Matthew Thornton
Matthew Thornton was born in Ireland in 1714 and came to this country with his father in 1717, and settled at Wiscasset in Maine. He studied medicine from Dr. Grant of Leicester, Massachusetts. Afterward, he practiced medicine in Londonderry, New Hampshire where mostly people from Ireland settled.In the expedition against Cape Breton, then belonging to the French, he was appointed surgeon to the New Hampshire Division of the Army and performed his duty with great skill and credit.
He was President of the first convention of New Hampshire. At the commencement of the Revolution the people of that province did not form into line with the patriots, but Dr. Thornton and other kindred spirits soon brought them into the rank and file of opposition to the invading foe and banished from them all fugitive fear. In 1774, they sent delegates to Congress and came nobly up to the work. In December of that year several members of the Committee of Safety in the town of Portsmouth entered the fort and carried off one hundred barrels of gun powder before the governor could rally crownites to prevent them. Great Britain had prohibited the exportation of this article to the Colonies.
Soon after the flight of Govenor Wentworth upon being apprised of the battle of Lexington, an address was prepared and published by a provincial committee over the signature of Matthew Thornton, President. To the young reader this may seem not important unless informed that it was evidence to convict him of high treason and consign him to the gallows had he fallen into the hands of the British. The address was written in strong and bold language. Sample: "You must all be sensible that the affairs of America have come to an affecting crisis. The horrors and distresses of a civil war which of late we only had in contemplation, we now find ourselves obliged to realize. Painful, beyond expression, have been those scenes of blood and devastation which the barbarous cruelties of British troops have placed before our eyes. Duty to God, to ourselves, to posterity and enforced by the cries of slaughtered innocents, have urged us to take up arms in our own defence. Such a day as this was never before known either to us or our fathers. We would therefore recommend to the Colony at large to cultivate that Christian union, harmony and tender affection which constitute the only foundation upon which our invaluable privileges can rest with any security or our public measures be pursued with the least prospect of success."
On January 10, 1776, Dr. Thornton was appointed a Judge of the Superior Court of New Hampshire. On the 12th of September of the same year he was elected to the Continental Congress and when he took his seat, affixed his name to the Declaration of Independence. It may be supposed by many that those who signed this instrument, so often referred to, were all present on the memorable 4th of July when it was adopted. This was not the case. Messrs. Franklin, Rush, Clymer, Wilson, Ross, Carroll, Taylor and others, as in the case of Dr. Thornton, were not members on that day. Finding the measure would probably be sanctioned by a majority, fear seized several members who resigned their seats and run for dear life. Let their names rest in oblivion. The name of Thomas McKean is not upon the printed records although he was present and signed the Declaration at the time of its adoption. Henry Wisner a member from Orange County, New York, was present and signed the original manuscript whose name has never been properly recognized. He was a highly respectable member and a fearless patriot. How these errors occurred cannot now be told.
Dr. Thornton ably discharged the important duties of his station until his services were required upon the Bench. On the December 24th of the same year he was re-elected to Congress and served until January 23rd following, when he took his final leave of the National Legislature.
For six years, Dr. Thornton served on the Bench of the Superior Court and on that of Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, the combined duties rendering his services arduous. He filled these stations with dignity and impartiality. In 1779, he removed to Exeter and soon after purchased a farm upon the bank of the Merrimack River that he might enjoy that repose his advanced age required. But in this he was disappointed. He became a member of the General Court and served in the State Senate from that time up to 1785. On January 25, 1784 he was appointed a justice of the peace and quorum throughout the state, an important office under the original constitution but abridged in jurisdiction by amendments in 1792. In 1785 he retired from the political arena.
Dr. Thornton was a large portly man over six feet in height, well proportioned with an expressive countenance lighted up with keen piercing black eyes. He was one of the most fascinating man of his time. He was seldom known to smile but was cheerful, entertaining and instructive, and,in many respects similar to Dr. Franklin. His mind was stored with a rich variety of useful knowledge which rendered him an interesting companion. He sustained an unblemished private character and discharged all the social relations of life with faithfulness and fidelity. He was wisely opposed to sectarianism. He belonged to no church but was devoutly pious, exemplifying primitive Christianity in all the beauty of practical development and apostolic simplicity. He was a regular attendant of public worship.
Matthew Thornton died at Newburyport, Massachusetts on June 24, 1803.