Our family story began in 1777 when Barak Norton was born in Rutherford County, NC. He later moved with his parents to upstate South Carolina.

 

Barak married Mary "Polly" Nicholson in 1805. Records show he owned sizeable tracts of land in the Old Pickens District, now Oconee County of South Carolina. 

 

Family lore states that Barak could see Whiteside Mountain from their property in the foothills of SC and ventured into the mountains to find it. Upon arriving into the mountains, he encountered and befriended the Cherokee. They in turn helped him establish his homestead in what is now known as "Whiteside Cove" in the 1820s.

 

At the time of their settlement, Barak and Polly had 9 children. Daughter, Sarah Whiteside (named after the mountain) was the first white child born in the area in 1828. Two more children were born to the couple. 

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The Norton children settled in the surrounding areas of Highlands and Cashiers and in other areas of the country. Of note, Sarah Whiteside married Col. John Alley who had visited Whiteside Cove when she was a child. He remarked that he would return to marry her. He did, and they settled their homestead in the valley at the base of Whiteside Mountain.

 

The Norton's grandson, David, was one of the early settlers of Highlands where he owned The Central House and help form the Episcopal Church. 

 

Barak died September 1, 1869 at the age of 92. While Polly lived on 14 more years, dying on March 28, 1883, just three months shy of her 95th birthday. At the time of her death there were four generations of Nortons and two hundred sixty-five descendants. 
 

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