John Thomas Norton (February 4, 1865 – April 16, 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life

Norton was born on February 4, 1865, in Troy, New York, son of Thomas Norton, superintendent of Clinton Iron Works and city alderman, and Rose Shattuck. His parents were both Irish immigrants; Thomas came from

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

, Rose from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

. His orphaned first cousin Mary Theresa Norton was also raised with him and her son,

James T. Lee James Thomas Aloysius Lee (October 2, 1877 – January 3, 1968) was an American lawyer, banker, and real estate investor who was the maternal grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill. Early life Lee was born in Manhattan on O ...

, was also the maternal grandfather of

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...

from 1960 to 1963. Norton graduated from Troy High School in 1882. He then entered

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

, graduating from there in 1886. After graduating, he began to study law in the law office of Smith, Fursman & Cowen. In January 1888, he moved to Buffalo and worked as a managing clerk for Wadsworth & Loveridge. In October that year, he was admitted to the bar in Rochester and returned to Troy. He then entered a partnership with M. H. Myers in 1889. After Myers' death, he practiced law on his own. He was the village attorney for Greenbush. In 1894, Norton was elected to the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, representing Rensselaer County 1st District. He served in the Assembly in

1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...

and

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that Wil ...

. In the

1900 New York state election The 1900 New York state election was held on November 6, 1900, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Secretary of State, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer and the state engineer, as well as all membe ...

, he was the Democratic candidate for

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York who leads the New York State Department of State, Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York ...

. He lost the election to

John T. McDonough John Thomas McDonough (b. July 12, 1843 Birdhill, County Tipperary, Ireland – d. March 21, 1917 Washington D.C.) was an American lawyer and politician. Early life He came with his parents to the United States in 1850, and they settled in ...

. Norton served as corporation counsel of Troy from 1902 to 1904. In 1905, he unsuccessfully ran for district attorney as an independent Democrat. From 1911 to 1914, he served as deputy

Attorney General of New York The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

and was in charge of the Conservation Bureau of the Attorney General's office. He was New York governor Martin H. Glynn's legal advisor. In the

1916 New York state election The 1916 New York state election was held on November 7, 1916, to elect the governor, the lieutenant governor, the Secretary of State, the state comptroller, the attorney general, the state treasurer, the state engineer, a U.S. Senator, the ch ...

, he was the Democratic candidate for Judge of the Court of Appeals. In 1931, then-New York governor

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

appointed Norton special prosecutor in the assault case of

Legs Diamond Jack "Legs" Diamond (possibly born John Thomas Diamond, though disputed; July 10, 1897 – December 18, 1931), also known as Gentleman Jack, was an Irish American gangster in Philadelphia and New York City during the Prohibition era. A bootle ...

. Diamond was acquitted, but was found shot the next day. In 1891, Norton married Margaret Hammond. Their children were Josephine, Margaret, Thomas John, and Helen Norton Roff. He was a member of the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

. He served as president of the Rockwood Manufacturing Company of

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

and the Forbes Manor Realty Company of Rensselaer. He was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Norton died at home on April 16, 1942. He was buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.

References

External links

*
The Political Graveyard
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, John T. 1865 births 1942 deaths Politicians from Troy, New York New York (state) lawyers 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers Williams College alumni 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Catholics from New York (state) Burials in New York (state) American people of Irish descent