John Norris, of Southold

Not a known child of Rev. Edward Norris, of Salem

John Norris

• Birth 1617, Glouchester(?), England
• Death aft 1667
• parents unknown.

Spouses

??

Children include ?

Probably NOT Nicholas Norris, of Exeter in New Hampshire

biography

From http://homepages.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy2/ps12/ps12_035.htm

Came to USA on the Truelove, leaving London on 10 Jun 1635

John Norris was a shipper of goods between Barbadoes, Jamestown, Boston (Roxbury), and England. He made a fortune in trade in the small community of Roxbury which later became Boston. When the church at Salem split he apparently sympathized with those who left for Long Island. His business contacts made it difficult for him to leave immediately, but he eventually left the Boston/Salem area and settled at the eastern end of Long Island, from which location he had a central position to continue his trade along the eastern coast from Boston to Plymouth and on down to Jamestown.

It is believed that John Norris of Roxbury, MA left that area in 1655 and moved to the eastern tip of Long Island, where he continued to run his shipping business until his death. Of his sons, all but Nicholas were raised on Long Island around Southampton and Bridgehampton. Nicholas Norris, the oldest son, elected to remain in Salem with his grandfather, Edward Norris, the pastor, who died a few years later in 1659. Nicholas then ventured north about 15 miles and became a founder of the new town of Exeter, NH. The other brothers, Henry, Robert, Peter, and Oliver Norris, were raised on Long Island. Henry left after marriage to become a founder of the town of Elizabeth, NJ. Robert and Peter remained at Southampton where they had families. Oliver, the youngest son, moved just across the Long Island Sound to Sandwich (and Wareham), MA, where he raised a family as well.

notes

I added some comments in "()'s" below because this is not at all accepted by mainstream genealogy. I hope I don't offend.

It is somewhat surprising that Rev. Edward Norris, of Salem left his daughter Mary out of his will, or her children, if she had any. It is possible that she died before he did, but the Roxbury records do not show her death (Note this would not be uncommon in Roxbury to not record the death of an umarried woman during this period). It is also interesting that while Edward and Eleanor moved to Salem shortly after arrival in America, Mary chose to remain at Roxbury (My note - we don't know that she chose to remain in Roxbury she came in advance of her father and there is absolutely not record of her after she left. In fact her father was warned not to send her alone as if they suspected she was too immature to be on her own. So she probably died right away and didn't choose to stay in Roxbury). The son, Edward III, joined the Salem church shortly after his parents. That Mary was not even mentioned in her father's will opens the possibility that other children were also ignored (My comment - no it doesn't it just means she was probably dead with no offsping). At about the same time (1635-1655) we find evidence of a John Norris having large land holdings at Roxbury as well. It seems likely that John Norris was the son of Edward Norris, and that he, like others of the Salem congregation, preceded the senior Edward Norris into America, having arrived in 1635 (My comment - why is this "Likely?" I think it unlikely because neither John nor William were in his will. Edward Norris was a man of very high stature and Wintrhop detailed is life carefully and said that every event regarding Edward Norris Sr was of great import. If he had two other sons surely some note would have been made of them. I think there were a lot of men in New England with the same surname and that is not evidence at all that they are related.) By the time his father arrived in Boston, in 1639, young John Norris had already begun establishing himself in international trade. He was
even possibly so "worldly" that his father ignored him (speculative). He has only two proven children: 1) Edward and 2) Mary.

Finally, there is a record of a William Norris having lived in the same general area at about the same time. From his will we know that he was a kinsman of Oliver Norris, whom we believe was the son of John Norris just mentioned. William would have been Oliver's uncle (hence the term "kinsman"). (This provides not proof that either was related to Edward Norris).

The children of Edward Norris II, then, were Mary and Edward III for certain, and also possibly John and William (probably not).

Sources

The American Genealogist vol 84 p 200-11 does a glorious job on his pedigree.

Perley, Sidney, The History of Salem, Massachusetts, (Salem, Mass.: Sidney Perley, 1924) 2:82 has a concise treatment of his son Edward.

Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration (series 2) Vol 5 p 266-67 covers his daughter Mary who arrived before her father and then disappeared in Roxbury.

Winthrop Journal Vol 1 p 331-2 and Vol 2 60, 227, 268 has a few observations of him. A very august man to be sure.

Perley, Essex Antiquarian vol 8 p 101 includes the will of Edward Norris in which his names presumably his only surviving offspring i.e. Edward Jr. This is also found in Essex probate records vol 1 p 34.

Essex Institute Historical Collections, (Salem, Mass., 1859+) Vol 1 p 93 has a note.

There are minor notes on admittance etc in Boston Church Record 24; Winthrop Papers vol 4 p 68; Salem Church Records p 9; Massachusetts Bay Colony Records vol 1 p 377

Morrison just says the Salem branch descends from Edward in about one paragraph and offers no evidence and does even name his children:

Morrison, Leonard A., Lineage and Biographies of the Norris Family in America from 1640– 1892. With references to the Norrises of England as Early as 1311 (Boston: Damrell & Upham, 1892) p 13

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