Sarah Norton

Inscripationon Head stone: "She was a Mother to 11 children,

Grandmother to 65, Great Grandmother to 8 in all."

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Martin-15634

Sarah (Martin) Norton (abt. 1692 - 1785)

Mrs. Sarah Norton formerly Martin

Born about 16 Oct 1692 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts [uncertain]

Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown] [sibling%28s%29 unknown]

Wife of Freegrace Norton I — married 18 Jun 1713 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts

DESCENDANTS

Mother of

Freegrace Norton II, Samuel Norton, John Norton, Martin Norton, Sarah Norton, Mary Norton,

Abigail (Norton) Harmon, Elizabeth Norton and Joanna Norton

Died 26 Mar 1785 in Suffield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Profile manager: Nancy Vickers

Profile last modified 24 Jun 2018 | Created 30 Dec 2013

This page has been accessed 332 times.

Categories: West Suffield Cemetery, Suffield, Connecticut.

Biography

Sarah Norton formerly Martin. Wife of Freegrace Norton. Inscripationon Head stone'She was a Mother to 11 children, Grandmother to 65, Great Grandmother to8 in all. 98 years old. Sarah Martin daughter of Samuel and Abigail , (vital records of Andover, Massachusetts. Samuel Martin (1645-1696) son of Solomon Martin and Mary Pindar of Gloucester. A genealogical Dictionary of New England, 1860- 1862; reprinte1981 page 163.

A search for probat records of Samuel Martin and his wife Abigail turned up nothing. The marriage record in Suffield described Sarah Martin as being of Ipswich. The Andover Sarah Martin was born in Ipswich, perhaps at the home of her grandparents, When Sarah Martin was to be married, two of her married sisters were living in Ispwich, Abigail, the wife of John Safford and Mary the wife of John Bolles. Possibly living with one of them before marriage.

Birth: Oct. 16, 1699 Ipswich Essex County Massachusetts, USA Death: Mar 26, 1785 Suffield Hartford County Connecticut, USA

Sarah MARTIN was born on 16 October 1689 in Ispwich, Essex, Massachusetts.3060,3061 She died on 26 March 1785 in Suffield,Hartford,Connecticut. She was buried in Suffield, Hartford, Connecticut.

The following sent to me by Randall Dixon 726 Wall St. Salt Lake City, UT (1994)

Sarah Martin of Ipswich, Massachusetts, Wife of Freegrace Norton by. W. Randall Dixon

Sarah Martin of Ipswich, Massachusetts,

Wife of Freegrace Norton by W. Randall Dixon, 726 Wall Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84103.

In the “Queries” column of the August, 1899, issue of the Essex Antiquarian (3:128) appeared the following:

Wanted: The ancestry of Sarah Martin who was published for

marriage with Freegrace Norton on April 30, 1713. Marriage

recorded at Suffield, under the date of June 18, 1713.

A search of the “Answers” column in succeeding issues failed to reveal a response to that particular question. Nor have I found anything in the succeeding 95 years of literature to answer the query. While it will not, at this late date, help “F.N., Springfield” who submitted the question, I will attempt a solution.

The marriage record of Freegrace Norton and Sarah Martin is found in Suffield, Connecticut under the date of June 18, 1713 (Suffield, Conn., Vital Records, Vol. NBI p. 37, Barbour Collection, Conn. State Library). Sarah Martin is noted as being “of Ipswich”. In turn the vital records of Ipswich, Massachusetts lists a “publishment” of Sarah Martin and Freegrace Norton “of Suffield” (Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts...[Salem, 1910] 2:306).

Freegrace Norton 3 (George 2-1) was born January 1, 1688/1689 in Suffield, the son of George Norton (1641-1696) and Mercy Barber (1651-1725) and died 20 Nov 1758 (Suffield Vrs). A search of the probate records of Freegrace and his wife, Sarah, reveal no clue to her ancestry, but the tombstone of Sarah in Suffield gives her age as 96 years at her death on 26 March 1785 (Headstone Inscriptions Town of Suffiled, Hale Collection, Conn. State Library). The vital records of Ipswich, Massachusetts were searched for a match but none was found. A search of the records of neighboring communities did, however, reveal a possible candidate.

The records of Andover list the birth of Sarah Martin, daughter of “Samuel and Abigail” at Ipswich, October 16, 1689 (Vitqal Records of Andover, Massachusetts[Topsfield 1912] 1:267).

The parents can be identified as Samuel Martin (1645-1696) son of Solomon Martin and Mary Pindar of Gloucester and Andover (James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of ... New England, 1860-1862; reprint 1981 p. 163) and Abigail Norton (1651-1739) daughter of George 1 Norton (d. 1659) and his wife Mary of Salem (Herbert F. Seversmith “George Norton of Salem, Massachusetts...”, The American Genealogist 15 [1939]: 196). This Sarah Martin, therefore, would be a first cousin of Freegrace Norton, as her mother, Abigail, and his father, George, were brother and sister. Marriages between cousins were not infrequent and this would explain how the couple came together, though being from fairly distant places. Evidence that the branches ofthe family kept in contact, comes from a deed of land from George Norton of “Southfield” to Samuel Martin of Andover June 7, 1681, recorded August 8, 1716 (Essex County Deeds, 31:62-63). A search for probate records of Samuel Martin and his wife Abigail turned up nothing.

As noted above, the marriage record in Suffield described Sarah Martin as being “of Ipswich”. The Andover Sarah Martin was born in Ipswich, perhaps atthe home of her grandmother, Mary Norton. In 1713, when Sarah Martin was to be married, two of her married sisters were living in Ipswich–Abigail, the wife of John Safford, and Mary, the wife of John Bolles (Ipswich Vrs). Possibly she lived with one ofthem before her marriage.

One other piece of evidence as a clue to the parentage of Sarah Martin can, perhpas be found in the names of her children (Suffield Vrs, Barbour Collection). Her first surviving son was named Freegrace after her husband, while the next son was named Samuel, possibly after her father. In addition, one of her daughters was named Abigail, possibly after her mother.

While this identification for Sarah Martin seems attractive, I also searched for other likely candidates. Abraham Hammatt in his Early Inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts, 227, notes that Abraham Martin’s estate settled in 1713. Unfortunately nothing seems to be known about Sarah or her siblings–other than her brother Abraham who apparently lived his life in Ipswich. This line of inquiry therefore ended inconclusively.

In summary, I believe that the evidence suggests that Sarah Martin of Ipswich is indeed the daughter of Samuel Martin and his wife Abigail Norton of Andover and cousin of her husband Freegrace Norton. While the evidence is not without question, I consider it persuasive.

CT Vital Records Barbor Collection; Archive Sheet Dale Harmon Anderton, SLC 1982 Berkley St.

Sarah married her Uncle--her mother's younger brother.

West Suffield Cemetery Records.

Age 96 yrs; mother of 11 children; 66 grandchildren.

POSSIBILITY: While in Nauvoo, Sarah Harmon (daughter of Martin Harmon) did some baptisms for the dead. She was baptized for her mother, Tryphena Harmon and for her grandmother, Sarah Grainger. Lucina was baptized for her sister, Diantha Hershall (Should be Hanchett). Looking at Sarah Harmon’s pedigree, her great-grandmother, Sarah Martin Norton, wife of Freegrace Norton, outlived her husband for 27 years. Could she have remarried someone named Granger? Sarah Martin Norton lived to be 96 years of age. Another possibility is that Tryphena’s mother could be named Sarah. Since the baptisms appeared to have been done for women by their married name, whoever Sarah is-she possibly married a second time.

Records of Cheryl Harmon Bills

cherylbills@@gmail.com

Parents: Samuel MARTIN. Parents: Samuel MARTIN and Abigail NORTON. Parents: Samuel MARTIN and Abigail NORTON.