Captain Hugh Norvell (1669–October 25, 1719) was a

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

planter, soldier and politician. He served in

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

, helped found and govern Williamsburg and several times served as a

vestryman A vestryman is a member of his local church's vestry, or leading body.Anstice, Henry (1914). ''What Every Warden and Vestryman Should Know.'' Church literature press He is not a member of the clergy.Potter, Henry Codman (1890). ''The Offices of Wa ...

Bruton Parish Church Bruton Parish Church is located in the restored area of Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. It was established in 1674 by the consolidation of two previous parishes in the Virginia Colony, and remains an active Epi ...

Early and family life

Born in

James City County James City County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the adjacent independent city of Williamsburg. Located ...

to the former Sarah Lucy Bullock and her husband, George Augustus Norvell, Hugh Norvell married multiple women named Sarah. The former Sarah Besouth (1674-1704) gave birth to sons George (1693-1786), Hugh Jr. (1699-1759) and William Norvell (1695-1757) as well as daughters who married and became Elizabeth (Mrs. George) Baskerville (1692-1732) and Mary (Mrs. William) Lightfoot, and Sarah and James who died without having children (probably as children). The family descends from Thomas Norvell, born about 1591 and who died in

Warwick County, Virginia Warwick County was a county in Southeast Virginia that was created from Warwick River Shire, one of eight created in the Virginia Colony in 1634. It became the City of Newport News on July 16, 1952. Located on the Virginia Peninsula on the no ...

before August 17, 1635, where he was an original proprietor. Thomas is thought to have married Mary Frye, either the sister or daughter of William Frye of

; they lived on Skiff's Creek in 1630. The Norvells were of Scots origin. Norvell is a shortened form of the name de Normanville. It dates to 1190 when John de Normanville was recorded on a grant of land by Bernard de Hauden. The family coat of arms as described in Burke's ''General Armory'' depicts three black martlets (swallows or swifts) on a silver diagonal band across a black shield. In the 17th century there were many spelling variations of the name: NORWELL, NOVELL, NOEL, NORVILL, NEVILL, and NORVELLE; but by the 18th century, it was generally spelled NORVELL. The earliest Norvell in the New World appears to be William Norvell, who in 1619 had a plantation on land that became

Isle of Wight County, Virginia Isle of Wight County is a county located in the Hampton Roads region of the U.S. state of Virginia. It was named after the Isle of Wight, England, south of the Solent, from where many of its early colonists had come. As of the 2020 census, ...

. A plantation called "Oyster Banks" was owned by William Norvell near the boundary of Isle of Wight and Nansemond counties in 1656, when the boundary line between the counties was run. Other early arrivals included: Richard Norvell, 1638; William Norvell, 1639; Peeter Norrell, 1647; Walter Norrell, 1650; Mary Norvell, 1653; in Warwick County; and

Thomas Nowell Thomas Nowell (1730? – 23 September 1801) was a Welsh-born clergyman, historian and religious controversialist. Life Nowell was the son of Cradock Nowell of Cardiff. He went up to Oriel College, Oxford, in 1746 and in 1747 he won the Duke o ...

in 1654 in Charles City.

Planter

Norvell ran tobacco

plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

using enslaved labor across the York County boundary near Williamsburg. His name appears in a patent from the Virginia Land Office, June 16, 1714, as adjoining the lands of Nicholas Valentine. In

he is listed on the quit rent roll of 1704 as owning of land.Today called "McLaws Circle"; located immediately southwest of the intersection of routes 199 and 60. See Grace Norvell, "Maps of Norvell Neighborhoods," Mss1N8296, The Library of Virginia. Norvell appeared as the guardian (''prochain ami'') of his daughter Elizabeth in a 1694 lawsuit against Mr. Robert Harrison and Mrs. Elizabeth Archer over the payment due to Elizabeth for an enslaved woman.

Civic and political activities

Hugh Norvell was named as a trustee of the land on which Williamsburg was to be built, under an "Act Directing the Building of the Capitol and the City of Williamsburg" passed by The General Assembly of Virginia on June 7, 1699. One of the clauses of this Act appointed Lewis Burwell, Phil Ludwell, Junr.,

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

, Junr., James Waley, Hugh Norwell ic and Mongo Ingles, Gentleman-Feofees or Trustees for land appropriated to the uses of the City. These gentlemen sold the half-acre lots into which the city had been laid out. Norvell was still a Feofee/Trustee in 1705 when the Act Directing the Building of the Capitol and the City of Williamsburg with additions was passed. In 1703 he served on the Grand Jury of the Virginia Admiralty Court and later became a county officer. He is mentioned as a juror in a 1710 trial involving eight

Tuscarora Tuscarora may refer to the following: First nations and Native American people and culture * Tuscarora people **''Federal Power Commission v. Tuscarora Indian Nation'' (1960) * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language of the Tuscarora people * ...

Indians. He was elected to the Virginia

House of Burgesses The House of Burgesses was the elected representative element of the Virginia General Assembly, the legislative body of the Colony of Virginia. With the creation of the House of Burgesses in 1642, the General Assembly, which had been established ...

about 1719.

Church activities

Norvell served on the Vestry of Bruton Parish Church several times beginning in 1694, especially in 1710-1715, during which time he was President of the Vestry and on December 5, 1710 conveyed the call to Rev. Dr. James Blair as the parish's Rector (an invitation that was accepted). Norvell also served on a committee to welcome Rev. Dr. Blair as President of the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III a ...

. Norvell also served on the committee that between 1710 and 1715 oversaw building of the new church that remains today as a National Historic Landmark.

Death and legacy

Hugh Norvell died at his Williamsburg home on October 25, 1719 and is memorialized at the Bruton Parish Episcopal Church. The historic church displays two plaques honoring his service. The plaque on Pew No. 7 honors "Hugh Norvell, Vestryman, 1710-1715, George Norvell, vestryman, and William Norvell, vestryman, 1775." The other plaque names Hugh Norvell as one of the members of the vestry who erected the church building from 1710-1715. His son George Norvell moved to Hanover County, Virginia and also served on the vestry of St. Paul's parish. His grandson William Norvell served as a soldier in the American Revolutionary War, as well as served multiple terms in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming a Virginia judge and later revived the law school at the College of William and Mary. Some of Captain Hugh Norvell's descendants include U.S. Senator

John Norvell John Norvell (December 21, 1789April 24, 1850) was a newspaper editor and one of the first U.S. Senators from Michigan. History Norvell was born in Danville, Kentucky, then still a part of Virginia, where he attended the common schools. He is t ...

of Michigan, William Walker, the Filibusterer in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

; and Oliver Hardy, the actor-comedian and movie star, son of Emily Norvell Hardy.

Notes

References

*Goodwin, William A., ''The Record of Bruton Parish Church'', Richmond, Virginia, 1941. *Burton, Francis Harrison, '' Burton Chronicles of Colonial Virginia'', Virginia, 1933. *Meyer, Virginia A. and Dorman, John Frederick, ''Adventurers of Purse and Person Virginia 1607-1624/5'' *Norvell, Grace "James Norvell of Goochland County, Virginia, With Some Indications of His Tidewater Ancestry," Magazine of Virginia, Genealogy, August and November, 1988. *Baber, Lucy Harrison ''William Norvell (1746-1794) of Hanover Co., Virginia: His Forebears and Descendants'', Lynchburg, Virginia, 1992. *Black, George F. ''The Surnames of Scotland'', New York, 1946. {{DEFAULTSORT:Norvell, Hugh 1669 births 1719 deaths Virginia colonial people American militiamen Trustees of populated places in Virginia

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...