Hon. Mathew Thornton married about 1760 to Hannah Jack of Chester, NH. She died December 5, 1803. Both are buried at Thorntons' Ferry, NH. Their children, born at Londonderry, NH, were as follows: 1. James b. 1763; 2. Andrew, b. 1766; 3. Mary; 4. Hannah; 5. Matthew, b.1770.

Hannah Jack, who at age 18 married Hon. Matthew Thornton, was the daughter of Andrew Jack, who settled near Jack Hill in Chester, NH, at some time prior to 1747, when his name appears on the Presbyterian records at Warden. The Jack family came originally from Scotland, where the name is to be found in the early records of the parishes of Glasgow, Lanark and Edinburgh. The family of Andrew Jack emigrated from Scotland to Londonderry, Ireland. The church register of the parish of Templemore, Ireland, shows the baptism on June 11, 1713 of a son, Thomas to Andrew Jack and Ellener, his wife. This Andrew Jack may have been the father of the Andrew Jack who emigrated to America. He married Mary Morrison (b. Ireland, 1718). Her ancestor, John Morrison, was born int he county of Aberdeen, Scotland, about 1633, and emigrated to Ireland prior to 1688, where he resided near Londonderry. John Morrison and his family were among the Scotch Protestants who, during the seige of Londonderry, were by inhuman order of General de Rosen, driven beneath the walls of the city, where they suffered from starvation and were exposed to the fire of both sides of the siege. The Morrisons survived and were admitted into the city.

Andrew Jack and Mary Morrison had four children: two sons, Andrew and Samuel, and two daughters, one of whom [Hannah, b. about 1742] became the wife of Hon. Matthew Thornton.

THE CHILDREN OF HON. MATTHEW THORNTON

I. James Thornton (b. 1763)

JamesThornton, b. 1763, resided in Merrimack, NH, and became a member of the New Hampshire Legislature. He married Mary Parker of Litchfield, NH, and they had four children: 1.Matthew; 2.Hannah; 3.Mary; 4. James Bounaparte. James Thornton died in 1787 and is buried at Thorntons' Ferry,NH.

Hannah, daugher of James Thornton [granddaughter of Hon. Matthew] married Col. Joseph Greeley of Nashua, NH. They had seven children: 1. Mary 2. Joseph 3. Sarah 4. Charles A. 5. James B. 6. Edwin 7. Helen Dana.
Gen James B. Greeley became a physician; served in the Civil War; married Arabella McGraw Wood, and lived at Thorntons' Ferry, NH on the farm formerly the homestead of the Hon. Matthew Thornton.

James Bounaparte Thorton [grandson of Hon. Matthew] married Sophia Shepard of Connecticut. They had two children: 1. James Shepard; 2. Mary P. The resided in Merrimack, NH. James Bounaparte Thornton was a member of the New Hampshire Legislature; Speaker of the N.H. House of Representatives in1829 and 1830; Second Comptroller of the U.S.Treasury; Charge d'Affaires at Callao, Peru in 1836. Dying in 1838, he is buried at Thorntons' Ferry, NH.

James Shepard Thornton, son of James Buonaparte Thornton, attained distinction in the U.S.Navy. A short sketch of his life, authoried by Charles Thornton Davis, is attached to this manuscript at Appendix I. James Shepard married his cousin, Ellen Thornton Wood, a "woman of remarkable beauty as well as great dignity of character" in 1857. They had no children. James Shepard died on May 14, 1875 at Germantown,PA; his wife died in May, 1901.
Mary P. Thornton, daughter of James Bounaparte Thornton, married Dr. Charles Davis, and their son, Charles Thornton Davis, is a judge of the Court of Land Registration in Boston, MA [as of 1905].

II. Andrew Thornton (b. 1766)

Descendents not traced.

III. Mary Thornton

Mary Thornton, daughter of Hon. Matthew Thornton, married Hon. Silas Betton of Salen, NH. They had seven children: 1. Wealthy J. 2. Harriet 3. Caroline 4. Thornton 5. Charles C.P. 6. Mary and 7. George O. George E. Betton, a lawyer in Boston, MA; Thorton Betton, a lawyer in Derry, NH; and Matthew Thornton Betton, of Portsmouth, NH were descendents. The burial plot of the Betton family is in Forest Hills Cemetery, East Derry, NH.

IV. Hannah Thornton

Hannah Thornton, daughter of Hon. Matthew Thornton, married John McGaw of Bedford, NH. John McGaw (b. 1737) was the son of Jacob McGaw (of Scotch descent) who emigrated from Lineygloss in the north of Ireland where he was born. Jacob McGaw emigrated to America and settled in Bedford, NH and married Margaret Orr.

John McGaw and Hannah Thornton had three children: 1. Thornton 2. John Andrew 3. Harriet Frances. Hannah Thornton McGaw died in 1846 and is buried at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA.

Thornton McGaw was born at Newburyport, MA on July 24, 1799; moved to Bedford, NH in 1805; prepared for college Pinkerton Academy, Londonderry; graduated Dartmouth College in 1820 (among first seven in class of 24); studied law with his uncle, Jacob McGaw of Bangor, ME, where he started practicing in 1824. He married Anne Francis, daughter of Joseph Carr of Bangor, ME, and is buried at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge, MA. A testimonial to Thornton McGaw is attached to this manuscript as Appendix II.
Annie Thornton McGaw, daughter of Thorton McGaw, was born at Bangor, ME on January 26, 1828, and was married to Charles W.[illiam] Adams of Rochester, NY. Attached as Appendix III is a short geneology of the Adams family. Annie Thornton McGaw and Charles W. Adams had two children: Charles Thornton Adams, Harvard A.B., a lawyer in New York; and Helen Lee of Northhapmton, MA.

John Andrew McGaw, son of John and Hannah Thornton McGaw, became a prosperous shipping merchant in New York City. He married Nancy Goffe of Bedford, NH and had four children: 1. Harriet Ann 2. Hannah Thornton 3. Helen 4. Frances Eliza.
Harriet Ann McGaw married Freeman P. Woodbury, a merchant in New York City. Their children were: 1. John McGaw 2. Gordon 3. Thornton and 4. Helen.
John McGaw Woodbury graduated from Princeton Colege in 1879; also from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City; served as major on the staff of General Wilson in the Spanish-American War, and has held the office of Street Cleaning Commissioner of New York City, under both Republican and Democratic administrations [as of 1905].
Gordon Woodbury graduatd from Harvard College, became a lawyerin New York City, and then in Manchester, NH. He is the proprietor of the Manchester Daily Union [as of 1905].
Thornton Woodbry graduated from Harvard College, and is connected with the New York Sun [as of 1905].

Hannah Thornton McGaw maried Rev. Henry Fein, Yale A.B., and resides in Portland, ME [as of 1905].

Helen McGaw married Fleming Smith, Esq., and resides in New York City [as of 1905].

Frances Eliza McGaw married Charles H> Woodbury, Dartmouth A.B., a lawyer in New York City [as of 1905].

Harriet Frances McGaw [daughter of John McGaw and Hannah Thornton; granddaughter of Hon. Matthew] married Rev. Henry Wood, a graduate of Dartmouth College. He was editor of the Congregational Journal; was appointed counsel to Beyrout, Syria by President Franklin Pierce, and lived there many years. He was appointed chaplain in the U.S.Navy and stationed at Philadelphia, PA. Their children were: 1. John Thornton 2. Ellen Francis 3. Arabella McGaw 4. Harriet H. 5. Elixabeth 6. Henreitta 7. Catherine Perley 8.Charles 9. Robert McGaw.

V. Matthew Thornton