Archives for THORNTON / STRAWSER - Page 3
Thornton DNA Update
For years, many people (including me) have assumed our Thorntons descended from William "the immigrant" or Luke (spoiler alert - we aren't). William and Luke immigrated from England in the 1600s and settled in Virginia. Their descendants were connected to some famous names - George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and others out of America’s history book. They owned huge plantations, and had many children. It made sense that these Thorntons were our ancestors - the time,…
Are we related to Matthew Thornton?
There is a rumor in our family that we are descended from Matthew Thornton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Our Thorntons came from England and Matthew Thornton immigrated from Ireland. Sorry
North Side Convergence
I discovered that multiple branches of my tree lived in North Side, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where I was born at exactly the same time. They probably were riding on the same trolleys and shopping at the same stores. Earnest Thornton and Helen Strawser, my paternal grandparents, moved to North Side Pittsburgh around 1929 to find work. William Weiler and his daughter Louise Weiler (my maternal grandmother), moved to North Side Pittsburgh in 1927 to pastor a…
Pittsburgh 1928 film
1928 is about when my grandparents Earnest Thornton and Helen Strawser connected in Pittsburgh. Earnest is listed in the 1930 census living on North Side. My Eckert, Giegerich, Weiler and Wagner ancestors were also here at that time.