Anna Thornton

Anna Maria Brodeau Thornton (1775?–1865) was a prominent Washington, D.C., socialite, diarist, and the wife of architect William Thornton, who designed the first United States Capitol building. She rubbed shoulders with figures such as George Washington and Dolley Madison. Life Anna Maria was probably born in England and emigrated at a young age along with her mother, Ann Brodeau, who moved to Philadelphia and set up a schoolhouse by 1780. In 1790, at the age of 16, Anna Maria married William Thornton, age 31 years. Unlike her husband, Anna Maria was not a Quaker, so William was expelled from the Society of Friends. William Thornton came from a slaveholding family based on the island of Tortola, and after he died in 1828, though his will seemed to grant freedom to his slaves, his wife and mother-in-law continued to reside with slaves in their Washington, D.C. home. Historic events Thornton's diaries are kept in the Library of Congress and have been used as a source concerning several historic events. After the death of George Washington, Mrs. Thornton lobbied Congress on behalf of her friend Martha Washington, concerning the planned re-burial of the former president in Washington, D.C. She met with Abigail Adams three days after the new president and first lady moved to Washington. She recorded the movements of Dolley Madison during the 1814 burning of Washington.