When John Gorton was born on 21 December 1765, in Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island, United States, his father, Benjamin Gorton, was 40 and his mother, Avis Hulett, was 24. He married Hope Brown on 13 February 1787, in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, United States. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 15 September 1838, in Charlton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, at the age of 72.
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1765–1838 Male
1762–1811 Female
1788–1838 Male
1790–1875 Male
1792– Female
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English (Lancashire): habitational name from a place in Lancashire, so named from Old English gor ‘dirt, mud’ + tūn ‘enclosure, settlement’.
History: Introduced in America by a family from Gorton, Lancashire, England (three miles from Manchester), the name Gorton was also adopted by a religious group known as the Gortonites. They were followers of Samuel Gorton (c. 1592–1677), whose unorthodox religious beliefs, which included denying the doctrine of the Trinity, caused him to seek religious toleration by emigrating to Boston in 1637 with his family. In conflict with authorities in Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Newport, he eventually settled in Shawomet, RI, and renamed it Warwick. He died there in 1677, leaving three sons and at least six daughters.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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