Display Patriot - P-257197 - Peter NORTON

Peter NORTON

SAR Patriot #: P-257197

The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
 

Genealogy Notations
Problems have been discovered with at least one previously verified application.
  • Application is dependent upon DAR RC - DAR state FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT SERVICE PREVIOUSLY CREDITED CIVIL SERVICE UNACCEPTABLE DUE TO STANCE OF NEUTRALITY TAKEN BY INHABITANTS OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

State of Service: MA      Qualifying Service: Civil / Patriotic
DAR #: A084839

Birth: 09 Sep 1718 Edgartown / Dukes / MA
Death: 03 Feb 1792 Edgartown / Dukes / MA

Qualifying Service Description:
  1. High Sheriff, Edgarton, MA
  2. Overseer of the Poor, 1780, Edgartown
  3. Member of the Edgartown committee to petition the Massachusetts General Court for supply of men, arms and ammunition for defense of Martha's Vineyard

Additional References:
  1. MA Archives, Vol 209, Fol. 334 and Vol 136, Fol 188 and 199
  2. History of Martha's Vineyard, Banks, Volume I, pg 377, Vol III, pg 361
  3. NSDAR:EDGARTOWN MA, TOWN RECS 1657-1827, pg 320, FHL ROLL #911735
  4. The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, MA, Vol 1, by Charles Edward Banks, pg 344-346

Spouse: Sarah Bassett
Children: Cornelius; Ebenezer; Joseph; Mehitable; Zachariah; Eliakim; Ephraim; Samuel; Henry; Martha; Ichabod; Lydia; Peter;
Members Who Share This Ancestor
Date Approved Society ACN SAR Member Info Lineage via Child Genealogy Flags View Application Detail
1941-01-24 MA Unassigned Orin Norton (59610) Samuel   
1941-08-08 MA Unassigned Samuel Bailey Norton (60456) Samuel   
1983-12-12 FL Unassigned Frank Butler Greer (123065) Ephriam   
1985-07-16 MO 229452 James Fremont Townsend (126076) Zachariah   
1994-02-07 TX 209491 James Warren Shoecraft (141952) Ephram   
2002-05-21 VA 13273 Donald Norton Gower (158286) Cornelius   
2007-03-30 MT 28205 Roger Lee Holt (169076) Ebeneza FAMPCS   
2009-08-04 WA 36128 Glen Harold Gower (174874) Cornelius FAMPCS   
2012-08-15 TN 48647 Herbert McMurray Gould (182422) Samuel FAMPCS   
2012-12-07 CA 51020 Gregory Joji Mayeda (185670) Eliakim FAMPCS   
2021-02-26 MI 96001 Kirk Lars Lindquist (218359) Cornelius FAMPCS   
2022-05-13 OH 101564 Michael John Galvin (222437) Zachariah FAMPCS   
2022-05-13 OH 101565 John Robert Galvin (222438) Zachariah FAMPCS   
2022-05-13 OH 101566 Charles Bradley Galvin (222439) Zachariah FAMPCS   
2022-05-13 OH 101567 Liam Michael Galvin (222440) Zachariah FAMPCS   
Burial:
Old Westside (aka Edgartown, Pease Point Way) Cemetery (C-0053509)
Location:
Edgartown / Dukes / MA / USA
Find A Grave Cemetery #:
91856
Grave Plot #:
73
Grave GPS Coordinates:
41.389752 / -70.518570
Find A Grave Memorial #:
65353369
Marker Type:

SAR Grave Dedication Date:

Comments:
  • Image taken and provided by compatriot David C Shafer (MA) member 159259
  • Upright Stone - gravestone of Peter Norton is made of slate.
  • The inscription at the upper section reads: "Memento mori" (Remember you must die)
  • The main inscription reads: "In Memory of, Peter Norton, Esq., who died Feb 3d, 1792, In his 74th Year"


Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:

Enter the cemetery from Peases Point Way S at Avenue A of the cemetery. Travel 60 yards on cemetery Avenue A. Turn right and walk 38 yards toward Cooke Street to the grave site of Peter Norton



Author: David Crandall Schafer

Peter Norton was born on 9 September 1718, in Edgartown, Dukes County, Massachusetts, the son of Ebenezer and Deborah (Mayhew) Norton. He had three siblings: Eliakim, Mehitable, and Jedidah.1

He married Sarah Bassett, daughter of Samuel and Martha (Pease) Bassett, in 1740, and they had thirteen known children:2

  • Ebenezer was born on 29 August 1741 and married Elizabeth Smith.
  • Samuel was born on 16 April 1743 and married Mrs. Mary (Davis) Norton.
  • Martha was born on 16 October 1744, no marriage.
  • Cornelius was born on 27 February 1746 and married Lydia Claghorn.
  • Lydia was born on 17 November 1747 and married Nathan Bassett, Jr.
  • Eliakim was born on 25 March 1749 and married Hannah Butler.
  • Mehitable was born on 17 November 1750 and married Henry Butler.
  • Ephraim was born on 28 August 1752 and married Deborah Instance.
  • Zachariah was born on 28 August 1754 and married Hannah Smith.
  • Joseph was born on 04 January 1756 and married Deborah Smith.
  • Andrew was born on 07 February 1758 and probably died young.
  • Ichabod was born on 17 December 1761 and was unmarried.

Peter was born on 4 October 1763 and probably died young.

The Massachusetts Officers in the French and Indian War, 1748-1763, list Peter Norton of Edgartown on the Alarm List with the rank of Major in 1757 and Captain from June to August in 1761.

Under general fear of British attack on their communities, the citizens of Martha’s Vineyard petitioned the Massachusetts General Court on 28 September 1775 for protection against British aggression. The Massachusetts House of Representatives agreed and passed a resolution to direct two companies to be raised and stationed in defense of the seacoast of “the Island of Martha’s Vineyard” till the first day of December.3

On 19 March 1776, Edgartown joined with the Vineyard towns of Tisbury and Chilmark to establish a committee to consider whether they should petition the General Court “to see if they will grant us a farther supply of men, arms, and ammunition for the defense of the Island against invasion.” Named to the committee from Edgartown were Ebenezer Smith, Peter Norton, and Elijah Butler. On 21 March 1776, the three combined committees petitioned the General Court for 600 men from the continent furnished with arms and powder, with 525 to be stationed at Martha’s Vineyard and 75 at the Elizabeth Islands.4

The 1790 Edgartown Census lists the household of Peter Norton as consisting of two males aged 16 and older and four females.

The Patriot died on 3 February 1792 at Edgartown and was buried at the Old Westside cemetery. Mrs. Sarah (Bassett) Norton, age 85, died on 7 September 1804 at Edgartown and was buried beside her husband at the Old Westside cemetery.

Sources:

  1. The History of Martha’s Vineyard, Dukes Co., MA, by Charles Edward Banks, Vol. 3, page 358.
  2. Ibid, Vol. 3, pages 361-370
  3. Ibid, Vol. 1, pages 336-337
  4. Ibid, Vol. 1, pages 344-346



Author: Herbert M. Gould
Peter Norton was born September 9, 1718 on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, son of Ebenezer Norton and Deborah Mayhew. He inherited from his father an estate in Edgartown, which he farmed.

About 1740 he married Sarah Bassett. They had thirteen children, all born in Edgartown, between 1743 and 1763. Sons: Ebenezer, Samuel, Cornelius, Eliakim, Ephriam, Zachariah, Joseph, Andrew, Ichabod and peter Norton. Daughters: Martha, Lydia and Mehitable Norton. He enlisted in the war in 1776, and served as a private in Capt. John Russell’s Company in Massachusetts. He was a leader in the political and social life of the county; a sheriff for many years, also deacon of the Baptist Church from its establishment and Major of the county militia.
His son, Samuel, also served during the Revolutionary War.

Peter Norton died February 3, 1792 on Martha’s Vineyard.


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