Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton
A Register of Her Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Patrick Kerwin and Marianne Riley
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2001
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2007
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007091
Title: Papers of Anna Maria
Brodeau Thornton
Span Dates: 1793-1861
ID No.: MSS51862
Creator:
Thornton, Anna Maria
Brodeau, 1775?-1865
Extent: 7 items;
7 containers;
1.3 linear feet;
2 microfilm reels
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Wife of architect
William Thornton. Diaries and notebooks primarily describing social life in
Washington, D.C., with extensive detail about housekeeping and expense matters.
Also contained in the diaries are memorandum books, poems, sketches, and
silhouettes of unidentified people.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Personal Names
Clay,
Henry, 1777-1852--Autographs.
Jefferson,
Thomas, 1743-1826--Correspondence.
Jefferson,
Thomas, 1743-1826.
Madison,
James, 1751-1836--Autographs.
Polk,
James K. (James Knox), 1795-1849--Inauguration, 1845.
Thornton,
Anna Maria Brodeau, 1775?-1865.
Thornton,
William, 1759-1828.
Van Ness,
John Peter, 1770-1846--Autographs.
Organizations
Princeton (Steamship)
United
States Capitol (Washington, D.C.)
Subjects
Smallpox.
Locations
Massachusetts--Description and travel.
Newburyport
(Mass.)--Description and travel.
North
Carolina--Description and travel.
Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.)
Tortola
(V.I.)--Social life and customs.
United
States--History--War of 1812--Campaigns.
Virgin
Islands--Social life and customs.
Virginia--Boundaries--Washington (D.C.)
Virginia--Description and travel.
Washington
(D.C.)--Boundaries--Virginia.
Washington
(D.C.)--History--Capture by the British, 1814.
Washington
(D.C.)--Social life and customs.
Provenance:The papers of Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton were acquired with the
William Thornton Papers as a gift from J. Henley Smith in 1904.
Copyright Status:The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Anna Maria
Brodeau Thornton is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title
17, U.S.C.).
Microfilm:A microfilm edition of these papers is available on two reels from the
Library's Photoduplication Service for purchase subject to the Copyright Law of
the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.). This microfilm edition may also be
requested on interlibrary loan through the Library's Loan Division.
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton Papers,
Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton (1775?-1865) span the years
1793-1861 and consist of seven bound volumes containing diaries, journals,
essays, silhouettes, and household accounts relating largely to life in
Washington, D.C.
The first volume contains pocket almanacs with handwritten notes for
the years 1793-1794 and 1798. It also contains historical essays in French and
English, booklists, recipes, shopping lists, travel notes, and household
expense information. Thornton also created several entries relating to her
previous years spent in Tortola, Virgin Islands. There is a log of household
visitors from 1794 to 1798 and a daily log of activities in 1803.
In the second volume beginning in 1800, Thornton discussed the
schedule and work of her husband, William Thornton, on the east elevation of
the United States Capitol, correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, and visits to
Jefferson’s home. She also wrote of a smallpox outbreak and the paving of
Pennsylvania Avenue. Additionally, the second volume contains travel journals
from 1805 and 1806 detailing trips through Virginia into North Carolina and
daily journals from 1842 and 1844-1846. The later journals include more
abbreviated entries and references to national historical events. Items
mentioned include the gun explosion on the steamer-frigate
Princeton that killed the secretary of state and
the secretary of the navy in 1844, the inauguration of President James K. Polk
in 1845, and the return of land to Virginia from Washington, D.C., in 1846.
Volumes three, four, five and seven continue with daily household
entries for 1807-1815, 1828-1835, 1836-1843 and 1850-1861. Entries also contain
information on the British invasion of Washington, D.C., in 1814, including an
account of the saving of the Patent Office by William Thornton from destruction
by the British, and comments by Dolley Madison regarding the invasion. Anna
Thornton also wrote of the death of her mother in 1836, the death of her
husband in 1828, and the disposition of their estates.
Volume six contains a journal of a trip to Newburyport, Massachusetts,
in 1849, as well as a commonplace book of French and English essays,
quotations, epitaphs and poems, two small photographs of unknown children, and
several unidentified silhouettes. There is also a collection of autographs,
including signatures of Henry Clay, James Madison, and John P. Van Ness.
Additional Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton material may be found in the
Baldwin Papers at the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, and in the
collection of Jesse Brown Papers at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C.,
Washington, D.C.
This collection is arranged chronologically.
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 13,818
| Container |
Contents |
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BOX 1
REEL 1
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Diaries and journals |
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BOX 1
REEL 1
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1793-1804
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BOX 2
REEL 1
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1800, 1805-1806, 1842-1846
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BOX 3
REEL 1
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1807-1815
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BOX 4
REEL 1
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1828-1835
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BOX 5
REEL 2
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1836-1843
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BOX 6
REEL 2
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1848-1850
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BOX 7
REEL 2
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1850-1861
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