Richard Norman (1743/47–1809) and Family

We deduce that the Richard Norman (and family) living in York County, SC is the same one whose wife and children later reside in southeast Georgia after his death in 1809. Several factors contribute to this conclusion:

• Richard's oldest known son is named James Mitchell Norman. In 1790, Richard is living only 3 houses away from a "James Mitchell" in York County, Camden District, South Carolina. Apparently, the two men were close enough friends that James became the namesake of Richard's son.
• In 1790, a Joseph Palmer also lived near Richard Norman (they were on adjacent pages of the census) in York County, Camden District, South Carolina. Seven years prior, in 1783, both Richard Norman and Joseph Palmer were among the 39 men who signed a petition written on behalf of Phillip Porcher. The petition indicates they all lived in St. Stephen's Parish, South Carolina, which is in the Charleston District. Nearly half of these men are found in the 1790 US Federal Census in the Charleston District, but neither Richard Norman or Joseph Palmer are found there. Instead, both Richard and Joseph are enumerated in York County.
• We assume Richard and Esther were married by say 1773 (when he was no more than 30 years old, and she was about 18 years old). Given that their daughter, Emily, was born in 1790, that leaves 17 years (1773-1790) during which no earlier children are known to have been born. The Richard Norman of York County had three boys under 16 years old in 1790 (all of whom would have been born between 1774 and 1790), which would partially fill this 17 year gap. In other words, the Richard Norman of York SC "fits" the timeline. And while there may have been other unknown children born before the 1790 census (who, perhaps, died young), we will probably never know with any degree of certainty.

We note that the 1790², 1800³, and 1810⁵ US Federal Census records for Georgia were lost. While there existed a "Richard Norman" in Duplin County, North Carolina in 1800⁴, it's probable he is not the subject Richard Norman presented on this page. The subject Richard Norman was likely enumerated in the lost Georgia census in 1800. As is noted in the table, Richard died in 1809, but his wife, Esther, is not found in South Carolina in 1810; thus, we infer she was enumerated in the lost Georgia census in 1810.