Brief Life History of John
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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Family Time Line
Sources (12)
- John Gorton in entry for Independence Wilson Gorton, "Rhode Island Deaths and Burials, 1802-1950"
- John in entry for Daniel Gorton, "Massachusetts Deaths, 1841-1915"
- John in entry for David Gorton, "Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910"
Spouse and Children
Children (9)
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Siblings (8)
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World Events (8)
1776
Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress. Colonies declare independence.
1776 · Rhode Island Declares Independence
Rhode Island declares independence from Great Britain on May 4, 1776, making it the first colony to do so officially.
1786 · Shays' Rebellion
Caused by war veteran Daniel Shays, Shays' Rebellion was to protest economic and civil rights injustices that he and other farmers were seeing after the Revolutionary War. Because of the Rebellion it opened the eyes of the governing officials that the Articles of Confederation needed a reform. The Rebellion served as a guardrail when helping reform the United States Constitution.
Name Meaning
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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