Gayle Thornbrough

Born in Hendricks County, Indiana, on October 29, 1914, Gayle was the second child of Harry C. Thornbrough, an engineer, and Bess Tyler, his wife. Gayle grew up in Indianapolis, where she graduated from Shortridge High School in 1932. She received an undergraduate degree from Butler University in 1937 and a master's degree from the University of Michigan in 1942.[1][2]

Thornbrough enjoyed the theater, music, and classical and modern literature. She also traveled extensively with her older sister, Emma Lou, who was an Indiana historian, author and professor of history at Butler University.[2] The sisters shared their childhood home throughout their lives.[3]

Thornbrough began her career as an editor in 1937, when she joined the Indiana Historical Society as its first full-time employee. Thornbrough became nationally recognized for her work in editing historical documents.[1][2] She is listed as editor for nearly twenty publications, but also prepared more than fifty more for publication. Thornbrough was involved in historical editing projects for the Indiana Historical Bureau from 1947 to 1966 in addition to her work at the IHS.[4]

Early editing assignments for the IHS included Prehistory Research Series, "the earliest scholarly publication on Indiana archaeology," and as copyeditor for R. Carlyle Buley's book, The Old Northwest: Pioneer Period, 1815–1840 (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1950), a two-volume work that won a Pulitzer Prize. Thornbrough's editing projects, either alone or with fellow historian Dorothy Riker, resulted in the publication of several scholarly research tools that included Journals of the General Assembly of Indiana Territory, 1805–1815 (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1950), Indiana Election Returns, 1816–1851 (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau, 1960), and three volumes in the governors of Indiana series (James B. Ray, Noah Noble, and Samuel Bigger). After Indiana archaeologist Glenn Albert Black died in 1964, leaving behind an uncompleted manuscript of his work at Angel Mounds, Thornbrough commissioned others to finish Angel Site: An Archaeological, Historical, and Ethnological Study (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1967) and edited the final manuscript to assure continuity of style. When the set of illustrations was stolen while they were in the printer's possession, Thornbrough secured replacements for 420 photographs and determined their placement in the book.[4]

Thornbrough left the IHS staff in 1967, when she went to work for the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. She spent twenty months as a specialist in early U.S. history in its Manuscript Division.[2] During Thornbrough's absence from Indianapolis, the IHS reorganized to establish a leadership role for her. She returned to Indiana in 1968 and began an eight-year tenure as the IHS's director of publications and library.[5] One of Thornbrough's major editing projects was leading a project team to publish The Diary of Calvin Fletcher (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1972–1983). Fletcher, a prominent Indianapolis resident, began his diary in 1820 and continued the effort with some periodic gaps for nearly twenty years.[6] Reviewers commended the nine-volume work for its editing.[7]

Thornbrough was appointed the IHS's first executive secretary in 1976, following its reorganization as a separate entity from the Bureau, a state-supported historical agency. As an administrator and editor for the IHS, Thornbrough encouraged major historical research projects, funded a history of medicine position at Indiana University, released the album Indiana Ragtime (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1981), and supported the publication of the IHS's black history newsletter and its collection program in African American history. Thornbrough also encouraged efforts to microfilm Indiana newspapers.[5] She retired from the IHS in September 1984.[2]

Thornbrough died on November 8, 1999. A memorial tribute appearing in the Indiana Magazine of History in 2000 described her as "one of the most productive and influential historians in the history of the state."[1][2]

Thornbrough was awarded an honorary doctorate from Indiana University in 1982.[8]

The Indiana Magazine of History's annual Thornbrough award, a tribute to Gayle, her sister, Emma Lou, and their contributions to the historical profession, recognizes the best article to appear in its pages. The Indiana Association of Historians' annual fall lecture was renamed to honor the Thornbrough sisters.[9]

• The Buffalo Trace by George R. Wilson and Gayle Thornbrough (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1963), Indiana Historical Society Publications, Volume XV, Number 2