CONTENTS:

• Foreword
• The Conyers Nortons of England
• Uprising of the North
• Fletcher Norton
• Norton-Conyers linage in England
• John Norton I of Virginia
  
• Chart of John Norton b.1613 in England to Jacob Norton b.1720
• Chart of William Norton/ Widow Miller of Horry, SC
• Chart of the Norton - Reaves - Harrelson relationship
• Y-DNA PROOF

FOREWORD
The information in this study came from many different sources. Frequent notations are included in the text indicating the source. Wills and deeds are used as an important source and reference to them is considered reliable documentation. Wills and deeds are occasionally included in detail as an important source. The next few pages list all the sources consulted in compiling this study. As with any research of this nature, errors and misinformation will be included. A prime consideration for compiling and publishing this study was to present a large block of Norton lineage as a starting point for additional research and corrections. This is, by no means, a complete and finished publication. It will be considered a research project in progress, subject to revisions and additions.

A considerable amount of the information in this study was compiled while searching for an outlet to the "dead end" the family lineage encountered in generations of the mid 1700s. In W. W. Sellers' book, A HISTORY OF MARION COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA, he presented William Norton (Widow Miller) as one of five brothers. Over three years was spent searching for the lineage of the five brothers. The breakthrough came in the spring of 2003, when, using Y-DNA, it was discovered the "William" of the five brothers was not "our" William and that "our" William belonged to an already established Norton lineage with many descendants in Barbour and Pike Counties, Alabama. The exact generation where our William joined their lineage was omitted. A perfect 25-marker Y-DNA match proved we both shared the same lineage. A careful reinterpretation of all available information not only solved our "dead end", but also solved their time-line and name confusion problem of this period. The table on the next page presents the Y-DNA lineage and constitutes 100% proof of our lineage back to the early 1700s.

All of the information pertaining to the Campbells, Reaves, and Norton-Honeycutt branch of Conway, SC, was accumulated before the "break through". This was while searching for connections and clues of the early Norton lineage. In this information, were connections to the Barbour County, AL branch but their significance was not apparent at that time.

In Sellers' book, he listed the only two sons of William Norton and the Widow Miller as William Norton, Jr., with two sons and several daughters, and James Norton (Jerusha Reaves and E. A. Honeycutt). William Norton, Jr. and his sons could not be clearly identified with this limited information. There were several Nortons in this time period with the exact same names, William, James, and John. Sellers developed the Honeycutt branch because it was his wife's lineage with no other data on the William Norton, Jr. line. If Sellers had included William's wife, Patience Harrelson, then there never would have been a "dead end". This lack of information on William Norton is also due to the fact that William remained in Horry County, SC, and inherited the family holdings, while James moved west about 30 miles, across the Little Pee Dee River, into Marion County and lived with his Miller half-brothers. Sellers lineage is from the Marion Co. branch, and it is apparent he had limited access to lineage information in northern Horry County, SC. This situation is compounded by the fact that William's widow, Patience Harrelson Norton and all of her children moved to Barbour Co., AL between 1824 and 1829. Not a single Norton was in Horry Co. for the 1830 US census. Sellers recorded most of his information in the 1890s - sixty years after the last William Norton (Patience) descendant left Horry County, SC.

• If a notation indicates “more information is available on this subject”, the author can be contacted for copies of the additional information.
• In many instances, a single item of information is gleaned from a web site or history book, such as a wifes first name or a date of birth, and the source of these small bits are seldom recorded. Due to the unique way (discussed above) most of this lineage information was assembled; there is no list of "Footnotes". Many sources are included in the text and an extensive list of consulted sources is tabulated below.
• The major reason for the format of this study is to present a family heritage that is a joy to read and somewhat easy to follow.
• In the spring of 2003, a wealth of accumulated information meshed together to form a reliable Norton heritage story. The 74-year-old author decided to record this story, using his best judgement with conflicting data. Only he could unite information in seven file boxes and many computer disks, into this story. The author has very limited computer skills and four finger typing presented another problem. None of this Norton Heritage book is in Gedcom format. Every separate item in the table of contents is in a separate computer file and all are available on a CD.
• Charts, maps, tables and pictures are inserted where they can best aid the reader in maintaining a sense of time, place, continuity, and relationship. The same chart may be repeated several times so as to help unite different sections of the study. At the end of this FOREWORD, a few charts are presented to provide the reader with an idea of the scope of the study.
• List of sources consulted to prepare this genealogical report.

THE CONYERS NORTONS OF ENGLAND

The Norton name is well known in England. Some say it is of Scottish and Viking heritage and was first used in northeast England, just south of present day Scotland. This area is the present Yorkshire district and our Nortons lived mainly in York and the area west and northwest of York, England.

A version of the Norton name flourished for several centuries in France before it went to England with William the Conqueror. It is said to have been of Anglo-Norman origin and to have been the Anglicized form of the Norman name Norville, meaning “North – Town”, “ville” being French for “town”. It was probably taken by the original bearer from the name of his place of residence and used with the prefix de (meaning “of” ie. de Norville ). Its true meaning in France is thought to refer to a group of people that lived north of town or north of their present location – in Norville or Nordenville; therefore, de Norville would mean “from north of town” or "North town" in English.

The Norton DNA project has shown that there are probably hundreds of Norton family lines. Each bloodline has a unique Y-DNA signature that can be identified and traced back thousands of years. This gives us our true "blood line".

The name is found in ancient records in various forms – Norville, Nortown, Nortone, Nortun, and Norton, the last being the most accepted form today. In America the name has been corrupted into various spellings, probably depending on how the pronunciation sounded to the scribes, as they spelled by sound – almost entirely – viz. – Norden, Northen, Nordan, Nordon, Notton, Nurton, Nurtin, Nurting, and a good many additional variations.

Below are a few international versions of Norton.

English ------- North
Spanish ---------- Norte
French -------- Nord
Swedish --------- Nord
German ------ Norden
Polish ------------ Polnoc
Italian -------- Settentriome

Other forms include de Northum, de Northon, etc.

William the Conqueror (1027?-1087) came from the Normandy region of northwestern France and was the first Norman king of England. King Edward the Confessor of England, cousin to William, promised him succession to the English throne, as Edwardss nearest adult heir. After Edwards death, his brother-in-law, Harold became king in 1066, and William promptly invaded England. The Normans, under William, destroyed the Anglo-Saxon army and killed Harold at the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. William took lands from those who resisted him, kept some for himself and gave the rest to his followers in return for military service. This was how our Norton line came to England from France.

A Seugner de Norville ( Le Signeur do Norouile) was a constable to William the Conqueror. He came from France to England in September of 1066, and married into family of Valois (Vaois). The de Norville family was apparently awarded land in the York-Yorkshire area. The Norton lineage being researched in this presentation starts with this background and this will be called the "First Generation".

Conyers to Norton
In ca 1340, a descendant of Egbertus Coigniers, named Robert or Roger Coigniers, married a Norton daughter and their children took the Norton name. See 12^th Generation on chart. Margaret Norton was the daughter and sole heir of Richard Norton, of Norton in Yorkshire.

Egbertus Coigniers was from Normandy and was assigned land, located in Yorkshire, by William the Conqueror. In ca 1450, about four generations later, Sir John Conyers, son of John Norton and Jane Pygott used the name Conyers and his son, John Norton Conyers, used “alias Norton” along with his Conyers name. His son, Richard used only the Norton name and this lineage has used Norton to the present.

Uprising of the North
Another important Norton milestone occurred in this area in the 1500s. To obtain the proper perspective of the Nortons position in York, England in the 1500s, one should study the history of England, Scotland, France and Spain during this period.

The Roman Empire had established the Catholic Church in England over a thousand years before this period. The Nortons were devout Catholics and would pay a price in centuries to come. The movie “Brave Heart” presents the situation similar to that of the Nortons of this time. Our Norton heritage, of this study, is deeply rooted in the York-Yorkshire area and they exerted considerable influence in the House of York. Following is a brief review of the events leading to the Catholic Uprising of 1569. Historians refer to this uprising in three different styles; The Rebellion of the North, The Northern Uprising of 1569, and The Rising of the Northern Earls. Refer to the attached chart “The Rulers of England” to aid in following the below discussion. Keep in mind that our Nortons were associated with the House of York.

The House of Lancaster ruled England from 1399 to 1461. They had seized power from Richard II in 1399. Richard, Duke of York, claimed that Henry VI had no right to be king. Richard was killed in the Battle of Wakefield in 1460. His son Edward led the Yorkist forces that crushed the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton, near York, in 1461. Edward then became king as Edward IV.

The House of York ruled until 1470, when the forces of Lancaster drove Edward from England and brought back Henry VI. Edward IV returned seven months later, defeated the Lancasterian forces at the battles of Barnet and regained the throne. The House of York ruled until 1485, when King Richard III was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field, and Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, became King Henry VII. In 1486, Henry VII married Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV, and this seemed to unite the houses of Lancaster and York and founded the Tudor dynasty that ruled England for the next 118 years.

The above civil wars, lasting about a hundred years, between the Houses of Lancaster and York, were known as The Wars of the Roses, because the House of York used a white rose as its emblem and the House of Lancaster was identified with a red rose. The above civil wars indicate the bad atmosphere that existed between the House of York and the House of Tudor (Lancaster), but with the above marriage of Edward IVs daughter and Henry VII, a working relationship evolved – until his son, Henry VIII, established the Church of England in place of the Catholic faith in 1534.

Henry Vlll inherited great wealth when he became King in 1509. His father, Henry Vll, had been a thrifty ruler. Henry Vlll was talented and popular, but was selfish and wasteful. He enjoyed luxury, sports, good food, and music. (Idle Rich Playboy) For about 20 years, Henry let Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, Archbishop of York, (York=Nortons) manage the country. But then Henry wanted to divorce Catherine of Aragon, the first of his six wives. The Catholic Pope refused to give permission. In 1529, Henry took away Wolseys authority and assigned major powers to Thomas Cromwell, one of his advisers. In 1534, Henry had Parliament pass a law declaring that the King, not the Pope, was supreme head of the Church of England. This action occurred while the religious movement called the Reformation was spreading across northern Europe. This Reformation gave birth to Protestantism. Following Henrys action, English church leaders made changes in the Roman Catholic services that gradually led to the Church of England. A number of Henrys subjects who opposed him were imprisoned or executed for treason.

Parliament passed more church reforms during the six year (1547-1553) reign of Henrys only son. Edward Vl. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and his third wife, Jane Seymour. Before Edwards death, the Duke of Northumberland persuaded Edward to give Lady Jane Grey the right to succeed him as ruler. Edward feared that if the crown should descend to his sister, Mary, who was next in line and a Catholic, England would no longer be a Protestant nation. Mary was the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon and first in line for the crown, as no other male heir existed. Lady Jane Grey was proclaimed queen on July 10, 1553, but on July 19, nine days later, Marys claim to the throne was recognized and she reestablished the Catholic Church during her reign. Lady Jane Grey and her husband were beheaded on Feb. 12, 1554.

Mary I brought England back to the Roman Catholic Church and severe punishment of the Protestants earned her the name “Bloody Mary”. Records indicate the Nortons of York were willing and eager participants in this bloody purge of the Protestants. Mary I married King Philip II of Spain, and this is how the Nortons of York established a connection to the Spanish throne. It must also be remembered that Marys mother, Catherine of Aragon, was also from Spain (Aragon). She was the daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Catherines daughter, Mary I, (Bloody Mary) married King Philip II, of Spain, who was the great grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella. Philip II became King of Spain after his father, in 1556 and his wife, Mary I, of England, died two years later in 1558. Philip and his father, Charles I, had both ruled the “Low Countries”, Netherlands, as they were part of the Spanish Empire.

Philip II regarded himself as the champion of the Roman Catholic faith, and supported the harsh measures of the inquisition. Mary I had considerable help from her husband in earning the name “Bloody Mary”. With these connections, it is apparent why Old Richard Norton fled to Flanders and was pensioned by the Duke of Alva and he remained there the rest of his life. The Duke was a Spanish General known for his cruelty and tyranny. He served in the Low Countries and was later made governor of the Netherlands by Philip II.

Mary died childless in 1558 and was succeeded by her protestant half-sister, Elizabeth I. Elizabeth I was next in line and the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife. In her first few years of reign, following “Bloody Mary”, Elizabeth I attempted to ”walk the fence” concerning the Catholic-Protestant problem. She was protestant and the Church of England was re-established. Elizabeth I was a strong but cautious ruler who played her enemies off against one another.

The reign of Elizabeth I was from 1558 until 1603. With the accession of Queen Elizabeth I commenced the series of legislative enactment, commonly known as the Penal laws, under which the profession and practice of the Catholic religion was subjected to severe penalties and disabilities. By laws passes in this period, any English subject receiving Holy Order of the Church of Rome and coming to England was guilty of high treason and anyone who aided or sheltered him was guilty of capital felony. Other laws made it a crime to practice Catholicism or train your children in the Catholic faith.

Richard Norton was the eldest son and heir of John Conyers (alias Norton) Esq. See 18^th and 19^th Generation on attached chart. He was known as “Old Norton” and was head of this illustrious house, which remained faithful to the Catholic religion. Richard was one of The Council of the North and Chief Justice of England during the reigns of Henry VIII and his son, Edward VI. He was Governor of Northam Castle under Mary I (Bloody Mary) and Sheriff of Yorkshire (1568-69) under Queen Elizabeth I. He had been pardoned for joining in the Pilgrimage of Grace uprising. Despite the fact Old Norton was a Catholic, he held high positions of influence as shown above.

This northern section of England remained a land apart. Indeed, Northerners have always felt more at ease with their Celtic neighbors and with the Scots than with the conformist circles of the south-east. In the sixteenth century, they were markedly more attached to Roman Catholicism and to the old communities of "good-lordship" than they were to the new Anglican Establishment and to the bureaucratic, southern-based Tudor crown.

As previously stated, Richard Norton was involved in a Catholic uprising called the Northern Uprising of 1569. About thirty years earlier (ca 1536), Richard had been a part of a similar minor rebellion called the Pilgrimage of Grace but was pardoned by Henry VIII.

A few of the main participants in this 1569 uprising are listed below. Each will be discussed individually along with their fate.

The Main Leaders.

1. Thomas Percy, Seventh Earl of Northumberland (1528-1572).
2. Charles Nevilles, Sixth Earl of Westmorland (1542-1601).
3. Thomas Markenfield of Markenfield.
4. Richard Norton “Old Norton” of Norton-Conyers and Rylstone Castle.

Richard Norton and his brothers.

1. Richard Norton “Old Norton”.
2. Christopher Conyers Norton.
3. Marmaduke Conyers Norton.
4. Thomas Conyers Norton.

Nine of Richard Nortons sons.

1. Francis Norton.
2. John Norton.
3. Edmund Norton.
4. William Norton.
5. Thomas Norton.
6. George Norton.
7. Christopher Norton.
8. Marmaduke Norton.
9. Sampson Norton.

The leaders published a manifesto declaring:

“That they took up arms with no other design than to restore the religion of their ancestors, to remove evil counselors from the Queen, to restore the Duke of Norfolk and other faithful peers, who were confined and deprived of their honours, to their liberty and the Queens favor: and that they attempted nothing against the Queen, to whom they vowed a most constant fidelity and affection.”

The Duke of Norfolk was Henry Howard, and he was the brother-in-law of Charles Nevilles, Earl of Westmorland. The Duke was executed by Queen Elizabeth for treason in 1569, soon after the manifesto was published. The above leaders immediately took to arms but Queen Elizabeth was not amused. Her troops were sent north and in an encircling movement, caused the insurgent army to turn and flee. The following discussion presents the fate of those listed above.