Copyright © USGenNet Inc., 2014, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Memorial and Family History of Erie County, New York Vol. I, Biographical and Genealogical The Genealogical Publishing Co., Buffalo; 1906-8 [66-68] CHARLES DAVIS NORTON, father of the subject of this sketch, was identified with the highest walks of the legal profession of Western New York. Notable as an example of the scholarly type of lawyer, the elder NORTON was also an eminent advocate and a powerful orator both in forensic and other fields. Few men of his time were of similar prominence in the civil administration and the social life of Erie County. CHARLES DAVIS NORTON was born at Hartford, Connecticut, November 20th, 1820. He was the son of JOSEPH G. NORTON, a well-known shipping merchant of Hartford. The mother of CHARLES D. NORTON was LUCRETIA (HUNTINGTON) NORTON, daughter of DR. JOSEPH HUNTINGTON, a Congrega- tionalist minister of Coventry, Conn., and niece of SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, Governor of Connecticut and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. A brother of Mrs. NORTON was SAMUEL HUNTINGTON, who became second Governor of Ohio and afterward Chief Justice of that State. In 1827 CHARLES D. NORTON accompanied his family to Black Rock, where his father engaged in the drygoods business with JUDAH BLISS. Three years afterward the family removed to Buffalo, where JOSEPH G. NORTON died in 1844. CHARLES D. NORTON was prepared for college under private tutors and schools, and graduated from Union College with honors in 1840. In 1839 he entered the law office of HORATIO SHUMWAY, with whom he continued his legal studies until 1841. In October, 1842, he sailed for Florida, seeking rest and a milder climate. He returned to Buffalo in 1843, and resuming his law studies was admitted to the bar that year. Mr. NORTON was an ardent Whig. He earnestly espoused the Presi- dential candidacy of CLAY. His power and eloquence on the rostrum were among the noteworthy facts of his time and continue to be living traditions in our day. In 1849 Mr. NORTON was elected City Attorney of Buffalo. In 1851 he was elected Surrogate of Erie County. In 1865 PRESIDENT JOHNSON appointed Mr. NORTON Collector of Customs for the port of Buffalo, an honor which fell to him without solicitation and wholly in recognition of Ms fitness for the place, and he continued to fill the position until his death, April 11, 1867. Mr. NORTON was one of the most active members of the Young Men's Association, and in 1851 was chosen its President. Among its founders, he was also the first Recording Secretary of the Buffalo Historical Society. The wife of Mr. NORTON was JEANETTE PHELPS, whom he married in October, 1851, and who was a daughter of Oliver Phelps, of Canan- daigua, N. Y. Two sons, PORTER and CHARLES, were the issue of the union. PORTER NORTON was born in Buffalo, on the 9th of July, 1854. His elementary education was received in private schools. Later he graduated from Prof. Briggs' Classical School. After leaving school he entered the employment of MARTIN TAYLOR, a well-known book dealer. At the age of seventeen he became a law student in the office of E. CARLTON SPRAGUE and George Gorham. In 1875 Mr. NORTON was admitted to the bar, shortly after he assumed the position of managing clerk in the offices of the HON. LORAN L. LEWIS and WILLIAM H. GURNEY. With the firm of LEWIS & GURNEY he remained from two to three years, and then began practicing alone. Early in 1880 he formed an association with HENRY W. BOX, under the firm style of BOX & NORTON. With changes in the personnel, this connection continued until 1891, the successors of the firm of BOX & NORTON being BOX, HATCH & NORTON, and BOX, NORTON & BUSHNELL. In the summer of 1891 Mr. NORTON formed with THOMAS PENNEY and CHARLES B. SEARS the still existing copartnership of NORTON, PENNEY & SEARS. As a lawyer Mr. NORTON is at once erudite and practical. Since 1901 he has acted as counsel for the Bell Telephone Company of Buffalo. His present firm and its predecessors have for more than twenty-five years been counsel for the International Railway Company, Mr. NORTON being the only lawyer who has served continuously as the Company's counsel during that period. Messrs. NORTON, PENNEY & SEARS are also local counsel for various leading corporations, industrial and otherwise. Mr. Norton is a director of the Crosstown Street Railway, the Bell Telephone Company of Buffalo and the Niagara Falls Electric Railway. He is a director of the Fresh Air Mission, a Trustee of De Veaux College of Niagara Falls, a member of New York State Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution, and of the Society of Colonial Wars. He also belongs to the Buffalo, ELLICOTT and Country Clubs, and is a vestryman of Trinity Church. On the 9th of July, 1878, Mr. Norton married Miss JENNIE H. WATSON, a daughter of the late S. V. R. Watson and CHARLOTTE A. (SHERMAN) WATSON of Buffalo. The children are: PORTER HUNTINGTON NORTON and GERTRUDE V. D. NORTON. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access the more of our information about Erie County, N.Y., by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ny/erie/ ===========================================================================