Individual Details

Maureen Harris wrote in RappNews an article about the Thorntons, "The first mention of the Thornton dynasty in Virginia was in 1646. William Thornton Sr. is believed to have come to the tidewater region of the Virginia colony from Yorkshire, England, and settled in York County. He was recorded in 1646 as being “obliged to care for the cattle of John Liptrot until John came of age.” In 1666 he was granted land in Petsworth parish of Gloucester County, which derived from York County in 1651, and he was a vestryman in the parish in 1677. (Rappahannock County today is in Bromfield parish of the Episcopal Church. In colonial Virginia, a parish was originally a territorial subdivision of the Church of England but it acquired political importance as an administrative unit of local government).
William Sr. married Elizabeth Rowland in 1648 and they are known to have had three sons — William Jr. (born 1649, died 1727), Francis (1651-1726), and Rowland (1654-1701). So, now we have our first Francis Thornton (Francis I)."

Birth	1620	England
Marriage	1648	Virginia, British America - Elizabeth Rowland
Death	1708	Virginia, British America

Spouse	Elizabeth Rowland ( - )
Child	William "Jr." Thornton (1649 - 1727)
Child	Francis Thornton (1651 - 1726)
Child	Rowland Thornton (1654 - 1701)