The
Norton Family
The
Norton Family
Stephen and Sarah Jane Paddock Norton (my great-great-great grandparents) lived in Antioch, Illinois. Stephen was born in September of 1812 and died on February 1, 1890. He married Sarah Jane in 1836. Sarah Jane may be buried in Antioch, Illinois. The Paddocks (great-great-great grandma Sarah's ancestors) came from Ireland.
William Norton and Amelia Wood Norton (my great-great grandparents) lived in Lake and McHenry County, Illinois. Great-great grandpa William was born in August 17, 1842 in Illinois and died in 1929 in Tripoli, Wisconsin. He married Great-great grandma Amelia in 1863. He and his family moved to Tripoli, Wisconsin from Illinois in 1898. Great-great grandfather, William was wounded slightly in the chin in Sherman's March to the Sea during the Civil War.
Great-great grandmother, Amelia helped establish Brantwood, Wisconsin's school. She and her sister, Cordelia were both teachers. William and Amelia had a homestead grant from President McKinley in 1898 (Brantwood, Wisconsin).The Woods (great-great grandma Amelia's family) have been traced back to the 1700's in New York.
Great-great Grandpa and Grandma, William and Amelia had 7 sons and 2 daughters. All the boys had different lifestyles. Great-grandpa Pat and great uncle Wood were both woodsmen, hunters and farmers. Great uncle John went to Jamacia and died of the flu epidemic in 1918. Great uncle Bernard went back to Engleside, Illinois, where he lived his entire life. Great-uncle Oscar dissapeared from where he lived in Libertyville, Wisconsin. One story is he was with the Mafia and another is there was another woman.
Pat Norton and Mae Little Norton (my great-grandparents) lives mostly in Brentwood, Tripoli and Starks, Wisconsin. The Littles (my great-grandmother's family) came from Switzerland around 1812-1813.
My grandfather, Arthur Norton lived in Tripoli, Storks and Brantwood during his childhood. He also lived at Eli, Minnesota off and on. Grandpa was very close to his brother Ted and visited him a lot. He was mostly a lumberjack at heart, although he worked some on farms. Grandpa Art married Bessie Lyons in 1933. She met him in Rhinelander, Wisconsin where she was a teacher.
Grandma Bessie's family was French, Indian and Irish. Great-grandfather, Francis Lyons was 1/4 Oneida Indian (but he belonged to the Monamoni Tribe) and 1/2 French. (That would make me 1/32 Oneida Indian) Great grandmother, Lyons was Irish and English.
Art Norton lived in Tripoli, Storks and Brantwood during his childhood. He also lived at Eli, Minnesota off and on. Art was very close to his brother Ted and visited him a lot. He was mostly a lumberjack at heart, although he worked some on farms. Art married Bessie Lyons in 1933. She met him in Rhinelander, Wisconsin where she was a teacher. In 1961, Art and Bessie moved to Ottawa, Illinois to be near their son Richard. Art went to work as a janitor at Burns Machine Company until he retired. He continued living in Ottawa, Illinois the remainder of his life. After his death in 1975, Art was buried in the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery, Ottawa, Illinois.
Richard Arthur "Dick" Norton (1933-1989)
Dick grew up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. The jobs were very limited and he didn't want to be a lumber jack, so Dick joined the Air Force at the age of 17. While in the service, he worked as a jet mechanic. During his enlistment, he was stationed in Rome, New York. While there, he became friends with Bob Stoens, who lived in Toluca, Illinois. Dick would go with Bob to his home in Toluca when they were on leave. |
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| The winter of 1955, Bob had gotten orders
to go to Korea. Bob and Dick had come home on leave to Toluca for Christmas
before Bob was to go over seas. Bob's sister, Edith was working at
the garment factory in Toluca and had been paid in silver dollars as a Christmas
gift. They had been told by someone that some of the silver dollars were
very valuable, so Bob and his friend Dick, decided to drive to Henry to a
dealer to have the value of the coins assessed. They took off one evening
for Henry with Dick driving Bob's Plymouth.
What they didn't know, was while they had been away, the county had widened the road on the Lacon hill, but it was still narrow at the bottom of the hill. Since, Dick was from Wisconsin, he was unfamiliar with the roads anyway. When they got to the bottom of the hill, Dick went off the road. During the accident, Bob was thrown from the car. They were taken to St. Francis hospital in Peoria. Dick's face was cut up from glass but otherwise was unhurt. The doctors thought Bob's leg was broken, but he kept complaining that his neck hurt. It wasn't until two days later, that they discovered that his neck was broken! |
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| Both Dick and Bob Stoens were then stationed
in Chanute Air Force Base. Dick retired from the Air Force as
a Staff Sageant in 1955 and went to work at Ulrich Motor Company in Roanoke,
Illinois. During his visits to Toluca, Dick and Bob's sister
Edith became very close. Edith Stoens and Richard Arthur Norton were
married at the Presbyterian Church in LaRose, Illinois on July 7, 1956.
After their marriage, Dick and Edith continued living in and around Toluca for several years. Dick continued working for Ulrick's and was also in the Airforce reserves. He had hoped that they would get jet planes at the Peoria,Illinois and he could go there as a mechanic. Unfortunately, they never did and Dick left the reserves about a year later. By 1959, Dick and Edith had moved to Ottawa, Illinois where Richard went to work at Burns Machine Company. Dick and Edith had two children. Nancy Jo was born on March 18, 1957. Their second daughter, Judy Ann was born on September 17, 1959. Edith and Richard continued living in Ottawa for several more years. Their marriage was shaky though and by 1962, they had separated. They divorced in 1963. Dick had met Margery Grooms and they were married on June 26, 1965 in Ottawa, Illinois. Dick and Marg had two children, Michael and Richard. They continued living in Ottawa, Illinois until about 1988. They then bought a home in Grandridge, Illinois. During this time, Dick continued to work at Burns Machine Company. By then, he had moved up in the company to a foreman's position. Dick was a member of the Moose Lodge for many years. He was also a big Green Bay Packer and White Socks fan. Dick began to have problems with his health and in 1988 had surgery because of blocked arteries in the neck. On June 16, 1989, just before Father's Day, Dick had a massive aneurysm at his home in Granridge, Illinois. He was pronounced dead at Ottawa Community Hospital in Ottawa, Illinois. After his death, he was buried in the Oakwood Memorial Park Cemetery, Ottawa, Illinois.
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Nancy (Norton) Piper and |
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