Researching Joseph Thornton
Explore the detail of Joseph Thornton using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 15057 people with the Thornton surname? In that year Thornton was ranked number 257 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Joseph means "God shall add (another son)" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of Joseph Thornton on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Joseph Thornton in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Thornton ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Thornton Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Joseph Thornton and the Thornton Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Thornton Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Thornton family tree.
Study Parish Records for Joseph Thornton at Find My Past.
Look at for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Joseph Thornton using the FreeBMD database.
Look at Genealogy Bank for Joseph Thornton records.
Look at MyHeritage for Joseph Thornton information.
Search the LDS Database for records about Joseph Thornton.
Research the Thornton surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Thornton Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 17574 people with the Thornton surname in the UK? Thornton is now ranked number 309 for popularity in the UK. |
Thornton Family Tree Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Explore the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Joseph Thornton.
Study MyTrees for information on the Thornton family and people looking to contact living Thornton relations.
Check out One Great Family for Thornton records submitted by people who are already researching the Thornton Family Tree.
Find Joseph Thornton from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Thornton Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Thornton surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 94186 people with the Thornton surname in the USA? Thornton is ranked number 126 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Thornton Databases
Look at the Ellis Island Database for information on Joseph Thornton. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Joseph Thornton
Joseph Thornton (bookseller)
Joseph Thornton (1808 – 2 June 1891) was a bookseller who founded Thornton's Bookshop in 1835 in Oxford, England, the oldest university bookshop in the city.
Thornton's first bookshop was in Magdalen Street. He then moved to 51 High Street in 1840. He moved back to Magdalen Street in 1853 and to 10 Broad Street in 1863. In 1870, he moved to 11 Broad Street, where the shop remained as a family firm for many years, finally closing in 2002.
Joseph Thornton is buried in St Sepulchre's Cemetery, Oxford, with his second wife and daughter. His son John Henry Thornton (1845–1924) is buried in the same cemetery with his wife and sister-in-law.
Source: Joseph Thornton (bookseller), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaJoseph Thornton (biologist)
Joseph (Joe) Thornton is an American Biologist. He is a Professor at the University of Chicago and a former Early Career Scientist of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is known for resurrecting ancestral genes and tracing the mechanisms by which proteins evolve new functions.
His work has been discussed in arguments concerning intelligent design and "irreducible complexity." It has also been featured in popular discussions of the contingency of evolution.
Thornton has received the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at the White House, as well as a Career Award from the National Science Foundation and an Early Career Scientist Award from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
His background and career were profiled in an article in the journal Nature, which focused on his unusual path into science, including undergraduate study as an English major and several years as an environmental activist working for Greenpeace.
Source: Joseph Thornton (biologist), Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Thornton
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Tarantino Tarnutzer Tarrant Ternott Ternouth Thorndale Thornden Thorndike Thorndycraft Thorndyke Thornett Thornthwaite Thornton-Dewhirst Thournot Thournout Tornatore Toronto Torrent Tramutola Trand Trant Tranter Trantham Trantor Trantow Trauntvein Treend Tremathack Tremathick Trematick Trembath Tremethack Trendafilov Trendell Trendelman Trendle Trenouth Trenoweth Trent Trentacosta Trenter Trentfield Trenton Trentor Trenwith Trimbath Trindall Trinder Trindle Trinidad Troendle Trombetti Trommetter Trundell Trundle Trundler Trundley Trundy Turentine Turknett Turntine Turrentine





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