Gerrit T. Thorn

Gerrit Tunis Thorn (July 20, 1832 – February 3, 1900) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician. He represented Jefferson County in the Wisconsin State Senate in 1867 & 1868, and later represented the city of in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1871.

Early life Gerrit T. Thorn was born in La Fayette, Onondaga County, New York, in July 1832. He received a thorough education, and studied mathematics and civil engineering through the La Fayette Public School and the Yates Polytechnic Institute.

At age 16, he began the study of law in the office of Isaac W. Brewster in Jamesville, New York. Brewster was also postmaster at Jamesville, and Thorn served as his clerk and deputy.

Personal life and family Gerrit Thorn was the youngest son of Jehiel Thorn and his wife Sarah ( Houghtaling). Jehiel Thorn served as a volunteer in the New York militia during the War of 1812. The Thorns trace their ancestry to Quaker immigrants who came to the New Netherland colony in the 1630s.

Gerrit Thorn married Maria Bicknell of Vermont in May 1859. Bicknell was a teacher of the high school in Fox Lake, Wisconsin. Thorn had one child with Maria Bicknell, but both Bicknell and the child died of disease in 1863. In 1864, Thorn married for a second time, this time with Elizabeth Clark of Prince George's County, Maryland. With his second wife, Thorn had three sons and two daughters, who all survived him.