Early Life

Nedra was the first-born of barely 17-year-old Betty Joan née Laird Norton (1931-2002) and 24-year-old James Elisha (“J.E.”) Norton (1923-1995). She made her debut at the hospital in Porterdale (Newton County, GA); at the time, there was no hospital in Rockdale County. Betty, listed as a housewife on the birth certificate, was born in Rockdale County and took her mother’s maiden name because her father’s name was never disclosed by Betty’s mother, Merle. Her Laird family had been in Georgia since the first quarter of the 19th century. J.E., listed as a carpenter on the birth certificate, was born in Jefferson County, TN, where Nedra in her youth noted the poverty of relatives when she attended the funeral of her greatgrandmother Kate née Phillips Lane (1881-1957). From public records, we find that J.E. completed the 7th grade, had only worked 26 weeks in 1939, but got on with the CCC by the 1940 Population Census; possibly, J.E. learned his carpentry skills in the CCC. Later records show that he spent 1941-1945 in the Marine Corps (Corporal, field artillery), where he participated in the horrific campaigns of the Pacific, APO San Francisco. He indicated on several occasions that he engaged in combat at close quarters and recounted an instance in which a dying man he shot pulled out a photo of his wife and showed it to J.E.

J.E. and Betty married secretly while she was still in high school and he was rebounding from his military experience, including malaria. It was his second marriage. Their situation was challenging and both Betty and J.E. were soon working in a cotton mill. Nedra was cared for at night by others and entertained herself during the day while her parents slept. Context is everything.

Nedra Lynn Norton was delivered by Dr. Joe Brown; later, he had privileges in Conyers in a new hospital. During Nedra’s youth, he lived in Conyers (13 miles from Porterdale). Nedra’s first given name was selected from an announcement in one of the Atlanta papers; likely, Georgia-born Nedra Tyre, an author and social worker, who published Red Wine First in 1947, was the inspiration. The 26 chapters in this book comprise autobiographical sketches of disadvantaged people and that probably resonated with Nedra’s parents. Lynn was simply a common girl’s name then. Nedra’s grandfather Alva Arthur Norton, a partially disabled victim of mustard gas in WWI (according to oral history), lived on a dead-end lane off Zingara Road later in life. When Nedra was born, we think J.E. and Betty lived in one of the nearby cluster of houses (which A.A. owned) because Betty related that she walked through a field and up a hill to A.A.’s then-residence on Hi-Roc Road and asked A.A. to take her to the hospital. (J.E. was not mentioned so we infer that he was probably at work.) We do not know why A.A. refused. Fortunately, A.A.’s maternal uncle Eugene Maddox from Atlanta was on hand and drove Betty to Porterdale, which is where her story begins. Nedra had two younger brothers, who will be discussed later.

Photo credit: The source materials for the images of Mr. and Mrs. Norton and of Nedra as a young girl were from the Norton estate. Marvin Pass, Nedra's great-uncle, was the source of her baby photo, the first image of her that Bill is aware of. (Marvin was the husband of Alma Laird Pass, one of Nedra's maternal grandmother's older sisters.) T

(Written by Nedra and her husband, Bill.)

 

Nedra and Bill Marry in Athens, GA.