Thomas Norris was the first of our family to come to America in 1630/31.
Who was Thomas Norris? He was my 10th great-grandfather on my Mother's side. Born about 1608 in Congham, County Norfolk, England, he ran away from home as a boy of eleven years of age and went to sea. He probably started out as a cabin boy and later became a sailor. He followed the sea for many years landing in Nansemond County, Virginia colony, about 1630 or 1631 and chose to remain in America. He was the first member of our family to settle in the American colonies.
How interesting it is to think of what his life may have been like. He had never known his father who died by the time he was a year old. At 11, he ran away from home and became a cabin boy. Why would he have ran away? What an adventurous life he must have led. What a site and promise America must have been to have inspired him to settle down in the Virginia Colony.
In 1637, he married Ann Hynson and became a planter. He died at the age of 67 while negotiating the sale of 200 acres of land. The land sale was concluded by his son after his demise. He lived the American dream for himself and his family. For those of us generations down the line, we can only hope to have inherited some of his sense of adventure and determination.
How interesting it is to think of what his life may have been like. He had never known his father who died by the time he was a year old. At 11, he ran away from home and became a cabin boy. Why would he have ran away? What an adventurous life he must have led. What a site and promise America must have been to have inspired him to settle down in the Virginia Colony.
In 1637, he married Ann Hynson and became a planter. He died at the age of 67 while negotiating the sale of 200 acres of land. The land sale was concluded by his son after his demise. He lived the American dream for himself and his family. For those of us generations down the line, we can only hope to have inherited some of his sense of adventure and determination.
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