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A tradition in my family is that the surname of Martha-- the wife of my ancestor Ambrose Alexander NORRIS, Sr.--was BALDWIN. The birth date that I have for her is 18 Dec 1810, & she was born in South Carolina, according to the 1850 census. The marriage date that I have for Martha & Ambrose is 15 Oct 1825, & the location was probably Laurens Co., SC; the Ambrose NORRIS household was in the 1830 Laurens Co. census.
I received information that Martha might be the sister of William BALDWIN, born 1 Jan 1800, of Laurens Co., as a result of a posting to this GENFORUM. William BALDWIN’s wife was Nancy NORRIS. According to the responding message, their son George BALDWIN was overseer for mule trader Skinner SMITH at Hickory Tavern in Laurens. It seems logical that Nancy NORRIS BALDWIN & Ambrose NORRIS Sr. were likely siblings, while their spouses, William BALDWIN & Martha BALDWIN NORRIS, were also probably siblings.
According to the Harry Alexander Davis book, The Norris Family of Maryland and Virginia Genealogy of Thomas Norris 1361 – 1930, my ancestor Ambrose NORRIS Sr. was the son of William NORRIS (Jr.) (b 1773 Chesterfield Dist., SC) and Nancy BARREL. The information in the Davis book is rife with errors, & in fact, I doubt that there was any such couple as William & Nancy BARREL NORRIS—although there were various William NORRISes at that time in the Carolinas, some of whom had wives named Nancy. Several of us have been researching this line for about 40 years, without success in verifying who Ambrose’s parents were.
I was unable to find William NORRIS Jr. in Chesterfield-Darlington but did locate a William Jr. in neighboring Kershaw County. William NORRIS Sr. of Kershaw, wife Martha, left a will written in Lancaster Co. and probated in Kershaw Co. (1791). The will lists three sons (William, Joel, and John). William Sr. had land in eastern Kershaw, near the county line with Chesterfield. My suspicion is that William Jr. moved to Laurens. One reason for my thinking that the Williams in Laurens & Kershaw are the same is because the estate of Ambrose Alexander “Alex” NORRIS, Jr., my great-great grandfather, mentions land that he had in Camden, SC, which is in Kershaw Co. In a 1907 Alabama Confederate Veterans Census, Alex gave his birth date as 8 March 1832 & his birthplace as Laurens District, SC, which confirms that the Ambrose in the 1830 Laurens census must be Ambrose Sr.
A Susannah BALDWIN left a will in Kershaw Co. in 1840. Of course, this could be just coincidence.
If Nancy NORRIS BALDWIN & Ambrose NORRIS Sr. were siblings, then they were likely the children of William & Nancy NORRIS of Laurens who may have previously in Kershaw. Likewise, their spouses, William BALDWIN and Martha BALDWIN(?) NORRIS, may have been siblings—with several researchers stating that William was the son of a John BALDWIN. One researcher has William’s father as Eli BALDWIN. The following information, which I do not know if it is correct, does not list a William—or a Martha—as children of Eli:
"Newberry County, South Carolina: Historical and Genealogical Annals" by George Leland Summer, Sr., A.B., A.M.:
Eli BALDWIN died in Greenville County, SC, abt 1838, leaving widow, Elizabeth, & ch: Abner, John [see below], Sylvanus, Hiram, R.B., Cynthia, & Eli. Other distributees named in settlement of his estate were: Robert HOLLAND, J.W. CLARK, E.B. CANTRELL, Jarratt YEARGIN, & G.W. PHILIPS. John died in 1843, in Forsythe [sic] County, Georgia.
The Ambrose NORRIS family moved to Forsyth Co, GA, from Laurens Co, SC, by 1838. The 1840 Forsyth Co., GA, census, page 269, lists Ambrose NORRIS aged 30-40. It shows one male 5-10, one male 10-15; two females under 5, one female 5-10, one female 10-15, & one female, presumably wife Martha, 30-40. This Ambrose appears to definitely be my Ambrose Alexander NORRIS, Sr.—Ambros A. NORRIS shown as member of Shady Grove Baptist Church (Shake Rag), Forsyth Co, GA, 1838. The 1840 Forsyth Co, GA, census also lists a Thomas NORRIS and John BALDWIN, both on page 287 & both also probably from Laurens Co., SC. This John BALDWIN is supposed to be the son of Eli, as indicated above.
The Ambrose NORRIS family moved to Harris Co, GA, by 1845. The family was in the 1860 Russell Co., AL, census but must have shortly thereafter returned to Harris Co., GA, because the family is in the 1870 census there. Then the family must have returned to Russell Co., AL, after 1870 because Ambrose Sr. was buried there in 1880, & most of the family settled in that area by 1880 with many descendants still residing in the Chattahoochee Valley area of Alabama & Georgia.
Here is a summary of the family of Ambrose & Martha BALDWIN(?) NORRIS:
Ambrose Alexander NORRIS Sr. (born about 1800 SC, died 1880, Phenix City, Russell Co., AL, buried Girard Cemetery in Phenix City) was in the 1830 Laurens Co., SC census; 1840 Forsyth Co., GA census; 1850 Harris Co., GA census; 1860 Russell Co., AL census; and 1870 Harris Co., GA census. Wife Martha E. [Elizabeth?] BALDWIN(?) (born 18 Dec 1810 SC, date unknown & place of death either Georgia or Alabama), married 15 October 1825, probably in Laurens Co., SC. Neither has been found in the 1880 census so far. Ambrose’s wife’s name is shown several different ways: 1850 Harris Co, GA, as Martha, 1860 census as Elizabeth, and 1870 census as Sarah—or maybe Sarah was a second wife & Martha E.'s name was really Martha Elizabeth? The known children of Ambrose Sr. & Martha include the following:
(1) John Gabriel b 1830 SC “idiot” (not found in censuses after 1850)
(2) Ambrose Alexander “Alex” Jr. (b 8 Mar 1832 Laurens Co., SC, d 23 Nov 1911 Russell Co, AL) m Susanna Laura Serenna REYNOLDS in Harris Co., GA 12 Jul 1852
(3) Sara b 1834 SC m John H. WEAVER 13 Mar 1856 Muscogee Co., GA
(4) Margaret b 1836 SC m Benjamin or Bailey F. DALTON 10 Mar 1856 Muscogee Co., GA
(5) Elizabeth b abt 1842 GA
(6) Nancy D.L.E. b abt 1843 GA
(7) Benjamin Franklin, b abt 1847 GA, d aft 1880, m Sarah DYER 18 Jan 1868 Russell Co., AL
(8) George b 1848 GA
(9) William J.E. b 9 Jun 1850 GA, d 29 Dec 1896 Muscogee Co., GA m (2) Mary PAYNE Muscogee Co., GA, 26 Aug 1876; was (1) Roseanna M. TREADAWAY who m William C. NORRIS 14 Jan 1868 Muscogee Co., GA?
(10) Martha b 1855 GA (died 1884?)
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