Thornton Family Genealogy

    Kepler, Mary Ann Thornton

Birth:     11 Aug 1827, Near East Liberty, OH
Death:     5 Jan 1910

Mother:    <unknown>, Kepler Miller ()

Married    Thornton, 2 Samuel (*1824 Union Co., Pensylvania +1877 Akron, Summit Co., OH)
           14 Apr 1845, Sourced
Children:
    1. Thornton, Amais (*1846 +1920)
    2. Thornton, Elizabeth (*1847 +1913)
    3. Thornton, Vianna (*1848 +1913)
    4. Thornton, Houston (*1849 +1908)
    5. Thornton, Aaron (*1850 +1922)
    6. Thornton, Matilda (*1853 +1935)
    7. Thornton, Cyrus (*1855 +1945)
    8. Thornton, Johnny (*1858 +1858)
    9. Thornton, James Milton (*1862 +1946)
   10. Thornton, Ellen ()
   11. Thornton, Belle (*1866 +1925)


Notes: 

Signed deed for Thornton Park
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 4


Censuses: 

 1850 (40?)
Vol 191, Green Twp., p. 7
Under Father, John A. Kepler, A. 45, b. PA
Mother, Mary Kepler Miller(?), A. 42, b. PA
Child, not in school, Sara, a. 18, b. OH
Child, not in school, Margaret, a. 16, b. OH
Child, not in school, Mary, a. 14, b. OH
Child, in school, Elizabeth, a. 12
Child, in school, Lucy E., a. 10
Child, in school, John P., a. 8
Child, in school, Ephraim, a. 6
Child, in school, Lovinna, a. 4
 1900
[citation?]
[with daughter Ellen and her two children]

Texts: 

GRANDMA
THORNTON

[pictures of Mary Ann and 2 Samuel]

Grandma (Mary Ann Kepler) Thornton was born near East
Liberty, August 11, 1827, married Samuel Thornton April 14, 1845,
and died January 5, 1910.  She was never happier than when she was
giving something to or helping others.  It might be vegetables from her
big garden or placing a sizable coin in the hand of a grandchild. Even
our Court of Appeals Judge, Oscar A. Hunsicker, who often visited his
uncle, Elmer Gault, who once lived in the stone part of the old Main
Street homestead, knew her well and called her "Grandma."  Edith Cor-
sen, who lived in the Kohler home at the sharp peak of Main Street and
Broadway (now Hackett Street) and who later became Mrs. John H. Wag-
oner (Mr. Wagoner the founder of Wagoner & Marsh Shoe Store) told
of going diagonally across Main Street every day to play with the Thorn-
ton girls.  There was a stairway at each end of the 80-foot long home
and the girls would chase up one end and down the other with no complaint
coming from Grandma.

The writer may possibly be the only grandchild who ever met
Grandma's mother, who was then Mrs. Miller (her first husband, Kep-
ler, having passed away) and a great grandma Miller lived in southern
Summit County.

Adjoining the Main Street home on the south was a large lot
which was plowed every spring by one of her boys and Grandma said
she always felt better when she could get out in the sun and sweat in
raising all sorts of vegatables in the big garden.

Always a hard worker, she roasted her own coffee in her big,
wood-burning  kitchen range.  A long wood chest along one side of the
room made a seat when guests overflowed available chairs.  That kitchen
was more of a living room.

Forty feet to the rear of the home was a big long brick building
with three divisions--the first called the Spring house in which a long
tank was supplied with cold running water, from an adjoining wind-
driven pump.  This cooled milk, cream, etc.  Next was the wash house
with an open fireplace and swinging iron kettles which were in use weekly
and at butchering day, in the Fall, it was the center of a bedlam of
work.  The bakery and wood shed completed this important house.  The
big brick oven was heated for hours and then the fire raked to the ash
pit and the bread loaves and pies were pushed in to supply the big family
for another week.

Grandma loved to sit and visit with her sisters who called.
Among them were Aunt Kate Shaffer (Mrs. Samuel) and Aunt Lovina
Ritter (Mrs. Henry).  They would smoke their stone, reed stemmed
pipes, and talk in Pennsylbania Dutch.
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 5
FOUR GENERATIONS

[picture of four people]

This picture of four generations,
taken at Lakeside Park Reunion
in 1906, shows Grandma Thorn-
ton, her oldest daughter Elizabeth
Steese, grandson Jay, and great
grand-daughter Dorothy (Steese)
Reiter.

RANDOM NOTES
BUTCHERING DAY

Butchering day at the Thornton Home was always an outstanding
event.  There were usually four or five hogs to be processed.  Uncle
Cyrus often used his rifle to kill the porkers and Billy Kepner from
Coburn Street was chief butcher.  He bossed the operations of cutting,
getting the hams and bacon ready for the brine soak and the smoke house;
making the sausage and liverwurst, getting the fat ready for the kettles
to render the lard, etc.  Mrs. Bittner, from Miami Street, was always
there as well as many other helpers.  Kepner and Mrs. Bittner were
leaders in keeping all at a gay level with their antics, one of which was
to hook a pig tail onto an unsuspecting victim.  At noon Grandma Thornton
always had a chicken dinner for the big party, and in the evening the sup-
per was based on fresh sausage.

STREET CARS

In August 1883 Akron's first street railroad began operations
and starting at Main and South Streets, it ran on to Howard and ended
one block north of Market.  On the opening day Barnum's Circus was in
town and everybody from the city and countryside were out to see the
usual parade.  They also wanted to spend five cents for a ride on the
new cars.  There were only five cars and they were only about ten or
twelve feet long, five windows on each side and a platform on either end
so the driver could unhook his horse and attach it to the other end for
the return trip.  Uncle Houston Thornton was a driver on that August
day and for a long time thereafter.  An extra horse was available to
assist in getting up the only hill, that on Main Street.
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 9
AKRON FIRE ALARM SYSTEM

Long before telephones became available, Akron installed its
own Fire Alarm System and at the Thornton Corner an Alarm Box, No.
14, was set up.  Keys to the box were given to the Thornton and Hankey
homes.  To send the signal in, one had to get a key and open the box. A
telegraph key was inside and you had to tap it - 1 then 1-2-3-4 and re-
peat this until you heard the fire bell down town toll out the same - No.
14 - number.  The fire might have been pretty well along by this time,
especially since the heavy horse-drawn fighting equipment was often
compelled to pull over sandy or deep muddy streets.

SINGING ON THE LAWN

At one time, Samuel Thornton had his neighbor, Simon Hankey
at his planing mill work shop build two eight-foot long seats, with ends
and backs, which were placed in the front yard and he invited girls, who
played with his two younger daughters, to sit and sing.  There were,
among others, three or four from the Keenan Family and a couple of
Brannons.  He would treat them with fruits and candies.

THE THORNTON FAMILY REUNIONS

For over two-thirds of a century the Thorntons in this vicinity
have gotten together every August without a miss.  As Reunions go, this
is a record to be proud of and it is doubtful that any other "clan" can
equal it.

It started in 1892 at Long Lake Park and for the first few years
was known as the Warner-Kepler-Thornton gathering.  These families
were all Pennsylvania Dutch and were closely related but, except for the
Thorntons, they seemed to lose interest and slowly dropped out; and the
attendance dropped to less than a hundred.

A list of the locations of the gatherings follows:

1892 - 1894 - Long Lake Park, Warner-Kepler-Thornton.  1894 about
........ 500 present and Akron's Eighth Regiment Band.
1895 - 1914 - Lakeside Park (now Summit Beach).  1895 about 400 present
1915 - Chas. Thornton's Home, Stow Corners [Clark's birthplace]
1916 - Springfield Lake
1917 - 1921 - Parke H. Thornton's, 4000 Turkeyfoot Road
1922 - 1923 - Harry Dellenberger's on Turkeyfoot Channel
1924 - 1927 - Parke H. Thornton's, 4000 Turkeyfoot Road
1928 - 1948 - Gladys Pake's Home, 4012 Turkeyfoot Road
1949 -  Kepler's Landing on Turkeyfoot Lake
1950 - 1959 - Harold Reiter's Farm - Copley - 603 S. Hametown Road
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 10
MATTHEW THORNTON

Although some effort has been made, nothing has been affected
in trying to tie the Matthew Thornton, who signed the Declaration of
Independence, with our own family.  Inquiry at Thornton and West Thorn-
ton on U.S. Route 3 in New Hampshire, where Matthew's home was lo-
cated, failed to reveal any connection with our people who settled in
Eastern Pennsylvania.

Thornton is supposed to be an English or Scotch [sic] name yet, as
the story goes, the Thornton boys, over the years continued to marry
Pennsylvania Dutch girls and the English feature was pretty well diluted.
In fact, rumor has it that our own grandfather could not properly pro-
nounce his own name.  He said I am Sammy "Sornton."
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 11
PROPERTY GIVEN OR WILLED TO SAMUEL THORNTON'S TEN

CHILDREN

AMAIS - 4-12-1875 - Book of Deeds, Vol 94, p. 621, 41.63 acres
....... North Township
ELIZABETH - 1868, house and lot, w. side of Main Street adjoining
....... Buchtel farm
ELIZABETH & John Steese, 5 lots, Vol 67, p. 633, and about 40
....... acres farm land
VIANNA & Cornelius Guise, 1875, 13 acres Tallmadge (Monroe
....... Falls)
AARON, 1875, 140.29 acres, west of Channel, Vol 94, p. 498.  Later
....... Aaron sold from this, Turkeyfoot Island to Frank Lahm, a
....... French balloonist who established the Club and a fine resi-
....... dential area on the Island.
MATILDA and Win Youtz, 120 acres, Coventry, 1879, Vol. 95, p.
....... 126.  This took in land that later became Firestone Blvd.
CYRUS, 1875 - 96.43 acres in Coventry.
HOUSTON, by will of Samuel Thornton - Book of Wills, #4, p. 458,
....... the old Metlin farm in Coventry.  This was south of Loyal
....... Oak Road and n.w. of Greenlawn Cemetery on Romig Road.
MILTON, by will, the old homestead on the channel (150 acres of
....... which now taken by the 27 hole golf course).
ELLEN )  given the Akron homestead and all insold portions of ori-
BELLE )  ginal 206.97 acre farm purchased from John R. Buchtel,
....... founder of Buchtel College, and $4,000 each.
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 11
MANY THANKS

In getting out this booklet, many thanks should go to Ruth Turner
for the time and expense incurred in gathering data and getting many pic-
tures.  Also helping were Parke H. Thornton and Frances Freeman, and
many others.  Mrs. Lee Thornton, whose husband, a son of Will, a grand-
son of David, brother of Samuel's, also furnished some of the earliest
records.

David Thornton was established, by his father, on a farm which
is opposite the Amusement Park on the Big Resevoir, at 3445 South
Main Street, and which is now the home of the Carmelite Fathers.
SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 11
THORNTON FAMILY REUNION 1928

[two pictures - top one, labeled by OKT, "Reunion, 1957."]

SOURCE: JAY C. STEESE, The Thornton Story, 1840-1959, p. 12