Matthew Thornton

Signature of Matthew Thomson in cursive.
A black and white portrait of a young man with dark hair, wearing formal attire, facing slightly to the right.

BORN – March 3, 1714 in Lisburn, Northern Ireland.  Came to America about 1718.  Parents (Scotts-Irish ancestry) - James Thornton (b1684-d1754) and Elizabeth Jenkins Thornton (b1690-d1741).  Eight Children – James Thornton (b1710-d1768), Andrew Thornton (b1712-d1768), William Thornton (b1713-d1790), Matthew Thornton (b1714-d1803), Agnes Thornton Wasson (b1717-d1774), Samuel Thornton (b1720-d1796), Hannah Thornton Wallace (b1722-___), Esther Thornton (b1724-___).   

DIED - June 24, 1803 (age 89), in Newburryport, MA, while visiting his daughter.  Religion – Presbyterian.  Buried - Thornton Ferry Cemetery in Merrimack, NH.  His tombstone reads “An Honest Man.” 

APPEARANCE – The picture above is a portrait of Matthew Thornton painted by an unknown artist on an unknown date.  Exceeded six feet in height, dark complexion, eyes black and piercing. At the age of 61 he was described as tall, clear-eyed, handsome and charming.

FAMILY – Married - Hannah Jack (b1742-d1786) in 1760.  Five Children – James Thornton (b1763-d1817), Andrew Thornton (b1766-d1787), Mary Thornton Betton (b1768-d1845), Matthew Thornton Jr. (b1770-d1804), Hannah Thornton McGaw (b1774-d1846).

OCCUPATION – PHYSICIAN, SOLDIER, LEGISLATOR, JUDGE, FARMER, FERRY OPERATOR.  Family immigrated from Ireland to America in 1718 (Matthew age 3).  Attended Worcester Academy and studied medicine at Leicester, MA.  Established a medical practice in Londonderry, NH in 1740.  Served as a surgeon in the New Hampshire Militia during the successful expedition against the French Fortress Louisbourg, Nova Scotia in 1745, during the French and Indian War.  Member of the Continental Congress representing New Hampshire from 1776 to 1777.  Judge in the New Hampshire Superior Court.  Moved to Merrimack in 1780, where he became a farmer and ferry operator.      

AT SIGNING – Age 62 at signing.  Signed the Declaration on November 2, 1776, the day he arrived in Philadelphia and took his seat in Congress.  Was the second to last Signer of the Declaration.  The space directly below the signatures of New Hampshire’s other two Signers was already taken by Samuel Adams of Massachusetts, so Thornton signed his name at the bottom of the right-hand column apart from the other two members from New Hampshire. 

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to service in Congress in Philadelphia until 1777.  

HISTORIC SITES                                                                                                                                                      

Derry Home – Matthew Thornton House, Derry, NH (1740).  Located at 2 Thornton Street, Derry, NH 03038.  Thornton and his family lived in the house from 1740 to 1779.  Privately owned.                                                                                                                                        

Gravesite – Thornton Ferry Cemetery in Merrimack, NH.  Thornton and other family members are buried in the cemetery and not under the obelisk next to the cemetery.   

Merrimack Home – Common Man Restaurant, Merrimack, NH.  Located at 304 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH 03054, Phone 603-429-3463, Website www.thecman.com.  The house was a wedding present from his father.  Matthew Thornton never lived there.  He lived down by the river next to the Thornton Ferry site.

A large white two-story house with a red front door, snow on the ground, and a yard with rocks and trees in the background.

Home of Matthew Thornton, Derry, NH (1740). 

Located at 2 Thornton Street, Derry, NH 03038.  Privately owned.                                                                         Matthew Thornton and his family lived in the house from 1740 to 1779, 39 years.  They moved to Merrimack, NH in 1780.