The Thorn Men

Below are some of the images I have managed to find for the Thorn men. Missing are William (the eldest), Herman Jr and John who died as a baby. From these images, it would seem that James looks a lot like his father (Eugene possibly too, but the angle makes it hard to tell). Colonel... Continue Reading →

April 4, 2022 0

Which Children are in the Painting? #2

In an earlier post, I pondered on who was in the painting below, which is listed in the Frick collection as Colonel Thorn and family, and I decided it was Ellen or Alice, Ida, Eugene and Colonel Thorn. I checked back recently and Frick had updated their archive details (or maybe I'd missed them first... Continue Reading →

January 26, 2021 4

The New York Connection

The Thorn's return to New York in late 1845 was prompted by a regime change in France. "He arrived at the port of New York aboard the ship Zurich on 9 Sep 1845.[2][3] The traveling party included Col Thorn age 60, Mrs. Thorn age 45, Mr. Alfred Thorn age 18, Mr. Eugene Thorn age 16, Ellen... Continue Reading →

January 14, 2021 0

Captain Herman Thorn (Jr)

I've been holding off writing about Herman Jr. His is such a sad story, just like the other male Thorn children - apart from Eugene. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Herman Jr was keen to become an officer in the US Army, but was not admitted to West Point. Once he had been... Continue Reading →