His parents were Henry Clay Thornton and Millamenta Comegys Worth. Thornton was educated at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire,, where he met James A. McCrea, son of James McCrea who was then president of Pennsylvania Railroad.
Thornton’s parents were Henry Clay Thornton and Millamenta Comegys Worth. At St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, Thornton met James A. McCrea, the son of James McCrea, who was then serving as the president of Pennsylvania Railroad.