Isaac Norris (July 21, 1671June 4, 1735) was a merchant, slave trader and prominent figure in provincial

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, including

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

in 1724. He was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, but his father, Thomas, moved to

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

when Isaac was seven years old. Isaac went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1690 to arrange for his family to move to that city, but on his return he found that they had all died in the great earthquake at

Port Royal Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...

. He returned to Philadelphia, went into business, and became one of the wealthiest proprietors in Pennsylvania. While he was in England in 1706 he came to the aid of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer, religious thinker, and influential Quakers, Quaker who founded the Province of Pennsylvania during the British colonization of the Americas, British colonial era. An advocate of democracy and religi ...

in his difficulties and rescued him from imprisonment. On his return to Philadelphia two years later, he was elected to the governor's council, and from then until his death continued in public life. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

for many years, its speaker in 1712, justice for

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

in 1717, and, on the organization of the high court of chancery, became a master to hear cases with the lieutenant-governor. He was elected

in 1724. On the death of David Lloyd, he was unanimously chosen Justice of the

Pennsylvania Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System. It began in 1684 as the Provincial Court, and casual references to it as the "Supreme Court" of Pennsylvania were made offici ...

, but he declined and remained in the county court. For many years he was one of the chief representatives of the proprietaries, and by the will of Penn he was named a trustee of the province of Pennsylvania.

Family

In 1694, Norris married Mary, daughter of Thomas Lloyd, president of the council. Their son,

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, succeeded his father in business and also became active in politics, serving as speaker of the Assembly. Norris died in Philadelphia on June 4, 1735.

Slave ownership and manumission

Norris was a slave owner. He and Mary Lloyd freed many of the slaves during their lifetimes or in their wills. Their children, including Elizabeth and Isaac Norris Jr., freed the rest of them. For example, when Norris Sr. died in 1737, his will freed "Indian servant man Will (born in my house) . . . on or before 2 July 1740 on condition he serve his mistress whose property he will be." When Mary Lloyd Norris died a few years later, she willed to her daughter Elizabeth her "negro girl Dinah." Elizabeth freed Dinah twenty years later. This was consistent with Quaker manumissions, which began in the 1730s, at the height of Quaker slave ownership, and peaked in the 1770s, by which time only about 19% of all inventoried Quakers owned slaves, and all of them freed them at their deaths.

Legacy

The borough of

Norristown, Pennsylvania Norristown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough with Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located ...

is named for Norris, who in 1704 bought a large tract of land there from Penn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norris, Isaac 1671 births 1735 deaths 18th-century mayors of places in Pennsylvania British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Mayors of Philadelphia Members of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly Merchants from colonial Pennsylvania 18th-century American slave traders American slave owners People from London Speakers of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly

Family

Slave ownership and manumission

Legacy

Further reading

References