Thornton Jenkins Hains (1866-1953) was an American sea novelist best known today for his role in the murder of William Annis. Hains was born into a family of distinguished military men. His father, General Peter Conover Hains, was a prominent engineer who participated in the construction of the Panama Canal. Hains' maternal grandfather, Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins, served in the War of 1812. Hains began his writing career in the late 1800s, and quickly established himself as a popular author of sea stories. His novels were praised for their realistic portrayal of life at sea, and his characters were often based on real-life sailors. In 1908, Hains' brother, Peter C. Hains, murdered William Annis, a friend of the family. Peter Hains was...More
Thornton Jenkins Hains (1866-1953) was an American sea novelist best known today for his role in the murder of William Annis. Hains was born into a family of distinguished military men. His father, General Peter Conover Hains, was a prominent engineer who participated in the construction of the Panama Canal. Hains' maternal grandfather, Admiral Thornton A. Jenkins, served in the War of 1812. Hains began his writing career in the late 1800s, and quickly established himself as a popular author of sea stories. His novels were praised for their realistic portrayal of life at sea, and his characters were often based on real-life sailors. In 1908, Hains' brother, Peter C. Hains, murdered William Annis, a friend of the family. Peter Hains was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to prison. Thornton Jenkins Hains was tried as an accomplice, but was acquitted on grounds of temporary insanity. The Hains-Annis Case, or the "Regatta Murder," was a sensation in the press, and tarnished the reputation of the Hains family. However, Thornton Jenkins Hains continued to write, and published several more novels in the years that followed. In 1912, Hains' short story "The White Ghost of Disaster" was published in the magazine The Popular Magazine. The story was about an ocean liner that strikes an iceberg and sinks. Just a few weeks later, the real-life RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean, killing over 1,500 people. Many people believed that Hains had predicted the Titanic disaster, and his story became a bestseller. Hains continued to write until the early 1930s. He died in 1953 at the age of 86. The life of Thornton Jenkins Hains was a complex one. He was a talented writer who produced some of the most popular sea stories of his time. However, he was also involved in a sensational murder case that tarnished his reputation.
