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William was a son of Richard Norman. He was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, around 1648/54. His mother may have been Margaret Flint (1635-1705).[1][2] When still a child, he was apprenticed to William Beale of Marblehead. He ran away in 1665, but was caught at Ipswich, placed in the jail and sentenced to be whipped ten stripes. Beale assigned his interest in Norman to Capt. Thomas Savage,[3] with the approval of the court, at the same session.[2]
Around 1669, he married Rebecca (last name unknown), and they had at least three children:[1]
On 10 Apr 1684, a warrant was issued to William Norman for 320 acres, in Carolina "for ye Arriveall of himselfe, wife, son William two servants & the Rights of one negro assigned him by Mathew English wch is Recorded in the secretaryes office in some Convenient place not yet Laid out or marked to Be Laid out for any other pson or use observeing the Lords instructions beareing Date the 21th septem 1683. And a Certifycate fully specifeying the scituation & bounds thereof you are to Returne to us wth all Convenient speed & for yor soe Doeing this shall be your Warrt Dated the Tenth Day of aprill 1684."[4][5][6]
The Normans settled on that 320 acres, located on the Ashley River, in Berkeley County, developing a plantation that was called Burton (later called Fair Spring).[7][8] For some reason, the grant for this property was not finalized until 8 Sep 1697, by William's son, William, Jr.[9] The property, in Berkeley County, is described as lying at the head of Ashley River, adjoining the property of the Lady Axtell.[10]
William Norman played a key role in the formation of a small colony, or "church," organized in Dorchester, Massachusetts, for the purpose of settling in South Carolina. His name is listed as one of eight men who, together with their pastor Mr. Joseph Lord, on 22 Oct 1695, formed a "most solem Covenant to sett up the ordinances of Jesus Christ ther if the lord caryed them safely thither..." [11] On 5 Dec 1695, the "colony" set sail from Boston aboard the Brigantine Friendship and landed at Carolina on 20 Dec, a voyage of about 14 days. The group of men explored several different possibilities for location of their settlement. One of these was the property adjacent to William Norman, where his neighbor, the Lady Axtell, "kindly received them." After deciding upon the Ashley River location, they met at Mr. (William) Norman's house, where Mr. Lord preached his first sermon.[12]
William may have traveled north to Massachusetts on other occasions during and after settlement of the Dorchester colony. Certainly his son, William, Jr., did, as he married[13] there and died[14] there, although his residence was in Berkeley County. Most likely, William Sr. died before 1699, when Samuel Walton of Wenham deeded land to his widow, Rebecca.[2] The locations of his death and grave are unknown, although thought to be in Massachusetts.
See also:
Thank you to Allen Minix for creating WikiTree profile Norman-1022 through the import of wikitree upload norman-2.ged on Jan 22, 2013.
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William is 22 degrees from Herbert Adair, 21 degrees from Richard Adams, 18 degrees from Mel Blanc, 22 degrees from Dick Bruna, 17 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 31 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 19 degrees from Sam Edwards, 17 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 21 degrees from Marty Krofft, 13 degrees from Junius Matthews, 14 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 19 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
For Richard's son, one could begin by following Walter Goodwin Davis, The ancestry of Sarah Stone, wife of James Patten ... (Portland, Me., The Southworth Press, 1930), 52-54, at 52 ; digital images, Hathi Trust.