Ann H. (Gorham) Norton 1803-1900

Wife of Capt. James A. Norton

James A. Norton was born March 25, 1801 to Samuel Norton and Ruth Keeney.  A bit unusual at the time,  James' parents, grandparents and great-grandparents were all born in Connecticut.  James and his five older siblings were born in Connecticut as well.  His older brother, Walter, convinced him to join him at Black Rock (now Buffalo) to sail the Great Lakes.

Captain James Norton's obituary in the "Buffalo Commercial Advertiser," dated February 5, 1861 states that he commenced sailing on the "Great Lakes" at the age of nineteen.  His career spanned 20 years, during which he became a very popular steamboat captain.  He was at one time employed by the American Express Company, where he acted as their agent, traveling the lakes between Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio.  Captain James and his family were later to settle in the Cleveland area.

Travel on the Great Lakes was hazardous, particularly in sudden storms.  A report published in the April 1894 issue of the "Monthly Weather Review" includes a special report listing 227 shipwrecks and 410 lives lost on the five lakes during the period of 1886 to 1893.

Weather wasn't the only hazard on the Great Lakes.  "The New-York Evening Post" covered an incident in which James' older brother, Captain Walter Norton, was the victim of a theft of his trunk of personal possessions.  The contents of the truck were valued at approximately $1,400 - a very large sum of money in 1819.

More information of Captain James Norton will be added on a separate page in the future.