Norris - Norreys Research in Yorkshire and Normandy
Jon Norris
(I'm sending this again since the mime conversion made a mess out of
my first attempt.)
I’m hoping to find some help in researching the Norris/Norreys line back
to the Norman Conquest and beyond. . I think I have most of it pieced
together, but there are some gaps I need help with.
SECTION 1: 1345-1630 IN NORFOLK COUNTY, ENGLAND
My line descends from Thomas Norris b. c1608 in Congham,(in the King’s
Lynn area of Norfolk Co), England who was the first of our line to
emmigrate to the Colonies. He is #9 below. There is general agreement on
his immediate ancestry as follows:
1. Geoffrey Norreys, born c1345, was party to a fine levied in Lynn,
Norfolk in 1361, and bought land in Tilney in the 1380s.
2. Geoffrey Norreys, born c1370, had sons Geoffrey and John.
3. Geoffrey Norreys, became Lord of Monpinzoun Manor, West Bilney
Norfolk. He wed Margery. His will, dated 12 Aug 1464, named his brother
John as executor. Margery survived him. They had a son, John Norreys.
4. John Norreys, listed in West Bilney, had a son Robert.
5. Robert Norreys, born c1460, had a son, Geoffrey.
6. Geoffrey Norreys was still under age in 1504. He had a son, John, and
may have had a son, Thomas, referred to as a "cousin of Congham" when
named supervisor of Geoffrey Might's will in 1591. This suggests an
earlier alliance between Norris and Might families.
7. John Norris (note different spelling), born in the early 1500s, was
recorded as of Congham in 1566 and died 1572/5 in Co Norfolk, England.
He wed by 1549 Alice Might, of Gunthorpe, Norfolk. The six children of
John and Alice were Thomas, Cuthbert, Elizabeth, Alice, Edmund, and
Geoffrey.
8. Geoffrey Norris, born 15.., son of John Norris and Alice Might, is
probably the Jeffrey Norris named in 1600/1 in the will of Thomas Might
who was probably his uncle. Geoffrey was named executor of the will
of his brother Edmund in 1609 (1- 5). His four children were Alice,
Elizabeth, Edmund, Thomas.
9. Thomas Norris was born c1608 in Congham, Norfolk Co, England, the son
of Geoffrey Norris. He ran away from home when about 11 years old and
went to sea. He came to Nansemond Co VA c1630, then to St Mary's Co MD
c1634 with a trading adventurer, William Claiborne. In 1637 he wed Ann
Hynson, daughter of Thomas Hynson of Nansemond Co VA and Kent Island MD.
(Records Annapolis 1637) Ann died c1660. Thomas became a planter
asociated with his brother-in- law, Daniel Glover, who wed Ann's sister.
In 1663 Thomas and Daniel were both transported" to Talbot Co MD by John
Morgan where, in 1665, they jointly purchased 400 acres of land. In 1673
Thomas had a a grant of 200 acres called "Norrisderry" on Chester River,
as well as other lands. He died before Nov. 1675. His son, Thomas,
finished negotiating for still another land that Thomas Sr had begun.
SECTION 2: 1110-1255 IN NORTH RIDING, YORKSHIRE ENGLAND
I believe the Norris/Norreys in Section 1 above are
descended from one of the le Norreys in this section, but I have not
been able to determine the connection. The earliest of this group,
Geoffrey le Norreys, was clearly well connected to the Earl of Richmond
and the Royal Family. All of his sons were successful in their own
right, with the family soon holding lands all across northern England.
The family eventually split into an eastern branch centered in Yorkshire
and a western branch centered in Lancashire. The western branch was
quite prolific and at various periods held Speke, Blackrod, Haigh,
Burtonhead, Halsnead, and others. They produced several sheriffs and
barons and also Sir Henry Norris, executed by Henry VIII in his
desperation to discredit Anne Boleyn. The eastern branch was equally
prolific if not quite so titled. They held Bereford Manor for several
generations until about 1293 when it reverted to the Earl. I suspect the
geographic location of the eastern branch caused them to be frequently
caught up in the struggles between the Crown, Scots, Northumbrians,
Lancastrians and Catholics. These struggles are probably what led to the
family’s eventual loss of their fiefdom and their movements from
Yorkshire to Lincolnshire and eventually to Norfolk. I am fairly
convinced that the Norreys in Section 1 above are descended from this
eastern line. Certainly their given names and geography seem to support
that conclusion.
Of Geoffrey’s four sons, Hugh and Phillip moved to Lancashire, while
William and Robert stayed in Yorkshire. Many of William and Robert’s
descendents also left Yorkshire to join their uncles in Lancashire. I am
concentrating my search for a connection on those who remained in the
east. I have listed the known descendants of William and Robert below
and I show the most likely candidates for a connection in [brackets].
1 Geoffrey Le Norreys b: 1110 in Bereford, Yorkshire d: 1170
In 1130, he held 1 Knight's Fee in Bereford Manor under the Earl of
Richmond. Bereford was on the south
bank of the River Tees halfway between Darlington and Barnard Castle. It
was later called Barforth and is now uninhabited. Geoffrey had at least
four sons, Robert, William, Hugh, and Phillip.
…2 Robert Le Norreys b: 1134 in South Cave, Yorkshire d: 1184
Held Riev Manor, Yorkshire under the Earl of Richmond.
Held two knight's fees in Gloucestershire.
Held two knight's fees in Southamptonshire.
……3 Sir Robert Le Norreys b: in Bath d: 1253
+Mary d: 1284
Held 1 Knight's Fee in Fordham, Cambridgeshire under the King.
………4 Walter Le Norreys
………4 Hugh Le Norreys
………4 John Le Norreys
………4 Robert Le Norreys b: in Fordham, Cambridgeshire d: Aft. 1302
Held 2 parts of 1 knight's fee in Fordham.
…………5 [Robert Le Norreys] b: in Fordham, Cambridgeshire d: 1346
In 1316 Robert le Norreys held the manor of Fordham.
……3 [Geoffrey Le Norreys] b: Bef. 1184 in Searby, Lincolnshire d: Aft.
1250
……3 William Le Norreys b: in Searby, Lincolnshire d: Aft. 1260
…2 William Le Norreys b: 1130 in Bereford, Yorkshire d: 1196
Osgoodby Manor near South Cave.
……3 Hugh Le Norreys b: Abt. 1150 in Bereford, Yorkshire d: 1221
in Blackrod, Lancashire.
Died seized of lands in Formby which he had inherited from his father.
Held Blackrod and Haigh, Lancaster from King John.
………4 Geoffrey Le Norreys b: Abt. 1175 in Bereford, Yorkshire
d: Bef. 1256 in Bereford, Yorkshire.
…………5 Geoffrey Le Norreys b: Abt. 1200 in Bereford, Yorkshire d: Aft.1268
Bereford Manor left the Norreys family possession after the death of
Geoffrey.
……………6 [Geoffrey Le Norreys] d: Aft. 1293
+Amabilla de Cleseby
…………5 Benedict Le Norreys b: Abt. 1205 d: Bef. 1256
+Isabella de Depyng
……………6 Geoffrey Le Norreys b: Abt. 1230 in Bereford, Yorkshire d: 1302 in
Bereford, Yorkshire
+ Emma De Bereford
………………7 [Geoffrey Le Norreys] b: Abt. 1255 in Aldeburgh, Yorkshire
(Now Aldbrough St John Northeast of Richmond)
Geoffrey paid the subsidy for lands held in Aldeburgh, Yorkshire
His father’s lands in Bereford Manor had reverted to the Earl of
Richmond at his death.
…………5 Ralph Le Norreys
…………5 William Le Norreys
…………5 Gilbert Le Norreys b: in Bereford-super-Tees, Durham (North side of
the Tees River) d: Abt. 1274 Gilberts lands were given by the Bishop
of Durham to others under the protection of the Earl of Richmond,
indicating that Gilbert had died.
………4 Hugh Le Norreys b: Abt. 1200 at Blackrod, Lancashire d: Abt. 1276
………4 Alan Le Norreys b: 1205 in Formby and Haigh in Lancashire d: 1276
Held lands in Radcliffe Head, West Derby Hundred, Lancashire.
Held Halsnead, Haigh, Burtonhead, Formby, Hale, and Warrington,
Lancashire.
Inherited Haigh from his brother Hugh, but then died himself(Possibly
of the Plague).
………4 Adam Le Norreys b: in Otteringham, Yorkshire
………4 Alicia Le Norreys
………4 Robert Le Norreys
………4 William Le Norreys b: in Eltonhead, Lancashire
……3 John Le Norreys b: Abt. 1155 in Dalton, Yorkshire d: Aft. 1238
……3 Sir Jordan Le Norreys b: Abt. 1160 in Heaton Norreys,
Standish Hundred, Lancashire d: Aft. 1210
……3 Richard Le Norreys b: Abt. 1160 in Bereford, Yorkshire.
…2 Hugh Le Norreys b: 1132 Held Scotforth, Lancashire.
…2 Phillip Le Norreys b: 1150 d: 1222 Held Merton, Lancashire
across Morecambe Bay from Scotforth.
SECTION 3: 910-1066 IN CALVADOS, NORMANDY, FRANCE
The next connection I need help with is to learn how the le Norreys got
to Yorkshire in the first place? I believe they are of Norman descent
and came to England with William the Conqueror. The Roll of Battle Abbey
according to Hollinshed lists the ancestor in question as Norice. The
Roll according to Brompton spells the name Norece. (Note: Other Norris
researchers have speculated that the original ancestor was William de
Noyers, the Steward of William the Conqueror, but I doubt this.) Some
circumstantial evidence follows:
1. There are towns all over France named “Noyers”; which simply
means Walnut. It is not the sort of family name that is easily
transmuted over time. While William de Noyers was a large landholder in
England after the Conquest, his lands and name seem to remain distinct
from the le Norreys family throughout.
2. The name “Norrey” meant the one from the North or from Norway.
It became “le Norrey” by the time of the Domesday Book, and eventually
Norris in the 1500s. Despite all the medieval spelling variations, it
is not likely that the name Noyers ever became Norreys or vice versa.
3. There are only 3 towns in France named Norrey: Norrey en Auge,
Norrey en Bessin, and Saint Manvieu Norrey, and they are all within a
few kilometers or each other between Caen and Falaise in the Calvados
region of Normandy.
4. William the Conqueror was born in Falaise in October 14, 1024.
5. Norrey-en-Auge is about 12 km east of Falaise.
6. The le Norreys and William I also retained a geographic
connection after they moved to England. William's son, Henry I
"Beauclerc", was born in Selby, Yorkshire, England in 1070. This is a
few miles south of York and about 50 miles from Bereford.
I suspect that at least one of the Norreys was a Viking Chieftain who
came to Normandy with Rollo from Skania. I have no documentation, but I
think the Norrey family probably remained close to the Dukes of Normandy
until the Conquest brought them to England in 1066. Logic would indicate
that the le Norreys lived in the vicinity of the Norrey towns in
Calvados and perhaps gave them their name or vice versa. I have no first
name for the le Norreys listed in the Roll of Battle Abbey, but I would
bet it is Geoffrey. He would be the father or grandfather of the
Geoffrey Le Norreys b: 1110 in Bereford, Yorkshire (#1 in Section 2
above).
I would welcome any help making these connections, whether in Yorkshire,
or Normandy, or even back to Norway. I don’t know how to proceed with
research in France, so if there is someone out there who is a bi-lengual
medieval geneologist (and I know there are lots of you!), I would be
most grateful for some assistance. There ought to be some records of
Norreys in the Norrey towns in Calvados, but I don’t know how to
inquire.
Thanks,
Jon Norris Maine, USA
j...@clinic.net
Cristopher Nash
Parran, _Register_of_Maryland's_Heraldic_Families_ (1935) -- that the
line of Richard Eltonhead (d. 23 Sep 1664 ae 82), several of whose
daughters settled and married in Virginia, are 'Eltonheads of
Eltonhead' (Lancs., Eng.) and the same as that of the Norreys/Norris
line described here by "Jon Norris" <j...@clinic.net> on 14 May 2000?
(The conventional reference is to the Harleian MSS, though the
12-generation seventeenth-century Eltonhead pedigree [purportedly in
the Harleain collection] cited by Hayden (_Virginia_Genealogies_, pp.
227-8) doesn't show this connection.)
The Parran is crude and full of blatant errors, but there's a
stubborn persistence of this lore, and Jon Norris offers a detail or
two, presumably from independent sources, intimating that 'the lords
of Eltonhead' may link with Norrises holding manors in this region
(and cf. "………4 William Le Norreys b: in Eltonhead, Lancashire") and
suggesting the thing's worth pursuing.
Has anyone evidence of this connection or information that might
explain how the mistake arose so that it can be put to rest?
Many thanks!
Cris
> SECTION 2: 1110-1255 IN NORTH RIDING, YORKSHIRE ENGLAND
>
>
> I believe the Norris/Norreys in Section 1 above are
> descended from one of the le Norreys in this section, but I have not
> been able to determine the connection. The earliest of this group,
> Geoffrey le Norreys, was clearly well connected to the Earl of Richmond
> and the Royal Family. All of his sons were successful in their own
> right, with the family soon holding lands all across northern England.
> The family eventually split into an eastern branch centered in Yorkshire
> and a western branch centered in Lancashire. The western branch was
> quite prolific and at various periods held Speke, Blackrod, Haigh,
> Burtonhead, Halsnead, and others. They produced several sheriffs and
> barons and also Sir Henry Norris, executed by Henry VIII in his
> desperation to discredit Anne Boleyn.
>[SNIP]
Jon Norris
Steve Norris that has extensive research on the Eltonhead -
Norreys connection. Below are some tidbits.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~enorrste/index.html
In 1122 Ivo le Norreys was a messenger of the King of Norway.
This Ivo le Norreys was probably the Ivo de Daresbury
whose son William gave lands at Eltonhead in Lancashire to
Hugh le Norreys at the end of the twelfth century. The fact that
the Daresbury lands ended in the le Norreys family leads me to suspect
that Ivo le Norreys and Ivo de Daresbury were the same person.
At the end of the twelfth century William son of Ivo de Daresbury gave
with the consent of his wife Siegrith and his heirs to Hugh le Norreys
a plough-land in Eltonhead Manor, Lancashire. Through this
grant the Eltonhead Manor came to the "le Norreys" name.
In 1221 Hugh le Norreys granted four oxgangs of land, or half the vill
of Eltonhead, Lancashire, to William le Norreys, his son, who appears
to have settled there becoming the ancestor of the family who took
their name from the place and held this mesne manor down to the end of
the seventeenth century.
There is much much more, check it out.
Jon Norris
Nathaniel Taylor
(Jon Norris) wrote:
> I'm hoping to find some help in researching the Norris/Norreys line back
> to the Norman Conquest and beyond ...
> My line descends from Thomas Norris b. c1608 in Congham,(in the King’s
> Lynn area of Norfolk Co), England who was the first of our line to
> emmigrate to the Colonies. He is #9 below. There is general agreement on
> his immediate ancestry ...
I share Cris Nash's assumption that this line is a confection, not least
because of the attempt to make the name both a Norman toponym AND (what is
obviously anachronistic) a Scandinavian epithet from before the Viking
settlement of Normandy. I would only add the following, from _A
Dictionary of English Surnames_, 3d, rev. ed. (Oxford, 1997), 324:
"Norris, Norriss, Norreys. ... Anglo-French 'noreis', 'norreis', =
'northerner'. A very common name, particularly in the midlands and the
south. Used also as a personal name." Various citations to 12th-c
appearances follow, including similar names which appear to derive from
Old French 'norrice', or nurse.
Nat Taylor
Cristopher Nash
>In reply to Christopher Nash there is an excellent website by
>Steve Norris that has extensive research on the Eltonhead -
>Norreys connection. Below are some tidbits.
>
>http://pw2.netcom.com/~enorrste/index.html
>
>In 1122 Ivo le Norreys was a messenger of the King of Norway.
>This Ivo le Norreys was probably the Ivo de Daresbury
>whose son William gave lands at Eltonhead in Lancashire to
>Hugh le Norreys at the end of the twelfth century. The fact that
>the Daresbury lands ended in the le Norreys family leads me to suspect
>that Ivo le Norreys and Ivo de Daresbury were the same person.
>
>At the end of the twelfth century William son of Ivo de Daresbury gave
>with the consent of his wife Siegrith and his heirs to Hugh le Norreys
>a plough-land in Eltonhead Manor, Lancashire. Through this
>grant the Eltonhead Manor came to the "le Norreys" name.
>
>In 1221 Hugh le Norreys granted four oxgangs of land, or half the vill
>of Eltonhead, Lancashire, to William le Norreys, his son, who appears
>to have settled there becoming the ancestor of the family who took
>their name from the place and held this mesne manor down to the end of
>the seventeenth century.
>
>There is much much more, check it out.
>Jon Norris
Thanks very much for posting this, and for taking the time to
identify the first of the relevent passages in the site's massive
'page' (700K+). There's much there to ruminate over. My worry is as
before - the lack of documentation for such voluminous claims. I'm
sure you've already asked Steve Norris where he's published sources;
before we all plague him with the same query, what did you learn?
Cris
Margaret J. Olson
ancestry for Edward Norris, 4th minister of the First Church of Salem is
something I would dearly love to add to my files. I have nowhere else seen
the information about his father's will or the fact the father died when
Edward was 4 years old - or of the name of the mother of this man. That
his father was Vicar of Tetbury is mentioned in Perley's History of Salem
and in other places, but that the mother is Pilaster, and the source of his
father's will, and the assumed connections to the earlier vicars of
Tetbury sounds good .... but... .
I did get email from Steve a couple of years ago (When I discovered his
page and wrote to ask for more information) saying he'd write back
after he had recovered from some personal events of the time. It may be
time to try again.
He also assumes a connection between Edward Norris of Salem and John
Norris of Roxbury - calling him the son of this Edward. It's an
interesting story, but I have yet to find confirmation. His link to
Edward III no longer works. I'm pretty sure I saved in on my disk, though.
Margaret Olson
:> >website by Steve Norris that has extensive research on the Eltonhead -
:>Norreys connection <http://pw2.netcom.com/~enorrste/index.htm> <
:>I haven't been able to get Steve to return an e-mail since 1998.
:>I don't know if his address changed or he just ceased corresponding?
:>His last communication didn't provide any sources
: Bummer. Still, it was worth the try - more than worth, given the mass
: of raw data he's posted. Thanks for letting us down into the reality
: gently, anyhow.
dina...@gmail.com
The source for the will of Edward Norris of Salem MA and his ancestors were all obtained through the Mormon church film library. I will attempt to place photos of the originals on my ancestry page.
The majority of the older data can all be found in a book titled Norris Deeds which a librarian in Bristol was nice enough to copy and send me. If course it wasn't cheap but it enabled me to work clear back to Geoffrey me Norreys of about 1140.
I recently hired a genealogist in Gloucestershire who has proved that Edward Norris of Salem was married first to Elizabeth Staunton in 1610 in Alderley. She died in 1618, possibly giving birth to John although we have not yet found a baptism record. Eleanor was his second wife and is not the mother of the children . Elizabeth's father was Vicar John Staunton of Wotton Under Edge where Elizabeth was born.
I have more and will update my ancestry site soon with this new information. Our connection to royals is through Sylvester Anna Poyntz, the mother of Edward Norris of Salem. Her husband Edward died young and she married Christipher Kingsxote of Alderley where young Edward if Salem was raised, his dad dying when he was only 4 years old.
More to come on Ancestry.com. Sorry for typos. I am using my phone! 😄
