A Clue to the Origins of the Mansons in America

Patience is the Key to this Work

I'd begun to feel that perhaps there were some things I'd simply never know about my ancestors. Indeed, that is likely. But patience is the key to this work.

I have described before the descent of my family from a woman named Charlotte Manson, most likely the daughter of Scots-Itrish immigrants probably born in the Carolinas in the late 18th century. Her daughter, born in about 1826 in Georgia, was named Jane Manson. I've been interested in, and frustrated by, the issue of Charlotte Manson's parentage.

A separate lead I've pursued and written about involves a different Jane Manson. This Jane Manson was born in the late 18th century, and in 1818, married Caleb Merriman Norwood in Blount County, Tennessee. The family eventually settled in Georgia, living, among other places there, in Talbot County, where my ancestor, the other Jane Manson, lived at about the same time. Caleb and Jane Norwood's children included a son, Thomas Manson Norwood, who was born in Talbot County, Georgia, and had a long political career.

Though much has been written about Thomas Manson Norwood, very little seems to be known about his mother, Jane Manson Norwood. I've always felt that knowing something about her could be a key to more information about Charlotte Manson.

Nearly eleven months ago, I posted a query on the Manson family forum board at Genealogy. com. Here is the posting. Yesterday, a reply! This is significant information. I've long known that various Manson family groups landed at Savannah and that large numbers of Mansons in America originated in Caithness. But I've not been able to tie any of them specifically to my family. Working with this new information, I may be able to identify Charlotte Manson's family.