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James Worth Thornton (September 19, 1906 – February 6, 1983, Virginia) was an American businessman and scion of the politically and socially connected Thorntons of Indiana. Thornton also appeared in the journals of noted essayist Edmund Wilson.

Early life

Thornton was born into a prominent family in the railroad business and enjoyed a privileged childhood. He was the son of Sir Henry Worth Thornton and Virginia Blair (daughter of banker and steel magnate George Dike Blair).

He was a second cousin of silver screen actress Edna Goodrich and Elcar Interim President Arthur Martin Graffis. His cousin, Helen Thornton Geer, was a prominent librarian and researcher. 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.

He graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada, Ontario.

Career

While working in Europe, Thornton earned a reputation as an international playboy: he was reportedly an excellent polo player and prominent in social circles. While working for a firm in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1931, he married Baroness Elena Mumm von Schwarzenstein. After their marriage, Thornton served as Vice-President of the Mumm family's American Incorporation.

Thornton joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1950, retiring in 1958 upon marrying Martha Florence Armstrong.

Personal life

In 1931 Thornton married Helene-Marthe "Elena" Mumm von Schwarzenstein, a German-Russian-French aristocrat and partial heir to the Mumm champagne fortune. Her maternal relations (the Struve family) were prominent Russian diplomats and astronomers. Before their divorce, James and Elena were the parents of one son:

• Henry Hermann Mumm Thornton (b. 1932),

Shortly after marriage, James and Elena 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. 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.

Second marriage

In 1958, Thornton married Martha Florence Armstrong, a granddaughter of the 1st Baronet Armstrong. After their marriage, the Thorntons moved frequently, living in New York City, Spain, Bermuda, Florida, and northern Virginia.

Thornton died on February 6, 1983.

Descendants

Thornton's grandchildren include Dr. Sandra Christine Thornton-Whitehouse (wife of Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island); Elena Thornton Kissel (wife of musician and producer, Michael Case Kissel, a direct descendant of Cornelius Vanderbilt); Nina Rosalie McMann; and James Speno Mumm Thornton.

Notes

1. Kussart, S. The History of the Fifteenth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh. Suburban Printing Company, Bellevue, PA; 1925.
2. Toibin, Colm (4 September 2005). "'Edmund Wilson': American Critic". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
3. Barriger, John Walker. "Sir Henry Thornton: Pioneer." (speech) Delivered During The 1944 Maine Dinner Of The Newcomen Society
4. Kussart, S. The History of the Fifteenth Ward of the City of Pittsburgh; Suburban Printing Co., 1925
5. Castronovo, David and Janet Groth. Critic in Love: A Romantic Biography of Edmund Wilson. Shoemaker & Hoard Publishers, 2005
6. The Trade-mark Reporter by The United States Trademark Association 1936. (see page 373)
7. Society listing. TIME. Monday, Sept. 14, 1931
8. See Cape Cod History site: capecodhistory.us/genealogy/wellfleet/i2154.htm
9. See 1912 listing for Tout-Paris: Annuaire de la Societe parisienne (Names and addresses of ‘society’)
10. "JAMES THORNTON MARRIES.; Son of Canadian Rall Head Weds Elena Mumm von Schwarzenstein". The New York Times. 6 September 1931. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
11. Elena Wilson Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.
12. Kiernan, Frances. Seeing Mary Plain: A Life of Mary McCarthy. W.W. Norton & Company. 2000.
13. Meyers, Jeffrey, Edmund Wilson: a biography, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995
14. See obituary at the Washington Post
15. "Sandra Thornton, a Ph.D. Candidate, Weds Sheldon Whitehouse, a Lawyer". The New York Times. 21 September 1986. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
16. "DAPHNE S. THORNTON TO MARRY IN JUNE". The New York Times. 21 April 1985. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
17. "Elena Thornton Wed to Musician". The New York Times. 30 June 1985. Retrieved 14 February 2024.

• 1906 births
• 1983 deaths
• American socialites
• Royal Military College of Canada alumni
• Cox family