In 1831 William Norris and S. H. Long organized the American Steam Carriage Company to make locomotives. The last in a series of reorganizations was in 1853 where the company name became Richard Norris & Son, manufacturers of locomotive steam engines and forgings for all types of steam engines. Richard Norris was the son of William, and Henry Latimer Norris was Richard's son.

From 1860 "McElroy's Philadelphia Directory"

In the aftermath of the American Civil war—a very busy time for locomotive builders, but difficult due to rampant inflation, material shortages, and problems retaining workers—the business of Richard Norris & Son was acquired by another Philadelphia locomotive builder, the Baldwin Locomotive Works. That firm had made an unlikely evolution from the original firm of Matthias W. Baldwin, jeweler and then small steam engine builder.

Information Sources

• From the 2003 book, Perfecting the American Steam Locomotive, by J. Parker Lamb.

  ...In 1831 [William] Norris, the eldest of five brothers, teamed with S. H. Long, a former Army engineer, to organize the American Steam Carriage Company. In succeeding years, business fluctuations led to a number of reorganizations of the company, the last being as Richard Norris & Son in 1853. The plan was eventually bought by Baldwin in 1865, after constructing some 1200 locomotives.