John Thornton (Canadian politician)
Encyclopedia
John Thornton was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-born merchant, farmer and political figure in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. He represented Stanstead
Stanstead (provincial electoral district)
Stanstead was a provincial electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada. Located in the Estrie region, the district was formed in 1867. After the 1970 elections, it became part of Orford.-Members of Legislative Assembly:...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature until 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, the upper house of the legislature, the Legislative Council, was abolished...

 from 1875 to 1878 and from 1881 to 1886 as a Conservative.

He was born in Derby, Vermont
Derby, Vermont
Derby is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 4,604 at the 2000 census. The town contains four unincorporated villages: Beebe Plain, Clyde Pond, Lake Salem and North Derby; and two incorporated villages: Derby Center and Derby Line...

, the son of John L. Thornton and Dolly Bagley, and was educated there and at Stanstead College. He came to Lower Canada
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 in 1841 and set up business at Barnston, later moving to Coaticook
Coaticook, Quebec
Coaticook is a town in southeastern Quebec, Canada on the Coaticook River; it is the seat of the Coaticook Regional County Municipality. Its southern border is also the border with the United States-Communities:...

. Thornton sold equipment used in the construction of the railway between Richmond and Stanhope. In 1847, he married Lucy Baldwin. He served on the council for Barnston township, was mayor of Coaticook in 1872 and 1873 and was warden for Stanstead County from 1872 to 1874. He was defeated by Henry Lovell
Henry Lovell
Henry Lovell was a Canadian politician....

when he ran for reelection in 1878. Thornton died at Coaticook at the age of 64.
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