| Notes |
- Joshua was born in England. In 1825 Joshua (7) attended John Hancock's school in Graham's Town. In 1844 he owned "Gingerbread Hall" near the Baakens River, but he failed in business in Port Elizabeth and joined John and Benjamin at their Cape Town business.
First mention in CO records (PRO) aged 2 with his parents on the Belle Alliance.
As per an article in The Monarchy dated March 2018.
AMERICA'S OWN EMPEROR?
The curious case of Norton I, Emperor of the United State
"Joshua Norton remains the only example of an individual to have attempted the establishment of a 'home-grown' American Monarchy when he proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States in 1859.
Born to Jewish parents in Deptford, South London, in about 1818, Hoshua Abraham Norton spent much of his early life growing up in South Africa. He later travelled to San Francisco, probably some time in the 1840s. and sonn established himself as a successful commodities trader.
Howecer, following the collapse of a speculative enterprise in Peruvian rice, Norton was reduced yo bankruptcy by 1858.
Having become disillutioned by what he saw as the inadequacies of the American legal and political system, Norton took the momentous decision to challenge the continued legitimacy of the United States Government by proclaiming himself Norton I, Emperor of the United States in 1859.
For the next twenty-one years, Norton issued Imperial Decrees (including ordering the dissolution of the US Congress and for the need for the construction of a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland), sold 'Imperial Bonds' to tourists and produced his own currency (which was actually adopted as local currency in San Francisco).
Although few took his self-proclaimed status seriously, Norton's eccentricity won him the widespread affection of the community.
On his death, an elaborate rosewood coffin was provided by public subscription and some 30,000 people lined the route of his funeral cortége."
Went to the US in 1849. Lived in San Francisco. Called himself Emperor Norton. Following the deaths of his parents and brother Louis, Joshua joined the rush to find gold in California landing at San Fransisco in 1849. After a successful trading partnership he went bankrupt in 1856. 3 years later September 17th 1859 he declared himself Norton the First, Emperor of the United States in the San Francisco Bulletin! By 1860 he assumed protectorship over Mexico. Followed everywhere by his two dogs, one of these, Bummer, had his obituary written by Mark Twain. Norton I is described by Louden, in the Wrecker by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1879, as "a harmless madman". He died in early 1880 and last respects were paid by 10,000 people. Following the removal of the cemetery in 1934 a massive red stone monument was put up to him. The fantastic career of Joshua Abraham Norton by Louis Herrman from Essays presented to JH Herz. Try to obtain: Allen Stanley Lane, Emperor Norton, Idaho, 1939. Further references in Herrman, above.
King Norton I, Emperor of America and Protector of Mexico.
His real name was Joshua Abraham Norton. It appears Norton was born in London, but came to South Africa as an 1820 Settler. He grew up in Port Elizabeth, which was then generally known as Algoa Bay.
Somewhere around 1849, he inherited a sum of money and decided to join the California gold rush, which was then kicking off. He sailed for San Francisco, making him probably the only person who was both an 1820 Settler and a San Francisco 49’er.
Norton made a living as a businessman in San Francisco, but it all went belly up for him when he invested in a shipment of rice from Peru, which he believed would help him corner the San Fran rice market. Another ship arrived in port, full of rice, and that pretty much torpedoed him financially. Norton declared bankruptcy, and had some kind of mental breakdown. He left San Francisco and walked the earth. Then on September 17, 1859, he returned with a vengeance. In several letters to local newspapers, he declared himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico. This ushered in a 21-year reign, during which the emperor issued dozens of proclamations in the San Francisco newspapers. In 1860, he issued a decree dissolving the United States of America. Later the same year, he banned Congress from meeting in Washington DC. In 1863, he announced the death of his dog, Lazarus. In 1869, he issued a notice in the San Francisco Herald dissolving both the Republican and Democratic Parties because of “party strife now existing within our realm”.
He was not just an eccentric, though. He was also a visionary. In 1872, he ordered a survey to determine the viability of building a bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. The Golden Gate Bridge was later built, but only in 1937. He also issued instructions for the establishment of a global league of nations. While his proclamations were generally taken with a chuckle and a generous pinch of salt, Norton the First became a much-loved and respected part of San Francisco society. He was provided with a regal-looking blue uniform with gold epaulettes, in which he would inspect the streets of the city. Despite seldom having a penny to his name, he was able to eat in the best restaurants in the city.
Norton died on January 8, 1880. His obituary made the front pages of all San Francisco papers. His casket was paid for by the city and his funeral procession was viewed by 30000 citizens. He was about 60 years old.
see an article at : https://www.facebook.com/EmperorsBridge/photos/a.1507063932905867.1073741828.1503600689918858/1511658312446429/?type=1
"HIS MAJESTY'S BIRTHDAY.—His Imperial Majesty Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Mexico, commences his forty-eighth year Saturday, February 4th, 1865. Owing to the unsettled questions between His Majesty Maximilian I, El Duque de Gwino, the Tycoon, the King of the Mosquitos, the King of the Cannibal Islands et al., the usual display of bunting by the foreign shipping and public buildings will be omitted on this occasion."
"Commences his forty-eighth year" means that Emperor Norton would have been *turning* 47 in 1865 and thus that his birth date was 4 February 1818.
Certainly, a February 1818 birthdate lines up with his father's report to the immigration clerk that, when the family arrived in South Africa in May 1820, Joshua was 2."
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1818 - 1880 (61 years)
[1] 
![Norton, Joshua Abraham [581]](Media/pictures/thumbnails/thumb_Norton%2C%20Joshua%20Abraham%20%5B581%5D.jpg "Norton, Joshua Abraham [581]")
1796 - 1846 (50 years)
