John Norton was the son of a Cherokee father and a
Scottish mother. Norton was born and raised in Scotland
before coming to Canada
in the ranks of the British Army. He later become a teacher and an interpreter
where he embraced the native culture. Through his work as an interpreter,
Norton was accepted into the Mohawk tribe and became the adopted nephew of
Joseph Brant. Eventually, Norton became chief under the name Teyoninhokarawen.
John Norton |
During the War of 1812, Norton served as an Indian
Agent for the British government and held the rank of captain in the British
Army. Norton encouraged the Iroquois Confederacy in the Grand River Settlement
to join the British against the Americans. Norton fought in many battles
throughout the war including Queenston
Heights (were he was
wounded), Beaver Dams, Chippawa and Lundy’s Lane, among others.
Throughout the war, Norton placed the welfare and
interests of the Iroquois on both sides of the Niagara
as a top priority. An example of this occurred in July 1814 when Norton allowed
nations from the American side of the Niagara to address the Grand River
Iroquois in Burlington .
The purpose of this meeting was to end the Iroquois involvement in the war.
Near the end of the war, Norton was promoted to the
rank of major and granted a pension of 200 pounds annually for his service. In
1815, he traveled to Britain
with his wife and son where he wrote a lengthy memoir concerning his
experiences and the history of native people. Norton eventually returned to Canada and settled on a large tract of land that
overlooked the Grand River where he began to
translate the bible into Mohawk. Later in life Norton left Canada and
traveled west in order to live with the Cherokee nation. He never returned to Canada and is
believed to of died in the late 1820s or early 1830s.
Lieutenant General Gordon Drummond described Norton
in 1815 by stating, “This man is of the coolest and most undaunted courage and
has led the Indians with the greatest gallantry and much effect on many
occasions against the enemy.” John Norton played a crucial role in aiding the
British cause during the War of 1812 and his contribution, along with his
warriors, helped to stave off American advances in Niagara .