Willis
Thorne
(1863- ? )
Willis Thorne was
in July 1863, mostly likely in Bourbon, Marshall County, IN, the son of Jacob
and Amy
(Minerd) Thorne. He was a lawyer in Chicago who
enjoyed a general practice for many decades.
As a boy, Will and his parents and siblings moved to Chicago.
In about 1895, Will married Jessie (1867-1916). Little about her is known.
They had two known children -- Robert Thorne and Dorothy Thorne.
At some point, Will and Jessie had an informal portrait taken
with their children. The children in the
picture are Robert (left) and Dorothy. A print of that portrait, seen at right, was sent to
one of Will's cousins, John "Reuben" Minerd,
who resided on the Indiana-Ohio state line near Dixon, OH.
The 1900 census of Cook County shows Will, Jessie and Dorothy living on Vincennes Avenue in the Hyde Park section of Chicago. Also living under their roof were Will's mother and unmarried sisters Leona and Nettie. Will's occupation was listed as "lawyer."
Jessie is believed to have passed away on July 9, 1916, in Chicago. Details are not known. She would have been age 49 at the time.
In 1920, the widowed Will and son Robert made their home with Will's sisters Leona and Nettie in the family house on Vincennes Avenue in Chicago. Robert was a university student at the time, and Leona was a public school principal.
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An overflow crowd at Cubs Park in the summer of 1929 |
Will was a great follower of the Chicago Cubs baseball team of the National League, and often listened to their games on his radio. He may well have attended games at Cubs Park (later renamed Wrigley Field). In a letter that sister Lena wrote in the summer of 1935, she said: "If this letter is unusually incoherent, don't blame me - for a noisy ball game is in progress over the radio. Will is taking a day off and of course the ball game is the only thing of interest to him."
Will, Leona and Nettie continued to reside together in 1930 as
he continued his general law practice. He is seen in the photograph at left,
seated on the stair in the lower right hand corner, at one of the family homes
in Chicago.
In the winter of 1932, his sister Leona wrote this about him: "Will is much better but stays home usually one day a week - Grippe is hard to shake off - I think it's his nerves now as much as anything. I'll tell you right now - he doesn't like women clients - they don't like to lose their money and that's all people are doing now. He had two of them for a couple of hours yesterday!" In another letter in November 1933, Leona wrote: Will won his case in Ottawa and we are glad it's over with - It was a tiresome trip - to be made as often. The trial lasted 5 days - Will's side was on the stand 3 days - the other side 2 days."
A letter written by Will's half brother Corwin Tilbury in December 1932 states: "Willis is taken to his office every morning and uses as taxi to come home in the evening. they tell me he cannot use the elevated because he cannot climb the steps. He is not so well."
Circa August 1935, Will's single sister, Leona Thorne, continued to reside in their home in Chicago.
Will apparently was an ardent Republican. His half-brother Corwin Tilbury noted in a March 1939 letter that "Will is still condemning F.D.R. on paper but I guess none of it is being published. They do not tell me anything for the reason, I suppose that I am no tin full agreement with their views."
Will was living in Chicago in May 1947 at the time his half-brother, Corwin Tilbury, died in Pittsburgh. He was mentioned in his brother's newspaper obituary in the Allegheny Valley (PA) Advance-Leader.
Nothing more of their lives is known.
Copyright © 2002-2005, 2008 Mark A. Miner.
Cubs
Park photograph courtesy
of the American Memory Project of the
Library of Congress.