John Thomas Norton (February 4, 1865 – April 16, 1942) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.
His parents were both Irish immigrants; Thomas came from County Tipperary, Rose from Belfast.
[1] His orphaned first cousin Mary Theresa Norton was also raised with him and her son, James T. Lee, was also the maternal grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States from 1960 to 1963.
In January 1888, he moved to Buffalo and worked as a managing clerk for Wadsworth & Loveridge.
[3] In 1894, Norton was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Democrat, representing Rensselaer County 1st District.
[7] In 1931, then-New York governor Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Norton special prosecutor in the assault case of Legs Diamond.