Seventh Generation

133. Margaret Chatfield was born in 1610. She died after 1671 at the age of 61 in Sussex, England. She signed a will in 1675 in Sussex, England. Margaret Chatfield had another brother, John, who was born about 1612 and died bef 1702. This could have been the "uncle" of Henry Norris, meaning that no connection may exist to the Long Island Chatfield or Norris families. Without knowing which uncle was being referred to this is a leap.

Margaret Norris wrote her will in 1660 but died after 1671 and before 1675 when it was probated. Presumably the debt was not cleared prior to her death. Henry Norris was no longer living near Thomas Chatfield in 1671 or later. Thomas Chatfield remained on Long Island and Henry Norris left shortly after marrying in 1668. While contact with Henry would not be impossible, why would Thomas Chatfield not have paid off his debt prior to this? And if he did, why didn't Margaret change her will to reflect the payment of the debt? Of course if the debt were owed to Margaret by John Chatfield then it would be reasonable not to change the will. This would be especially true if Henry Norris, her son, was still in Sussex, as I assume to be the case. If he were in America there would be little likelihood that the debt would be paid, and certainly not 13 to 15 years after she wrote the will. If it had not been paid in 15 years, we may assume that it would not be paid....
http://genforum.genealogy.com/norris/messages/5336.html

Margaret Chatfield and George Norris were married about 1629. George Norris was christened on 4 May 1592 in Fittleworth, Sussex West, England. He died after 1640 in Sussex, England.

Margaret Chatfield and George Norris had the following children:

185	i.	George Norris was born in 1629 in Fittleworth, Sussex West, England. He was christened on 21 March 1629 in Fittleworth, Sussex West, England.
+186	ii.	Annis Norris.
187	iii.	Joseph Norris was born in 1634 in Sussex West, England. He was christened on 1 January 1635 in Fittleworth, Sussex West, England.
188	iv.	Henry Norris was born in 1640 in Sussex West, England. He was christened on 14 March 1640 in Fittleworth, Sussex West, England. Henry Norris who was christened 14 Mar 1640/1 in North Mundham, West Sussex. In the 1660 will of his mother he was left personal effects (including a table at her house in North Mundham) and money owed her in the hands of his uncle Chatfield. At this time she only had two brothers living, Thomas Chatfield of East Hampton, Long Island, and George Chatfield of Guilford, Connecticut. This Henry Norris already had three uncles who had removed to New England, and was left an interest in money in the hands of one of them. This certainly supports the identification of this Henry Norris with the one in the New Jersey settlement. To further support this is the fact that the New Jersey Henry Norris' wife was an East Hampton women named Abigail Stretton. The Chatfield and Stretton families were early influential families in East Hampton rating a place of importance with the Gardiners, Jameses, Mulfords, and Conklings. To further support an interrelatedness of these families, the Sussex Henry Norris had a known first cousin-once removed named Judge Thomas Chatfield (1680-1754) who married on 26 May 1707 in East Hampton to Hannah Stretton, a known niece of Abigail (Stretton) Norris. This all taken stacked together is a strong case for identifying the Henry Norris (born 1640/1) from West Sussex with the Henry Norris (d. 1706) of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, as one and the same person. I am aware that others have presented the Elizabethtown Norris as a scion of the Norrises of Southampton, but I have seen no evidence outside of a common surname and a relative proximity (Southampton and East Hampton) to suggest any certainty to that claim. Please be the judge for yourself with what I have presented here. http://genforum.genealogy.com/norris/messages/5234.html