George Norton of Salem
Shawn Potter
Circumstances suggest a near relationship with the brothers Rev. John
Norton (teacher in Boston) and William Norton of Ipswich.
Shawn Potter
1. "Charles E. Banks in "The Planters of the Commonwealth," states
that George Norton and John Norton sailed from Gravesend, England, in
1629 in the company of the Reverend Francis Higginson." [Seversmith,
Herbert F., "George Norton of Salem, Massachusetts, and His Supposed
Connection with the Norton Family of Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire," TAG,
vol. xv, no. 4, April 1939, p. 193] [Seversmith speculates that this
John Norton was not Rev. John Norton, who arrived in New England
several years later. But, perhaps Rev. John Norton returned to
England after arriving in 1629. He made other trips to England later
in life.]
2. William Norton's son-in-law, John Wainwright--who married
Elizabeth Norton, see TAG 30:18; NEHGR 13:230, administered the estate
of George Norton's oldest son, Freegrace Norton, on September 26,
1676. Freegrace had living brothers who could have administered his
estate.
3. William Norton married Lucy Downing, daughter of Emanuel Downing
and Lucy Winthrop (sister of Governor John Winthrop). William
Norton's mother-in-law, Lucy (Winthrop) Downing, leased a farm called
"Groton" to George Norton on March 1, 1656. [Seversmith, Herbert F.,
"George Norton of Salem, Massachusetts, and His Supposed Connection
with the Norton Family of Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire," TAG, vol. xv, no.
4, April 1939, p. 194]
4. William Norton witnessed Phillip Fowler's pre-nuptual agreement
with George Norton's widow, Mary, on February 27, 1659. [Perhaps
William Norton witnessed this agreement as guardian of the interests
of George Norton's children (at this time ages 24 years to 5
years)--George Norton died intestate.]
5. "On November 22, 1660 the Court at Salem issued a writ against
Phillip Fowler and Mary his wife, executor of the estate of her late
husband, George Norton, for thirty pounds. The complainant was Mr.
William Norton of Salem, acting as attorney for Mr. Emanuel Downing;
the action undoubtedly involved the farm called Groton mentioned
previously." [Seversmith, Herbert F., "George Norton of Salem,
Massachusetts, and His Supposed Connection with the Norton Family of
Sharpenhoe, Bedfordshire," TAG, vol. xv, no. 4, April 1939, p. 194]
6. On January 2, 1673, William Norton witnessed Phillip Fowler's sale
of land and a house in Ipswich to Roger Darby. Mary Fowler--widow of
George Norton--surrendered her rights to the land and house. [Once
again, perhaps William Norton witnessed this deed as guardian of the
interests of George Norton's children (at this time ages 38 years to
19 years).]
Here are a few additional details about John and William Norton:
"1663, Aprill 5, Mr. John Norton techer to the first Church in Boston
dyed buried 9th day." ["The Hobart Journal," NEHGR, vol. 121, 1967,
p. 114]
"Norton, Rev. John, of Plymouth, 1635, Ipswich and Boston,
Massachusetts. Arms: Gules a fret silver and a bend vairy gold and
gules. Crest: A sitting griffin proper, wings gules, beak and
forelegs gold." ["A Roll of Arms," NEHGR, vol. 106, 1952, p. 259]
"John Norton's Letter to John Durie.--The Dictionary of National
Biography (vol. xiv, p. 661) states of John Norton: "In 1645 Norton
wrote a Latin letter to John Durie (1596-1680), which was translated
and printed, with the last three sermons preached by Norton in 1664.
... A copy, with autography signatures of Norton and forty-three
other ministers, belongs to the American Antiquarian Society in
Worcester, Massachusetts (McClure)." In response to a letter of
inquiry sent to the American Antiquarian Society by the contributor of
this note, Clarence E. Brigham, Director, wrote on 22 Jan. 1940: "The
reference to our copy of John Norton's Letter to John Dury undoubtedly
referst to the following book. The main title is 'Three Choice and
Profitable Sermons upon Severall Texts of Scripture,' by John Norton,
Cambridge (Mass.) 1664, pp. 38+12."" ["Notes," NEHGR, vol. 95, 1941,
p. 205]
"1663, Aprill 5. Mr John Norton, teacher to the church of Boston,
rested from his labours. His death was suddaine. The night before
about midnight he awakened with a pain under his left pap. yet he went
to meeting in ye forenoon (it being ye Lords day) and made account to
preach in ye afternoon. but his wife & friends perswaded him to stay
at home. after meeting friends came in to visite him & he walked up &
downe ye room & discoursed pleasantly after his wonted manner. About
shutting in, as he was walking up & down in his parlour, he went to ye
fire side & leaned his head forward, as if he meant to vomitt. his
wife & Mr Duncun stept to him to help to hold him & he sunk downe
under them & never spake more." ["Rev. S. Danforth's Records,
Roxbury," NEHGR, vol. 34, 1880, p. 89]
"1662, Sept. 3, Mr. Bradstreet & Mr. Norton returned from England,
bringing with ym a Gracious letter from his Majesty confirming our
Charter & liberties." ["Rev. S. Danforth's Records, Roxbury," NEHGR,
vol. 34, 1880, p. 88]
"Anno 1656, 23d, 5m, Mr. John Norton was ordained Teacher to the
church of Boston."["Rev. S. Danforth's Records, Roxbury," NEHGR, vol.
34, 1880, p. 86]
"Thus too, in 1662, Rev. John Norton with Simon Bradstreet, a leading
man in the colony, were sent to England on the important mission to
settle the difficulties which had arisen between the colony and the
mother country." ["Local Law in Massachusetts," NEHGR, vol. 26, 1872,
p. 56]
"John Norton, author of the "Orthodox Evangelist," Lond. 1654, 4to,
was a native of England, but settled in New England, where he was a
minister of Ipswich and Boston, Mass. Copies of this work are common
in the older libraries." ["John Mousall of Woburn," NEHGR, vol. 47,
1893, p. 462]
"I, John Norton, of Boston, at p'sent in good health, yet not
unmindful of martalitie, especially being put in remembrance thereof
by the Considerations of what changes are Incident, by reason of my
Call unto England. In Case God shall take me out of this life, I doe
dispose of that outward estate wherewith I am now possessed, as
followeth:--Unto my Brother, Mr. William Norton, of Ipswich, in New
England, I Give the sixe acre lot, so called, Lying within the Common
fence, be it more or lesse, and the three aker lot, so called, lying
in the Town be it more or lesse, both which at present, are in his
occupation. I give also unto him all that house lot containing two
acres, more or lesse, which I bought of Matthew Whipple, deceased, and
is now in the occupation of Goodman Annable. Also, unto my said
Brother, William Norton, that one hundred pounds due unto me for my
house in Ipswich, which Mr. Cobbett now dwelleth in; or if that one
hundred pounds be not payd unto him within three monthes space after
legall demand made by him, upon the knowledge of my decease, I then
give unto him the house itself, with the yard, yards, orchard or
orchards, and rest of the land lying unto the house as an house lot or
bought since of Mr. Baker. I meane all that, and only that, which was
sold unto Mr. Cobbet, conceiving my title thereunto to be good, upon
default of non-payment. Also, unto said Brother, L10, in currant
money of New England, to be payd him within three months after my
decease. I give unto my ever endeared & Honoured mother L30, of
current money of England, to be payd unto her use in London, at my
Brother, Mr. Thomas Nortons house, within three years following my
decease, after the proportion of L10, per annum. To my two sisters,
Mrs. Martha Wood, and Mrs. Meary Young, to each L10, in current money
of England, to be payd within one yeare after my decease, at my
Brother Thomas his house, in London. I desire my Brother, Mr. Tho.
Norton, and my sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Norton, either of them to Accept
of a Gold Ring of 40s price, for which end I give L4, in Current
English money to be paid unto my Brother Tho: and sister Elizab: by
the first opportunity after my decease. I give unto the poore of
Boston, L10, to be payd within three months after my decease, I intend
this ten pounds to the poore of the church in Boston whereto I am an
Unworthy officer. The rest of my estate, except two pounds reserved
for two overseers, I give unto my wife, Mrs. Mary Norton, namely, my
farm at Ipswich with the dwelling house, barne or barnes, outhouses or
whatsoever belongeth thereunto, also the sixe acre lott which I bought
of Goodman Dane, also my dwelling house in Boston, with all the land
be it one acre more or lesse, with whatsoever else belongeth
thereunto. I Give unto her, also, all my household stuffe and
furniture whether plate, bedding, linnen, pewter, Brasse, Iron, or
what kind soever. Also I give unto her, besides the L340 which I have
in England, three hundred whereof is due unto hir, during hir life, in
the hands of Captaine John Leveret, and my Brother, Mr. Thomas Norton,
or in the hands of whomsoever they, or either of them, according to my
order, have disposed it unto. I Give also unto hir, L117.10s of
current New England money, now in the hands of Mr. John Paine,
merchant of Boston, also, what the said Paine oweth me upon the
account of 500 acres of land sold unto him by me, for L30; or,
whatsoever more is owing to me by Mr. Epps, of Ipswich; also, I Give
hir all the money which I left with hir in the house, provided, that
after the decease of my wife, I give my farme at Ipswich, with the
dwelling house, with the sixe acres I bought of Goodman Dane, unto the
children of my Brother, Mr. William Norton, to be divided equally
amongst them, his eldest son having a double portion out of the same,
and himself, if he survive my wife, I meane my brother William, if he
survive my wife, to Enjoy the same unto his owne use during his
naturall life, then to be divided amongst his children as is before
sayd. My library I leave unto my wife, also, so as if she shall neede
and see cause, she may make the best of it for hir owne use, otherwise
my desire by these to hir is, that if any of my brother William sonnes
be trained up unto the ministry then to bestow it on him or them so
Educated: but this having thus farr signified my desire I leave wholly
unto hirselfe, securing myselfe that she will not be wanting to Answer
my true Intent heerein. I make my wife, mistress Mary Norton, sole
executrix. I desire my good friends, Mr. Rawson secretary and Elder
Pen to be my overseers, and to accept as a testimony of my
thankfulness to them of five pounds apiece, which ten pounds my will
is shall be payd unto them, within three months after my decease.
John Norton, 14th January 1661. In the presence of John Wilson,
Junior, James Johnson. John Wilson, Jun., deposed 12th June 1662.
James Johnson, on the 16th April 1663. Will recorded on the 17th.
Edward Rawson Recorder. Inventory of the Estate of the late Reverend
Mr. John Norton, Teacher of the church of Christ in Boston, taken 24th
April 1663, by John Leverett, Wm. Davis, Hezekiah Usher. Amt.
L2095.3s. "In his study, his library consisting of one hundred fifty
nine bookes, in folio, at L187.19s," "five hundred seventy Bookes unto
4o 8o 12o at 4s one with another, L112.1s," "fowr pictures, Luthr
Beza, fox, & mapp of the world," &c. &c." ["Suffolk Wills," NEHGR,
vol. 11, 1857, pp. 342-344]
August 29, 1635. William Norton xxv yeres old is to transport himself
to New England & to imbarque himself in the Hopewell p. cert: from the
minister of his conformitie to the church disipline of England: he
hath taken the oath of Allegeance & Supremacie. Die et Ae pred [NEHGR
vol. ii, p. 399]. [So, William Norton apparently was 37 years of age
in 1647 (b. c. 1610)--even though NEHGR vol. xiii, p. 229 says that he
was 68 years of age when he died in Ipswich on April 30, 1694 (b. c.
1626).]
According to NEHGR vol. xiii, pp. 225-228, William and John Norton
were sons of Alice Bownest and William Norton; son of Margerie Hawes
and William Norton of Sharpenhoe; son of Margery Wingar[Wingate] and
Richard Norton of Sharpenhoe; son of Jane Cowper and John Norton of
Sharpenhoe.
According to NEHGR vol. xiii, pp. 110-110, William and John Norton's
mother (Alice Bownest [or Bonus]) had a brother named George. If
William and John Norton were brothers of George Norton of Salem, then
George Norton of Salem probably was named after this brother.
Cristopher Nash
extremely helpful - thanks again, enormously. I'm confirmed in
feeling, by the way, that there are almost certainly at least two
George Nortons associated with New England and contemporaneous with
Rev John Norton. I.e.(1) George of Salem (and evidently previously
of London), bro. of Rev. John and William; and (2) George, more than
likely to be brother of Robert and Richard, (and nephew of Walter) of
Sharpenho, Beds, and of Maine as of 1631 -- who _may_ be the George
Norton bapt. Luton, Beds, 8 Jul 1610 (BT, per Blaydes/Page-Turner)..
I'm sure you'll be feeling it purely coincidental that the latter's
bapt-year is exactly the date you'd entertained as ideally fitting
your chronology for the former. What if anything this does re your
tussle with Seversmith I'm not sure -- but I'd read it that way!
As I hope always to add in discussing these lines, this is without
prejudice to my suggestion that missing evidence for the origins of
Nortons otherwise possibly associated with one or other of the
Sharpenhoe lines (such as Thomas Norton of Guilford, CT) - and thus
too the origins of George (2) - be equally sought not only in Beds
but in Cambs/Hunts and Northants and (relevant here) in _London_,
i.e. alongside those of George (1)
The NEHGR vol. xiii passages you've cited would tend to support a
clear connection between London and Sharpenhoe Nortons (of which we
think we know by other means, particularly those offered in Bill
Norton's data), but give no reason to identify these two Georges as
one.
Best,
Cris
shp...@comcast.net (Shawn Potter) wrote --
--
Shawn Potter
Thank you for your thoughts and encouragement. I agree with your
conclusions. But, I wish I had access to a wider range of original
records in New and Old England (esp. deeds, wills, court proceedings,
etc.). I imagine confirmation waits to be discovered there.
Reference the age of George Norton of Salem. It certainly is
interesting that George Norton of Luton was born in 1610--the same
year that various people have proposed for the birth of George Norton
of Salem. On the other hand, if George Norton of Salem was a brother
of Rev. John Norton of Boston (b. May 6, 1606 per NEHGR vol. xvi, p.
111) and William Norton of Ipswich (b. c. 1610 per NEHGR vol. ii, p.
399), then I suspect George Norton of Salem was born about 1608. That
would agree nicely with the approximate year of his marriage (1633/4)
and would make him old enough (about 21 years of age) to have been the
carpenter mentioned by John Endicott in 1629.
I wonder about the absence of any reference to George Norton's
children in Rev. John Norton's 1661/2 will. It seems likely that John
would have povided for George's children when George died in 1659.
But, evidence to that effect would be welcome and might prove the
connection.
Shawn
c...@windsong.u-net.com (Cristopher Nash) wrote in message news:<a05100300babf02413edc@[10.0.1.2]>...
Cristopher Nash
>Thank you for your thoughts and encouragement. I agree with your
>conclusions. But, I wish I had access to a wider range of original
>records in New and Old England (esp. deeds, wills, court proceedings,
>etc.). I imagine confirmation waits to be discovered there.
>
>Reference the age of George Norton of Salem. It certainly is
>interesting that George Norton of Luton was born in 1610--the same
>year that various people have proposed for the birth of George Norton
>of Salem. On the other hand, if George Norton of Salem was a brother
>of Rev. John Norton of Boston (b. May 6, 1606 per NEHGR vol. xvi, p.
>111) and William Norton of Ipswich (b. c. 1610 per NEHGR vol. ii, p.
>399), then I suspect George Norton of Salem was born about 1608. That
>would agree nicely with the approximate year of his marriage (1633/4)
>and would make him old enough (about 21 years of age) to have been the
>carpenter mentioned by John Endicott in 1629.
Yes -- on the basis of chronology, rather than as George Norton of
Salem I think the George bapt. Luton 1610 seems to me a more likely
candidate as George the son of Robert Norton of Streatley
(Sharpenhoe)/Dunstable/Markyate -- i.e. as reported before --
>Robert filed the sequence:
>
> +---------+--+-------------+--+--------+--+
>Thomas, eldest 2.Robert, s.p. 4.Richard. Anne, wyfe of James
> son, s.p. 3.Thomas 5.George. Castle of London
> Elizabeth
>
>the Beds par. regs. show only the following ch. of Robert:
>
> +----------------+-------------+-------------+
> Thomas Robert Anne Thomas
> bpt&d 1605 bpt 1606 bpt 1608 bpt 1609
(Luton - old center - is just 7 km S. of Streatley-Sharpenhoe and 7
km E. of Dunstable.) I think it'd be premature at this point to fret
about any apparent tight fit needed to squeeze in Robert's s. Richard
-- so far we've seen no Richards bapt./born in Beds and I'm pretty
certain Herts and London par. recs have to be searched before
anything really useful can be claimed about when he -- or George, for
that matter -- was born.
As to the yearning for Olde Englande records, you'll've seen my rough
suggestions as to where folks ought to look for more on Thomas Norton
of Guilford, but to be honest I've not thought-through the known
material to make a call re the origins of Rev John/William/George.
Had you some ideas? E.g. I didn't notice, did Seversmith cite no
further wills bearing Norton references? Sorry to be this useless
here - I've so much else on my plate at the moment!
>I wonder about the absence of any reference to George Norton's
>children in Rev. John Norton's 1661/2 will. It seems likely that John
>would have povided for George's children when George died in 1659.
>But, evidence to that effect would be welcome and might prove the
>connection.
Have you checked the PCC indices?
As to deeds, have you been in touch with Bill Norton
<wl...@worldnet.att.net>? I note that his precis of Sharpenhoe Deeds
frequently shows William Norton and William Norton, son, betw say
1594 & 1621 (and subsequent appearances of a William Norton in the
1620s in Herts). One of these conceivably being the William
appearing occasionally in close relation to Robert Norton of
Streatley & Walter Norton, gent., (no doubt the sons of Thomas of
Sharpenhoe),1600. However, no George Norton shows and,
significantly, no John Norton.
Bill may have something I don't see and that might help, though as
you can guess from this I do believe you're tracking a different -
non-Sharpenhoe - line altogether! Meaning, I think, that you may
need to design an archive-search-plan different from those discussed
here so far. This'll reach a boil suddenly one day, just keep piling
yer hotrocks in the pot!
Cris
--