Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Last night before bedtime I discovered a whole new side of the Norton family in Boston, Massachusetts

Last night before bedtime I discovered a whole new side of the Norton family in Boston, Massachusetts.

I was going through Familysearch on Monday, July 18, 2011. Familysearch is the Mormon website, they have lots of data but the absolute worst user interface. For the ten years I had been searching in it, the database would not allow me to search for the junction between two last names. They finally allowed those searches sometime this year. Last night I searched in the database for any Mulligan - Norton children or marriages and the result was James T. Norton (1849-1898) and Catherine A. Norton (1851-1913) Murphy of Boston, Massachusetts. The dates fit perfectly as a sibling of Patrick Norton. Patrick came from Boston and was naturalized in Boston according to a photocopy of a naturalization record that was passed down in the family. The connection to my Michael Norton (c1825-?) and Bridget Mulligan (c1825-?) is still tentative but all the given names exist in my side of the family too. There is no document that ties James T. Norton and Catherine A. Norton (1851-1913) Murphy to my Patrick J. Norton, but I may find a funeral notice that mentions the family in New Jersey. The only evidence so far is the name of the parents. I called the cemetery on Tuesday, July 19, 2011 and the said Catherine A. Norton (1851-1913) Murphy was buried with John Murphy, age 14, who died on March 25, 1895; and Thomas Murphy who died on March 12, 1969 at age 84.