William Hutchinson Norris

William Hutchinson Norris (born Oglethorpe County, Georgia in September 25, 1800; died July 13, 1893 in Americana, Brazil) is known for being a founder of the city of Americana and a significant figure in the history of the Confederados. He was a Mexican-American War veteran and Alabama senator who left the US for Brazil with 30 Confederate families.

Career in the United States

William Norris served in the Alabama State Legislature, both as a Senator and member of the Alabama House of Representatives from Dallas County during the late 1830s and early 1840s. On December 2, 1861 he was elected Grand Master of the Alabama Masonic Lodge.

Career in Brazil

On December 27, 1865, William H. Norris and his son Robert C. Norris arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil aboard the ship "South America". It is uncertain what his departure point was -probably either New Orleans or Mobile, Alabama. Norris had left his home at Mount Pleasant in Monroe County. The only member of this immediate family who did not accompany the group to Brazil was Francis Johnson Norris, son of William H. Norris and his wife Mary Black. Prior to his marriage to Mary Black, William H. Norris was married to Melinda Black who is thought to have been a cousin of Mary. [http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=camilo_martinez]

On January 10, 1867, the rest of the Norris family left New Orleans aboard the "Talisman" bound for Rio. After a bad storm, with damage to the ship, they wound up in the Cape Verde Islands and did not reach Rio until April 19, 1867.

William Hutchinson Norris died at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste, Brazil on July 13, 1893.

Family

William Norris had sons-in-law, listed as Willie Daniel (married to Nancy Angeline), Edward Townsend and Joseph Whitaker.

It should be pointed out that there is an un-published Manuscript on file at the Library of Congress that was written by Harry Alexander Davis and it concerns several Norris Families. (The typed version has almost 1500 pages). In this Manuscript, Davis writes that the parents of William Hutchinson Norris are William Norris (b. 1758 Maryland) and Sarah Rigdon, the daughter of Alexander Rigdon of Harford County. There is a better than average chance that this couple never existed and like the vast amount of data in the Davis Manuscript this information was not attributed to a source and therefore it cannot be accurately checked. The study "The Rigdons of Maryland" has a well documented part on Alexander Rigdon and there is no indication that he ever had a daughter named Sarah as stated by Davis, nor is there any indication contained in the study that any Sarah Rigdon ever married into the Norris Family at any point in time.

The parents of William Hutchinson Norris were William Norris b 31 March 1757 in Johnston County, North Carolina and Nancy Watkins b 1772 in Augusta County, Virginia. They married in Wilkes County, Georgia in the late 1780s and their marriage bond was posted in Feb 1792. In 1793 a portion of Wilkes County was used in the creation of Oglethorpe County and that is how William Hutchinson Norris was born there in 1800. There are a number of documented sources that establish the lineage of William H. Norris and by diligent research they can be located.

In or about 1812, the family located to Jasper County, Georgia and shortly before 1820, William Hutchinson Norris migrated to Alabama where he remained until he left the United States and moved to Brazil.

References