Ella May Thornton (April 28, 1885 – October 11, 1971) was an American librarian who served as the State Librarian of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

; president of the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Library Club; and in 1936, became the president of the

National Association of State Libraries The National Association of State Libraries was established in 1889 to develop and increase the usefulness and efficiency of the state libraries and other agencies performing library functions at the state level in the United States. History In ...

Early life and education

Ella May Thorton was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 28, 1885. She was the daughter of Eugene Hascal Thornton (born May 31, 1848, in Clay County, Georgia;corporal, Pruden's Battery,

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

; board member, superintendent and secretary, Confederate Soldiers' Home; died December 14, 1921) and Emma (Neal) Thornton (born April 25, 1844, in Zebulon, Georgia ; died March 29, 1918). Granddaughter of Richard and Elizabeth (Eley) Thornton of Clay County, Georgia, and of John Neal (born September 19, 1796, in Warren County, Georgia; member, Pike County, Internal Improvement Convention, 1831; member, Pike County, Convention, 1833; member, Pike County, House of Representatives, 1838, 1839; died January 4, 1886, in Atlanta, Georgia) and Mary Jane (Campbell) Neal (born April 15, 1817). Great-granddaughter of David Neal (captain in the Revolution; married Apr. 2, 1780) and Joyce (McCormick) Neal. She was educated in the private schools of Atlanta; Walnut Hill School,

Natick, Massachusetts Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part o ...

, (3 years); and the Carnegie Library School of Atlanta.

Career

Thornton served as Second Assistant Librarian, Georgia State Library, 1909–14; Legislative Reference Librarian, Georgia State Library, 1911–18; Assistant State Librarian, 1919–25; and became the State Librarian on January 6, 1926, retiring in 1954. During the period of 1926–28, she was the Secretary-Treasurer of the Southeastern Library Association. She was also a member of the Georgia Library Association and the American Library Association, as well as a member ex-officio of the Georgia Library Commission and Georgia State Historical Commission. She compiled and published ''Georgia State Constitution and Amendments, 1917'', 1925; and ''Georgia Election Laws'', 1926.

Personal life

She was

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

. Thornton never married. She died in Atlanta on October 11, 1971. The Ella May Thornton letters are held in a collection by the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

Awards and honors

* 1951, Woman of the Year in Professions

Selected works

* 1917, ''A Checklist of Georgia State Publications'' * 1925, ''A Checklist of Georgia State Publications'' * 1929, ''A Checklist of Georgia State Publications'' * 1932, ''A Checklist of Georgia State Publications'' * 1941, ''Georgia Women: 1840-1940, Record of Achievement''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Ella May 1885 births 1971 deaths Librarians from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Atlanta Walnut Hill School alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers American women non-fiction writers