When it was first suggested that our Norris family from Child Okeford in Dorset may be related to his own family from Dorchester and Fordington, the idea was very appealing. This article presents an analysis of the evidence on which this hypothesis is based. In presenting the arguments, I have listed all known Norris entries from several parish registers, principally those of Child Okeford and neighbouring Shillingstone. I have also constructed a family tree which depicts the most likely relationships between the people mentioned in these registers. This chart and the following discussion highlights the three main problem areas where the current evidence is inconclusive.

1. The Shillingstone Parish Register records the baptism of six children to a Thomas Norris between the years 1676 and 1691. The third of these children was christened Salathiel on 20 April 1685. Because Salathiel is such an unusual and uncommon name, it is very tempting to postulate a connection between this family and that of the Salathiel Norris of Dorchester who married Elizabeth Asten at Dorchester All Saints on 28 June 1671.

   The likelihood of a connection is strengthened by the fact that, according to the Town Apprentice Records, a certain Thomas Norris of Dorchester, whose father Hamnet was a miller, was apprenticed as a fuller on 1 October 1664 to Joseph and Eleanor Foy of Okeford Shilling (the earlier name for Shillingstone). The inference is that this Thomas Norris is the same one who fathered Salathiel in Shillingstone, and that he named his son after his Dorchester relative, most probably his brother.

2. Child Okeford is only a few miles from Shillingstone, and a search of the Child Okeford Parish Register reveals that a Salathiel Norris, almost certainly the son of Thomas mentioned above, had three children baptised at Child Okeford. Of these, William, Salathiel's only son, had no children baptised at Child Okeford which suggests that he either moved away from the parish or died without marrying or leaving any children. He may be the William Norris who died in 1757.

   Because Salathiel had no children baptised at Child Okeford between 1724 and 1733, it has been suggested that he may have moved away from the parish for a time and had another son, Thomas, baptised elsewhere. This son Thomas, it is then argued, would be the Thomas Norris who married Rebecca and raised his family in Child Okeford. While I do not discount this possibility, it seems more likely to me that the Thomas Norris who married Rebecca was the son of Salathiel's older brother Thomas (baptised 12 July 1681 at Shillingstone). This is because he is referred to as Thomas Norris the Younger for the baptism of his first child, Elizabeth, in 1753. If this theory is correct, it is worth noting that the title of "the Younger" is dropped after the death of his father in 1756.

3. The problem still remains of how to prove the relationship between the family of Thomas and Rebecca Norris and the Thomas Norris who married Jane Lambert in 1803. I believe there are several possibilities.

   • The most widely held view is that our Thomas was the son of John Norris, third child of Thomas Norris the Younger. John Norris married Betty Cole at Sturminster Newton on 5 August 1786. Thomas was their only child baptised at Child Okeford (baptised 25 December 1786). However, if Thomas was born in wedlock, he could have been no more than sixteen years old when he married Jane Lambert in 1803. The improbability of this should be considered together with the fact that the only Norris recorded in the Militia List for Child Okeford, dated 16 November 1799, was Thomas Norris, "labourer; has no wife or children. Height 5 feet 7 inches". To be eligible for service one had to be aged between 18 and 45, which would mean that this Thomas must have been born at least before 1782. If we are to accept that this is the Thomas that married Jane Lambert, we must also conclude that he was born four years before his parents John and Betty Norris married and that his baptism was deferred until after they married. To find out when our Thomas was actually born, it may be necessary to check his age when he died. To date, however, all attempts to locate a record of Thomas's death or burial have failed.

   • The second possibility is that Thomas was the son of Mary Norris, second child of Thomas Norris the Younger. This Thomas was baptised Thomas Hayward on 19 May 1782 at Child Okeford. Although baptised Thomas Hayward, it is possible that he was commonly known as Thomas Norris, being the child of a single mother. Certainly his age fits in with the Militia List entry. A further search of the parish records may be necessary to see if any marriage or burials for a Thomas Hayward can be located before we can properly assess this possibility.

     Thomas Norris the Younger's sixth child was christened Thomas on 21 December 1768 at Child Okeford. However, I feel sure that he is the infant Thomas who was buried on 8 January 1770 and can thus be discounted.

   • The remaining possibility is that our Thomas is none of the above, that he was not christened at Child Okeford, and that he moved to Child Okeford before his marriage to Jane Lambert. This may explain why no burial record exists for Thomas at Child Okeford - ie. he was buried at his native parish. However, this only raises the further question of what became of John and Betty Norris's son Thomas.

It should be noted that the hypothetical family chart takes account of all but five of the entries recorded in the Child Okeford parish register. These all relate to female burials. I suspect the Ann who was buried in 1849 was the wife of Thomas Norris the Elder (baptised 12 July 1681). It has been suggested, and it seems quite possible, that the Elizabeth Norris who died in 1789 was in fact Betty, wife of John and that her husband's name has been incorrectly recorded as Thomas. This may explain why John and Betty only had one child. To date partial checks have been made of several neighbouring parish baptismal registers but without finding any more Norris entries. These include Iwerne Courtney, Manston, Stourpaine, Fontmel Magna, Hammoon, Okeford Fitzpaine and Sturminster Newton over the period 1720-42.