaw National Forest *William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 78,153 people, 30,145 households, and 18,237 families residing in the county. The population density was 116 people per square mile . There were 31,980...
. From 1872 until 1888 he served on the Board of Trustees for Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
in Salem. Thornton died in Salem on February 5, 1888, and was buried at Lee Mission Cemetery
Lee Mission Cemetery
-History:Lee Mission Cemetery was established in 1842 with the burial of Lucy Thompson Lee, the second wife of Rev. Jason Lee. The cemetery's gate has the date 1838, which is date of death for Anna Maria Pittman Lee, first wife of Jason Lee, and their infant son, who were moved to the cemetery...
. Mrs. Thornton died the following year and is buried beside him. They had no children of their own, but left an adopted daughter.