(251) (Capt.) SELAH NORTON, b. Feb. 2, 1745; d. at Ashfiield, Mass., Oct. 20, 1821; m. (1) Chloe Butler; ...
War record of Capt. Selah Norton, from the records of the U. S. Pension Office:
"He belonged to a troop of Light Horse which was attached to a regiment of Infantry, and according to 'Connecticut men in the Revolution,' he turned out as ensign for eight days on the alarm of hostilities at Lexington, Mass., but it is probable the Light Horse did not continue in service as such. Norton, early in May, 1775, accepted the position as Clerk and Orderly Sergeant in a Company of Foot in Lt. Col. George Pitkin's regt. and was stationed at Roxbury for the siege of Boston. He was discharged there late in Dec, 1775. During his service there, about August 1, 1775, he received intelligence of dangerous sickness in his family and went home, leaving as his substitute Aaron Olmsted, who was an officer. It is proper to state that the files in this office show instances of officers volunteering short tours of duty as privates. Olmsted was or had been adjutant of the regiment and was of East Hartford, Conn.
"Norton was appointed at the May session, 1775, of the Legislature, cornet in the 19th Regt. and lieutenant in January, 1778, and captain in April, 1779. The Light Horse was composed of members from East Hartford, East Windsor, and it is probable from some of the other adjoining towns. He is alluded to as in the 4th Company and 2d Regt. by witnesses testifying to portions of his services.
"He served 2 or 3 months in 1776, as cornet in the Light Horse in N.Y. City, and when the place was evacuated, Sept. 15, 1776, he retreated with the army under Gen. Washington to White Plains, Westchester Co. Early in 1777 he, with the Light Horse, was ordered for duty in Rhode Island, and in Aug., 1777, under Capt. Joel Loomis and Lt. Augustus Fitch, he marched to oppose the advance of Gen. Burgoyne, at or near Saratoga, N.Y. In the same year, or in 1778, he was on duty at Horse Neck in Greenwich, Fairfield Co., Conn. In August and September, 1781, as capt. of the Light Horse, he was escort to Gov. Trumbull, going to the headquarters of Gen. Washington with a large sum of money to pay the troops of the State. One of these trips was in August early, and another trip in September with only money for the Conn. Troops.
"He was on escort duty in the latter part of February to March 12, 1782, conveying a large sum of money to the army to pay Conn. Troops, as capt. of Light Horse."
The above contains all the particulars of his service, with dates and places as mentioned in the pension. There was filed, with the widow's application for a pension a family record alleged to be in the handwriting of Selah Norton.
