John Thorndike was born in England in about 1605. His parents were Francis Thorndike and Alice Coleman. He was one of the first settlers of Agawam, Massachusetts in 1633. He married Elizabeth Stratton in 1637 and they had five daughters and one son. Their son, Paul (1643-1698), married Mary Patch in 1668 in Beverly, Massachusetts. They had seven children. Descendants and relatives lived mainly in Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Illinois.
Soon after the birth of their son, Janir, John Thorndike's wife began a terrifying and dangerous drift into schizophrenia. Realizing that the only way to protect Janir was to take him away from his mother, Thorndike found his way through the pratfalls of child rearing alone. All who have experienced the wrench of mental illness in the family will recognize their own journey in Thorndike's heartfelt and heroic story of fatherhood.
Born poor in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1755, the young Israel Thorndike was a fisherman and ship owner who made a small fortune as a Revolutionary War privateer. Later he became a wealthy merchant, a delegate to the Massachusetts Ratification Convention and a director of the National Bank in Boston. A longtime Federalist legislator, he was highly regarded within the radical circles that contemplated secession during the Jefferson administration and the War of 1812. After the war, Thorndike concluded his multifaceted career as the leading venture capitalist financing the early Industrial Revolution. Sadly, his story is little known. Federalist Tycoon pulls Thorndike's life and career from the shadows and fully examines his impact on American economic development. Born poor in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1755, the young Israel Thorndike was a fisherman and ship owner who made a small fortune as a Revolutionary War privateer. Later he became a wealthy merchant, a delegate to the Massachusetts Ratification Convention and a director of the National Bank in Boston. A longtime Federalist legislator, he was highly regarded within the radical circles that contemplated secession during the Jefferson administration and the War of 1812. After the war, Thorndike concluded his multifaceted career as the leading venture capitalist financing the early Industrial Revolution. Sadly, his story is little known. Federalist Tycoon pulls Thorndike's life and career from the shadows and fully examines his impact on American economic development.
The bibliographic holdings of family histories at the Library of Congress. Entries are arranged alphabetically of the works of those involved in Genealogy and also items available through the Library of Congress.
