Page 253 - Family History

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Saxon land owners to be forced to forfeit all of their lands. William with an Army
of 40,000 men drove north wasting all of the land in his path. All of the northern
counties were destroyed. Both rebellious Norman nobles and Saxons fled over the
border into Scotland. Those Saxons who remained were restive under Norman
rule. Many moved northward to the midlands, Lancashire, and Yorkshire where
Norman influence prevailed less.

The family name GORTON emerged as a noble English name in the County of
Lancashire where they were recorded as a family of great antiquity seated at
Gorton Near Manchester, until the early 1900s there was still a part of

Manchester named Gorton, with manors and large estates in that area. One of
the earliest records is of Sir Thomas Gorton (I have this manuscript) from the
Manor Gorton. By the 13th Century the family had also acquired other estates in
the County of Lancashire and became one of the Middle Ages distinguished
Lancastrian Families. The next two or three centuries found the surname Gorton
flourishing and contributing greatly to the culture of the British nation.

During the 16, 17, and 18th Centuries, England was ravaged by religious conflicts.
Protestantism, the new found political fervor of Cromwellism and the remnants of
the Roman Catholic Church rejected all but the most ardent followers. As each

group gained power during these turbulent times many were burnt at the stake
but many more were banished from the land. They lost all their titles, estates and
status. Many families were truly encouraged to migrate to Ireland or to the
Colonies. Some were rewarded with grants of lands and others were indentured
as servants for as long as ten years.

In Ireland they became known as "The Adventurers for Land in Ireland". They
were also known as "Undertakers". There is no evidence that the family name
migrated to Ireland but this does not preclude the possibility of their scattered
migration to that country. These unsettling times were disturbing and the new
world beckoned the adventurous. The migrates some voluntarily from Ireland,

some by Army service, but mostly directly from England. Some also moved to the
European continent. Members of the family name Gorton sailed aboard the
Armada of small ships known as "The White Sails" which sailed the stormy
Atlantic. These overcrowded ships were pestilence ridden, sometimes up to 40%
of the passenger lists never reached their destinations. Their numbers decimated
by sickness and the laments and many were therefore buried at sea.

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