User:Donaldmench/George h. thorne ohio

GEORGE H. THORNE – ATTORNEY IN OHIO – PUBLIC SERVANT new article content ... GEORGE H. THORNE – He was a mystery man in a few very old photos of my family - long past. My cousins tried to find him and failed. I could not GOOGLE him. I finally found him through the Greene County OH library. I retyped the newspaper article below (adding dates to the best of my knowledge to add context). I discovered that this man was the ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. He served President Wilson. A photo of him in a white suit, Panama hat, and palm trees seemed to indicate that he was sent on official business connected to the building of the Panama Canal. It is a mystery why I could not google him. I decided to put him on WIKIPEDIA. His story deserves to be a part of accessible history.

GEORGE H. THORNE was a distant relative. – He appears in the 1920 and 1930 census. His mother and father (John and Mary Thorne) were born in Virginia.

George Thorne was born 18 jan 1867 in the small town of Bellbrook Ohio (near Dayton OH). He was married to CORA MAY RANDALL (born in Chicago IL – died in Pasadena CA). They had 3 girls – JESSAMINE, HELEN, and ELSIE. At some time he remarried to HATTIE SMITH of Spring Valley OH. He must have had formal legal schooling, but I have not found the record of that. His training must have been in Colorado.

George Thorne died - 2 mar 1937. He is buried in his hometown’s cemetery of Bellbrook OH (southwest Ohio near Dayton).

The following newspaper article tells the added details of his life.

Xenia (Ohio) Daily Gazette – March 2, 1937   Newspaper article retyped with estimated dates ADDED (for context) in (xxxx) by the writer of this article. ________________________________________________________________

Rep. George H. Thorne Is Taken by Death Tuesday

Solon Succumbs To Pneumonia At Home In Bellbrook (Ohio); Had Interesting Public Career

Judge George H. Thorne, 71, Greene county’s representative in the state legislature, died at his home (mar 1937) on W. Franklin St., Bellbrook, Tuesday afternoon at 5:30 o’clock. He was removed to his home from Columbus a week ago suffering from a severe cold and pneumonia developed Sunday.

Judge Thorne, former mayor of Bellbrook, was elected representative last November for a two-year term and took office Jan. 4 (1937), being Greene County’s first Democratic state representative. Already, he had attracted attention in legislative circles by a one-man drive against “bureaucracy” in state government. He introduced a number of bills during his brief tenure, some of them aimed at dissolving state commissions and bureaus.

Born (1867) on a farm one-half mile east of Bellbrook on the Spring Valley Road, Mr. Thorne was the last member of the immediate family of John and Mary Thorne. He attended Bellbrook schools and at the age of 16 (1883) went to Colorado where he practiced law and later was elected judge of Prowers County common pleas court. He also served eight years as an assistant attorney general in Colorado. He then returned East (about 1911) and during the two-term administration of President Wilson moved to Washington where he served eight years (1913 to 1921 – his age 46/54) as an assistant attorney general of the United States and also was a lawyer in the U.S. department of justice.

Returning to Ohio he served for a short time as executive secretary to the former Gov. Vic Donahey (about 1925), now U.S. senator. He resided for short periods in Gallipolis and Logan before he returned to Bellbrook eight years ago (1929 the depression) and established his home. He formerly maintained law offices in Xenia. Elected to his first term in the legislature on the Democratic ticket last November (1936), he resigned as mayor of Bellbrook to assume the position.

Judge Thorne was a member of the Bellbrook Presbyterian Church and the I.O.O.F. and Masonic Lodges and had taken part in several productions staged by the Xenia Little Theater here.

He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Hattie Smith Thorne, formerly of Spring Valley, and three daughters by a former marriage: Mrs. Elsie Gibson, of Santa Monica, Calif.; Mrs. Jessamina McCoy, of Washington D.C.; and Mrs. Helen McCormick, of Los Angeles, Calif.; and three grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements have not been completed pending word from his daughters.

Obituary of George H. Thorne from Xenia Daily Gazette (exact date unknown) - (Died: Tuesday afternoon, 5:30, March 2, 1937).

GEORGE H. THORNE Funeral services for Judge George H. Thorne, 71, Greene County’s representative in the state legislature who died at his home in Bellbrook Tuesday evening following a brief illness, will be conducted at the Bellbrook Presbyterian Church Saturday afternoon at 2:30 o’clock. In charge is the pastor, Rev. Randolph Hartman. Burial will be in Bellbrook Cemetery. Friends may call at the Thorne home on W. Franklin St., Bellbrook, Friday evening.

Xenia Lodge, No. 52, I.O.O.F. of which Judge Thorne was a member, will conduct ritualistic services at the home Friday evening.



Tribute in Xenia Daily Gazette – March 5, 1937 (Died: Tuesday afternoon, 5:30, March 2, 1937).

TRIBUTE TO THORNE IN BAR RESOLUTION

A resolution paying tribute to the memory of the late Judge George H. Thorne (D), Greene County’s state representative, whose sudden death Tuesday terminated a distinguished career of public service, has been adopted by the Greene County Bar Association. Judge Thorne had been a practicing attorney for many years.

Probate Judge George H. Smith and Attorneys W. L. Miller and Daniel Aultman composed the association’s resolutions committee which drafted the memorial.