William Thornton Re-examined by Bob Arnebeck

The Dr. T Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Table of Contents 15. Quaker Grave Yard at Fat Hog Bay, Tortola In May 1785 , Thornton left London, but before he did he seeded the laurels that might crown his return. The day before he boarded a ship to Tortola, he sent  two embalmed ptarmigans from Scotland and some geodes to Sir Joseph Banks . He asked him for seeds of Alexandrian senna which Banks had told him might grow in Tortola. He closed by asking Banks' “commands to a country which contains so very ample a field for observations and study.” With the Comtesse Beauharnais, he preferred to couch his return with touching sentiment. He was going to Tortola to see his mother who he had not seen in 21 years. To men of affairs like Sir Ludovick Grant, he added a touch of noblesse oblige: “my property will require my paying a visit there.” Of course, the Pleasant Valley sugar plantation had been doing quite well wit...