Born New York Mar 18, 1821; moved to Sandusky, Ohio with his family in 1832. Educated at the Univ. of Michigan and afterward moved to Louisiana. Returned to NY about 1852 to study law. Returned to Louisiana in 1854 to open a legal practice in Shreveport. Built "Thornhill," his estate near Shreveport, presenting it to his first wife, Persia, in 1856 (she had grown up at "Thornhill" plantation in Alabama). An anti-secessionist he nevertheless served as a Confederate officer when called upon to do so. During the war "Thornhill" served as a Confederate military hospital. Elected a state judge in 1868 and a state representative in 1874, was an elector in the presidential election of 1876. About 1877 he moved to New Orleans and in 1881 to South Dakota where he prepared the Dakota Terretory Law Codes for publication. He retired to Clyde, Ohio in 1893. A deeply religious man of Unitarian views (though raised Presbyterian), he authored two books on Unitarian theology. This tribute written with deep respect by the present (2011) owner of "Thornhill" at Shreveport.
Born New York Mar 18, 1821; moved to Sandusky, Ohio with his family in 1832. Educated at the Univ. of Michigan and afterward moved to Louisiana. Returned to NY about 1852 to study law. Returned to Louisiana in 1854 to open a legal practice in Shreveport. Built "Thornhill," his estate near Shreveport, presenting it to his first wife, Persia, in 1856 (she had grown up at "Thornhill" plantation in Alabama). An anti-secessionist he nevertheless served as a Confederate officer when called upon to do so. During the war "Thornhill" served as a Confederate military hospital. Elected a state judge in 1868 and a state representative in 1874, was an elector in the presidential election of 1876. About 1877 he moved to New Orleans and in 1881 to South Dakota where he prepared the Dakota Terretory Law Codes for publication. He retired to Clyde, Ohio in 1893. A deeply religious man of Unitarian views (though raised Presbyterian), he authored two books on Unitarian theology. This tribute written with deep respect by the present (2011) owner of "Thornhill" at Shreveport.
Gravesite Details
Wife was Statina Persia Willis.No inscription for her.
Family Members
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Records on Ancestry
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Ohio, U.S., Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center Obituary Index, 1810s-2016
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Alabama, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1805-1967
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Louisiana, U.S., Newspapers.com™ Stories and Events Index, 1800's-current
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Louisiana, U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1718-1925
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1870 United States Federal Census
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