Thornton T. Mitchell
Thornton T. Mitchell, president of The City Bank of Lima, whose portrait accompanies this sketch, belongs to one of the old pioneer families of this section. Mr. Mitchell was born on his father's Ohio farm, on August 27, 1827, and is a son of John P. and Maria (Bentley) Mitchell.
The parents of Mr. Mitchell came to Lima when the present city was represented by nothing but a couple of log houses, in fact John P. Mitchell's family was the second one to really establish a home here, this being in 1831. The father died in 1834, leaving four children. Though the little home of logs was a building but 15 feet square, it was quite as pretentious as any of its neighbors for a long time following.
Our subject was four years old when his parents came to Lima and here he grew to manhood. He learned the harness-making trade as a means of livelihood and worked at this and the saddlery business until 1878. Since then he has been interested in banking, having bought out the business of Dr. S. A. Baxter. The capital stock of The City Bank of Lima is $50,000. Under Mr. Mitchell's careful and conservative direction, the bank has become one of the best known institutions of this city. The cashier is Elmer B. Mitchell and the assistant cashier is Ernest T. Mitchell, sons of our subject.
Mr. Mitchell was married to Nancy Stevens and the have seven children, as follows: Roena F., widow of A. C. Baxter, Sr.; Elmer B., mentioned above; Mrs. Emma H. Decker; Ernest T., also mentioned above; Dora F., wife of S. K. Blair, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, superintendent of the Western Division of the "Nickel Plate" Railroad; Mary E., widow of J.A. Hesse; and Thornton W., who is engaged in the oil business. All reside in Lima except Mrs. Blair. The family belong to the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Mitchell is a generous supporter. He is interested in many benevolent institutions and is one of the largest capitalists of Allen County. The beautiful family home at Lima is situated at No. 304 West Market Street. Politically Mr. Mitchell is a Republican. Fraternally he is a Mason.
From History of Allen County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 2, Edited & Compiled by Charles C. Miller, Ph. D.; Richmond & Arnold, Publishers, Chicago, 1906