norris

Through the centuries the NORRIS family was affiliated with many different clans through marriage. The clan MACDONALD claims the NORRIS family as a sept or directly affliated family, entitled to clan rights including the use of the clan tartan shown in the background here.

The NORRIS family first appears in the records of Lnacashire where they were recorded as an ancient Lancashire family before the year 1100.
The notable NORRIS family is shown in the ancient manuscripts and cartularies as tracing their ancestry to Anglo Saxon origin. The most ancient NORRIS family Coat-of-Arms was recorded between the 12th and 15th centuries.

    This ancient family is Welsh in origin, the name being spelled , at one time, as Norreys or Norreis. The family was originally from Glamorganshire. At the end of the 15th century branches of the familywere establishedin the western english shires of Devon and Somerset.
     In the latter shire was born, about 1540, Hugh Norris, the first of the family to bear the coat-of-arms illistrated above. His grandson, also named Hugh, established the family at Hackney, then just out the city of London, of which it is now apart. The Norris family has been associated with the area modern times.
     Another branch of the family was to be found in th e East Anglian County of Norfolk as early as the middle of the 14th century. Members of this family were prominent citizens of the city of Norwich during the 1600's.
     One of the first families to settle in America was Isaac Norris, a freind of William Penn. In 1704, he bought a large tract of land in Pennsylvania, where he built a settlement. This was called Norriton Plantationuntil 1785 when the name was changed to Norristown in honor of it's founder. He purchased 7,482 acres of land from William Penn for the pricely sum of 850 pounds, or $3,770. The approximate price per acre was 50 cents.