William Norton b. 13 Jun, 1754 Goochland, VA
wife Mildred Taylor b. 18 Dec 1751, Orange, VA

William Norton was born 13 Jun, 1754 from the Douglas Register

Douglas Register "Christopher Norden & Mary Emmerson a son named William born Jun 13.1754
[Baptized] 1756 June 26. p. 49" [p. 261 in the Douglas Registry book]

William Norton married Mildred Taylor in January of 1775. The Norton family was probably still living in Nortonsville, VA at this time.

She is the daughter of Erasmus Taylor and Jane Moore of Orange County and have land situated not far from Nortonsville. Mildred Taylor was a 2nd cousin of President James Madison. Mildred's uncle also produced another president, Zachary Taylor.

Marriage of William Norton and Milly Taylor. 5 January 1775 in Orange VA Found in Deed Book 17. Both of St. Thomas' Parish. p.3. (Transcriber spelled Norton as Morton and also spelled William's sister Sarah as Morton. There are no Mortons in any of the adjoining counties)

Robert Sinclair says in his pension claim that he served there in the
fall of 1776 or 1777 under Captain William Norton. This reference is located in Washington, Va just at the beginning of the Cumberland Gap area.

Virginia, Publication 4 - 1968
Historical Society of Southwest Virginia
http://www.ls.net/~newriver/swva/hssv-4.htm

Other Forts on the Clinch
New Garden Station
In the beautiful New Garden section of Russell County, Virginia, on the
south side of the Clinch was another very early fort called the New
Garden Station. This is another the historians have passed by and no
historical marker denotes its existence, even the people now living in
the area are unaware that fort ever existed there. This section of
Russell County was settled very early, in fact as early as 1769, and
upon whose land and when the fort was built it not known.

Certainly it can be proven that the fort stood upon Thompson's Creek,
from this entry in Washington County, Virginia, Land Entry Book, dated
August 20, 1780, which reads:

"We the commissioners, etc...do certify that Israel Christian is
entitled to 100 acres of land near the New Garden Fort, on the north
side of Clinch River, on the waters of Thompson's Creek."

The New Garden Station may have been built as early as 1774 and manned
by the settlers in proximity to it. Certainly there is no militia list
for it as this early date, and neither is it listed as one of the
garrisoned forts under Captain Daniel Smith's command at this time.

Settlers of the New Garden section would have been at the complete
mercy of the Shawnee entering through the Sandy war passes, and
sanctuary in either the Elk Garden or Castlewood Fort would have been
miles away. Considering these conditions and the very early settlement
of the area it seems that an early fort would have been a most urgent
necessity of the settlers.

Both Andrew Lynam and George Huffaker in their pension applications say
they served at this fort under a Lt. James Leeper in the year 1777,
with Huffaker saying that when he served there Alexander Smith and a
Mr. Jackson lived there.

Robert Sinclair says in his pension claim that he served there in the
fall of 1776 or 1777 under Captain William Norton. These statements not
only prove the existence of the fort, but also that it did exist at an
early date.

George William Settle in an unpublished history of Russell County
entitled "A Brief History of the Earliest Generations and Events, Etc.,
In the Eastern Part of Russell County, Virginia, page 53, states:

"About one half mile north of Oaks Garage, or around 300 yards up the
ridge from Robert Green's was an Indian fort where twenty-five or
thirty people lived for protection against the Indians. Some old man
told me they would go down to the big spring below the road, eat and go
back to the fort, but never without the men along with their rifles."

The above traditional statement may actually pinpoint the location of
the New Garden Fort.