Every summer when I was growing up I used to watch on BBC or listen to the commentary of John Arlott to the England Test Matches. One summer, 1966, I remember particularly well that West Indies toured England and they featured a Barbadian player - Seymour Nurse, who was 2^nd^ only to the great Gary Sobers in runs scored that series.

When looking at your family history it is important to recognize the bad with the good. I was aware growing up that there were Nurses in Barbados. Seymour Nurse who was a famous cricketer in the West Indies teams of the 1960s, was a Barbadian. Recently, I discovered references to a family of Sugar Plantation owners and therefore Slave owners with the name Nurse, and it is more than likely that Seymour Nurse was descended from one of these slave owners, as enslaved children often took the name of their owner, especially when their owner was in fact their biological father.

The eldest son of Baron Norreys was Sir John Norris. He was born about 1547 to Sir Henry and his wife Margery. Sir John was considered the most accomplished soldier of his day and was a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth

Henry Norris was the son of Sir Henry Norris and Mary Fiennes, daughter of Thomas Fiennes. His mother had died before his father was executed so he was raised by his unclue Sir John Norreys, but details of his early life are obscure. In 1539 Henry VIII restored his patrimony and allowed his uncle to settle his estates on him when he died.

William Norreys was the eldest son of John Norreys and his first wife Lady Alice Merbrook. William was probably born at Yattendon Castle in about 1441.

Rebecca Nurse is probably the most (in)famous person to carry the surname Nurse. She emigrated to New England soon after the Pilgrim Fathers with her sisters, and with her sisters was charge in the famous withcraft delusions of the laste 17th century in Salem, Massachussets.

Edward Norris was an English puritan who emmigrated to New England soon after the Pilgrim Fathers. He became one of the early pastor's of First Salem Church in Salem, Massachussets, in the community that experienced the witchcraft delusion that took many innocent lives.

Sir Henry Norris was an English courtier who was Groom of the Stool in the privy chamber of Henry VIII. Apparently he as a good friend of Henry's but he was caught up in the "investigations" of the adultery of Queen Anne Boleyne that ultimately led to his execution as a traitor and adulterer.

While there is no evidence to suggest any connection to my ancestors, it is interesting to look at some of the people through the ages who have carried the name Noers, Norreys, Norris or Nurse.

I will start with William de Noers, Steward of King William I (The Conqueror). It is possible that William de Noers was a descendant of Gilbert de Noyers.