The Thornton and Easley Families were joined together with the marriage of Mary Thornton and Jim Easley. Both families are from Canton, Texas. Before her marriage to Jim Easley, Mary Thornton was raised by her father Richard P. Thornton. Much of this collection deals with the Thornton family, both Mary Easley-Thornton and her brother Oscar P. Thornton. Mary's brother Oscar married a women whose name was also Mary. Before his marriage Oscar Thornton spent some time in the US Military in 1900. After the couple married, they moved to Somerton, Arizona were they worked on a farm planting and harvesting cotton. Although Mary and her brother Oscar were separated after the move, the two continued to keep in touch through various letters and postcards.