Early Life
Norton was born of a Cherokee father and a Scottish mother, in the early 1760s. His father was taken as a boy by British soldiers when his hometown of Keowee was destroyed by the British. It seems that Norton's father eventually joined the British Army and moved to Scotland, where he married. John Norton was likely educated in Scotland. He served an apprenticeship as a printer, but ran away to join the army. He was stationed in Ireland before being relocated to Lower Canada in 1785.
While with his regiment at Niagara (Upper Canada) in 1787, he deserted the army. For a time, Norton taught at Tyendinaga on the Bay of Quinte, west of Kingston, Ontario. In 1791 he traveled through the Ohio region as a trader and established many contacts. During this time, he became increasingly involved with the Six Nations of the Grand River. In 1794, he returned to Fort Niagara where he served as an interpreter for the Indian department. He was adopted by the Mohawks, with Joseph Brant as his uncle. Norton moved to Grand River where he married an Iroquois woman.
Read more about this topic: John Norton (Mohawk Chief)
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