Wqr Nnrtnu-liat~rnp-Wnllr s-ilnty Amrrirun Aurrstry nf llalp4 iinllrs Nnrtnn. Jamrs Ehntarh Nnrtnn. J\rbru f.jat!Jrnp Nnrtnn. Jrrank 1)nrtrr Nnrtnn; .WIJtir C!llJilbr.en: anb~ Mrig~t-ilriggs-<!tngsmt 11- luhlty Amtrirau Anrtstry nf £lltn <!Ingawtll-lfrig)Jt-Nnrtnn anb Jlranrrs (!lngamrll-llrig!Jt-Nnrton: anb l'dmt Jfamil!J anh ~oral i;hrtnry ,J Compiled by JAMES E. liORTON 191~ With Some Added Data of Subsequent Events. 1935. Nnrtnu Thomas Norton emigrated- from Ockley, Surrey County, England to America in 1639, and in September of that year settled, with the other original settlers, at Guilford, C'onnecticut. As he is supposed to be descended from the N ortons of Sharpenhow, Bedfordshire, England, the follo,ving list of one line of his descendants is prefaced by, first, a portion of an Article on the "Norton Family" pub­ lished in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume 13~ pages 225 to 232; and second, by a short description of the settlement and settlers of Guilford, C·onn. FIRST: "The Pedigree of the Norton Fa1nily, taken from the original documents in the possession of Charles Eliot Norton'' ( after stating by whom kept, and how and when, continues as f ollo,vs, viz:) 1. Le Signeur De Norville (name is derived from north village) came into England with William the Conqueror, and was his Constable. He mar­ ried into the House of Valois. 2. Sr. De Norville, married into the house of Barr. 3.. Sr. De Norville, married into the house of Delbe­ monte. 4. Sr. De Norville, married Aueline, daughter of Nevil of Raby. 6 NORTON. 5. Sr. De Norville .. married J oricia, daughter of Sr. Dampre de Court. 6. Sr. De N·orville, alias Norton, married the daugh­ ter of Sr. John Hadscoke. 7. Sr. De Norville, alias Norton, married the daugh­ ter and co-heiress of 11onsigneur Bassingbourne, 8 and had a daughter Elizabeth, and a son John • 8. Sir John Norton, alias Norville, married a daughter of Lord Grey de Ruthyn~ by whom he 9 had John , Joan, and Katherine. 9. John Norton of Sharpenhow, Bedfordshire,· England, married and 10 had John , Jane, Isable and Alice. 10. John Norton, of Sharpenhow, married 1st, daughter of 11r. Danie, and had William, who died young. ~Iarried 2nd, Jane, daughter of John Cowper, and had Thomas, Richard11, Robert, John, Alice and "\Villiam. 11. Richard Norton, of Sharpenho-\v, married Mar­ jery, daughter of "\Vingar of Sharpenho,v, and had Thomas and "\Villiam12• 12. William Norton of Sharpenho-\v, married 1st, Margerie, daughter of "\Vill Hawes, and "\Vidow of !fr. Hamon, and had "\Villiam. 11arried 2nd, Dennis Cholmley ( or Chelmsby) niece to Sir Nicholas Hare, iiaster of the Rolls; had Thomas (,vho ,vent to Surrey County, shortly after his marriage, and is supposed to be the Guilford, Conn. emigrant of that name), John, Elizabeth, Francis, Hugh, Daniel, Phoebe and Richard". NORTON. 7 SECOND. GurLFORD, CONNECTICUT. Guilford was settled in 1639i, by a company of Puritans, from Surrey and Kent Counties, England; under the leadership of Rev. Henry Whitfield, who with William Leete, afterward Governor of the Prov­ ince, Thomas Norton, and at least twenty-two others, some with families, others ,vith none, set sail from London, England, on ~fay 20th, 1639, for the New World. They styled themselves the Guilford C·ompany; and on the first day of June, 1639, while on ship board, the little band signed a ''plantaceon'' covenant, in which they expressed the purpose to settle near Quinnipiack (New Haven). The covenant so signed reads as follows: C·OVENANT. We, whose names are hereunder written, intend­ ing by God's gracious permission, to plant our­ selves in New England, and if it may be, in the southerly part, about Quinnipiac.k: vv· e do faithfully promise, each to each, for our­ selves and families and those that belong to us; that we will, the Lord assisting us, sit down and join to­ gether in one entire plantation; and to be helpful each to the other in every common ,vork, according to every man's ability, and as need shall require; and ,ve promise not to desert or leave each other or 8 NORTON. the plantation but ,vith the consent of the rest, or the greater part of the Company, ,vho have enter­ ed into this agreement. As for our gathering together in a church way, and the choice of officers and members to be joined together in that way, we do refer ourselves until such time as it shall please God to settle us in our plantation. In witness ,vhereof we subscribe our names, the First day of June, 1639. Robert Kitchell, "\Villiam Plane, Francis Bushnell, Francis Chatfield, John Hughes, "\Villiam Leete, Thomas Naish, John Parmelin, John Jurdon, Henry Doude, Henry Whitfield, John Stone, John Bishop, Abraham Cruttenden, Richard Guttridge, William Chittenden, Thomas Norton, William Ha.Ile, William Dudley, Thomas J oanes, Henry Kingsnorth, John 1Iepham, William Stone, Thomas Cooke, John Hoadley.'' Between the 10th and 15th of July, 1639, they en­ tered New Haven harbor; their ships-for they had two-being the first vessels that had entered it. After landing at New Haven, measures ,vere im­ mediately taken to find a suitable location for the Company. After careful search, they decided upon "1vienunkatuck"; to this they subsequently gave the name of Guilford, after the county seat of Surrey Coun­ ty, England, ,vhere many of them had lived. The original town included the present tovv-rns of !,fadison and Guilford, and stretched along· the coast NORTON. 9 of Long Island Sound, from Branford. to I(illing,vorth, a distance of nine or ten miles in a straight line, and extending back from the Sound about the same dis­ tanee. The whole of the original town was originally in­ habited by Indians, who called the ,vestern part of it, Menunkatuck. The part of the township, which embraces nearly all the present town of Gui.If ord, ,vas purchased of the Sachem-squaw of l\fenunkatuck, Shaumpishuh, Sep­ tember 29th, 1639, by Henry Whitfield, R-obert Kitchell, William Leete, "\Villi.am Chittenden, John Bishop and John Caffinge, in behalf of themselves and the others of their party. The articles given for this tract were twelve coats, twelve fathoms of wampum, twelve glasses, twelve pairs of shoes, twelve hatchets, t,velve pairs of stock­ ings, twelve hoes, four kettles, twelve knives, twelve ha ts, twelve porringers, twelve spoons, and two Eng­ lish coats. The settlement commenced immediately after this purchase; and before ,vinter set in, they had cleared the neeessary land and built houses, and moved into them. One of the houses built at that time, was the Henry Whitfield house, which was built of stone, and is no,v standing; it is said to be the oldest house no,v standing in the United States; some years ago, it was purchased by the State of Connecticut, and it is no,v used by the state as an Historical l\1useum building. After the "\vnitfield house ,vas completed, it was used by the comm11nity, to hold their church services 10 SORTON. in, until their first church ,vas built, a year or t\vo later, as well as being used by the Rev. Henry \Vhitfield and his family, as a residence. 11r. Whitfield was desirous of extending the planta­ tion, and it was through his efforts, that other purchas­ es of land were made from the Indians ; a portion being purchased from Uncas, who claimed the land by virtue of the conquest of the Pequoids or Pequoits, in which he assisted. The original settlers were mostly farmers ; they had not a merchant among them, and scarcely a me­ chanic; it was with great trouble and expense that they procured a blacksmith. Thomas Norton ,vas the :first miller ; he was a ppoin.t­ ed miller, by the .Company, or settlement in 1646, and he received compensation from the Company, or set­ tlement, in addition -to one-half of the toll, which he took from each grist ; the other half of the toll, going · to the Company or settlement. He served as miller from the time of his appointment until his death in 1648. The Thomas Norton house was built and stood on what is now State street in the village of Guilford. The following data, do-\vn to Elihu N orton5, as to names, dates, and places of births, marriages and deaths, is taken fron1 an Article on "The Descendents of Thomas Norton of Guilford, C·onn.' ', published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume 54, page 269 ( in 1900). From Elihu N orton5 do,vn, and also as to such other information, not included in the above classification, it has been gathered.from the to,vn records and town his- 1 THOMAS NOR.TON • 11 tories of different to,vns, in which the persons ref er­ red to, respectively, resided, and from the family rec­ ords still extant and accessible; and is in all respects authentic and correct, except ,vhere it states that the matter is in doubt. 1 THOMAS NoRTON • Son of William Norton, of Sharpenho-\v, Bedfordshire, England, and Dennis Cholmley, or Chelmsby, his 2nd wife. Born about 1582, probably at Sharpenhow, England. Married Grace Wells, at Shelton Parish, Bedfordshire, England, May 5th, 1631. (see N. E. Hist. & Gen. Reg. Vol. 51.) Resided at Sharpenho,v; Shelton Parish; and at or near Ockley, Surrey County, England; and at Guilford, Conn. Died at Guilford, Conn. in 1648. Children: I. ANNE, b., in England, m. John Warner of Saybrook, Conn. at Hartford, Conn., in 1649.