Born in Marietta township, October 29, 1841. He received his preliminary education, and afterward entered the Marietta High School, in 1861. He left school to enlist in Company B, 77th Reg., Ohio Vol. Infantry, November 5, 1861. He served in the Army of the West under General Grant, and was in numerous engagements, being wounded in the battle of Shiloh. He served until December 12, 1864, when he was mustered out as a corporal. Mr. Thorniley then returned to Marietta township, where he resided and farmed until 1882, and then moved to Van Buren County, Iowa, where he resided for a period of 10 years. In the spring of 1892, he returned to Marietta township. In Iowa he was engaged in stock raising, but is now occupied in general farming. He was one of the promoters of the Mutual Assurance Association of Washington County organized April 9, 1897, and was one of its directors. He was one of the first subscribers of the local telephone company, and was among those who agitated the building of the electric railway from Marietta City to the town of Newport. On September 12, 1869, Mr. Thorniley married Minerva Beswick, who was born December 22, 1846, and is a daughter of James Beswick of Marietta township. He represented Van Buren County, Iowa in the Twenty-second Iowa General Assembly, 1888.