James Worth Thornton

James Worth Thornton (September 19 1906 – February 6 1983, Virginia) [Kussart, S. The History of the Fifteenth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh. Suburban Printing Company, Bellevue, PA; 1925.] was a businessman and scion of the politically and socially connected Thorntons of Indiana. Thornton was the son of Sir Henry Worth Thornton and Lady Virginia Blair, [Barriger, John Walker. “Sir Henry Thornton: Pioneer.” (speech) Delivered During The 1944 Maine Dinner Of The Newcomen Society] daughter of banker and steel magnate George Dike Blair. Also, Thornton appeared in the journals of Edmund Wilson, the noted essayist.

Thornton was born into a prominent family in the railroad business and enjoyed a privileged childhood. After graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada, Ontario, while working in Europe, Thornton earned a reputation as an international playboy [Castronovo, David and Janet Groth. Critic in Love: A Romantic Biography of Edmund Wilson. Shoemaker & Hoard Publishers, 2005] : he was reportedly an excellent polo player and prominent in social circles. While working for a firm in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1931 Thornton married Helene-Marthe (Elena ) Mumm von Schwarzenstein [Society listing. TIME. Monday, Sept. 14, 1931] , a German-Russian-French aristocrat and partial heir to the Mumm champagne fortune [See Cape Cod History site: capecodhistory.us/genealogy/wellfleet/i2154.htm] . Her maternal relations (the de Struve family [See 1912 listing for Tout-Paris: Annuaire de la Societe parisienne (Names and addresses of ‘society’)] ) were prominent Russian diplomats and astronomers. After marriage, Thornton served as Vice-President of the Mumm family’s American Incorporation [The Trade-mark Reporter by The United States Trademark Association 1936. (see page 373)] . Thornton and Elena had one son: Henry Hermann Mumm Thornton [Elena Wilson Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.] , born 1932.

1932-1946

Shortly after marriage, James and Elena Mumm Thornton moved to Montreal and, then, to New York City, where Elena served as an assistant editor for "Town & Country (magazine)". While working as an editor, Elena met Edmund Wilson, the prominent author and critic, and fell in love [Kiernan, Frances. Seeing Mary Plain: A Life of Mary McCarthy. W.W. Norton & Company. 2000.] . In 1946, Elena and Edmund fled to Reno, Nevada, divorced their respective spouses, and married, creating a minor media sensation. Elena Mumm Thornton was Edmund Wilson’s fourth wife [Meyers, Jeffrey, Edmund Wilson: a biography, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995] .

1950-1983

James W. Thornton joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1950, retiring in 1958 upon marrying Martha Florence Armstrong, granddaughter of the 1st Baronet Armstrong [See listing at The Peerage.Com: http://www.thepeerage.com/p12531.htm] . Until his death on February 6, 1983, Thornton moved frequently, living in New York City, Spain, Bermuda, Florida, and northern Virginia [See obituary at the Washington Post] . Thornton's grandchildren include Dr. Sandra Christine Thornton-Whitehouse, wife of Sheldon Whitehouse, Senator from Rhode Island; Elena Thornton Kissel, wife of musician and producer, Michael Case Kissel, 3rd great grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt; and Nina Rosalie McMann.

Through his maternal line, he was related to the powerful Cox family: billionaire heiresses Anne Cox Chambers and Barbara Cox Anthony were his second cousins [Kussart, S. The History of the Fifteenth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh; Suburban Printing Co., 1925] .

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