Notes for John Morrison:In the 1750's there were 2 non-related Morrison families that moved to Rowan County from Pennsylvania. Many children in both Morrison lines named their children the same names and some Morrison women married Morrison men. These men could have been from the non-related line but also may have been cousins. In an effort to identify the various members of my family, I have designated them by using 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. with their names, and using "wife of" when no surname was known for a spouse which I found be a necessity to try to avoid confusion.
Around 1750 a steady trickle of settlers out of Pennsylvania came into the rich lands of the Shenandoah Valley and onward into North Carolina. But beyond lay the mountains, running north and south, dark, grim and thickly wooded, tangled with underbrush, blocking the westward traveler. No roads ran that way except the "Warriors' Path," a mere "trace" used only by red hunters or war parties, which wound through the Cumberland Gap and vanished, no white man knew where. This was the westward frontier.
However, the migration to North Carolina also coincided with the migration of many other families looking to find new lands from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. I was excited to learn that one of the nearby families who moved to North Carolina during that period of time was the Boone family. The well known 6th son of Squire Boone was Daniel, who was approximately 15 years old when the family moved from Berks County, Pennsylvania to Rowan County, North Carolina. Many of Squire Boone's Pennsylvania neighbors undertook the journey.
I will retell the part of the story of Daniel Boone that shows that he was probably acquainted with my line of Morrison,s in North Carolina, and also my line of Foust's who came from Berks County, Pennsylvania. I have intertwined Daniel's story with John's where the two families lived in the same places in a chronological manner.
Daniel Boone is the most widely known of American frontiersmen. He served as the model for James Fenimore Cooper's "Leather stocking", and his adventures inspired incidents in hundreds of works of fiction. Even Lord Byron mentioned him in "Don Juan".
Boone was born near Reading, in Berks County, Pennsylvania, the son of hard-working but adventurous Quaker parents. He learned some blacksmithing but had very little formal education. Daniel appears to have been a scrappy lad who loved hunting, the wilderness, and independence. When his parents left Pennsylvania in 1750 bound for the Yadkin Valley of northwest North Carolina, Daniel went along willingly. It is possible that the Morrison's were among the same party. John would have been approximately 4 years younger than Daniel. The Morrison's also settled in the Yadkin Valley.
There, on the cutting edge of the frontier, Daniel was able to indulge his hunting prowess and love of the wilderness. In the following years he served as a wagoner with Gen. Edward Braddock's ill-fated expedition to Fort Duquesne in 1755; married a neighbor's daughter, Rebecca Bryan, in 1756; and in 1758 is believed to have been a wagoner with Gen. John Forbes who was hacking out the road to Fort Duquesne, which he rebuilt as Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh). Back in North Carolina, Daniel purchased land from his father but never seriously engaged in farming; he loved to roam. In 1763 he and his brother Squire journeyed to Florida, although for unknown reasons they did not stay.
Boone's fame rests primarily upon his exploration and settlement of Kentucky. He was first in eastern Kentucky in 1767, but his expedition of 1769-1771 is more widely known. I have related more of this period in the next chapter as it was a few years later when John's sons, John and William moved on to Kentucky. They were perhaps influenced by Daniel Boone who was became famous for his adventures while they were young.
With a small party Boone advanced along the Warrior's Path into an Edenic region. When the time came for the party to return he remained behind in the wilderness until March 1771. On the way home, he and his brother were robbed by Indians of their deerskins and pelts, but the two remained exuberant over the land known as Kentucky.
So much did Daniel love that "dark and bloody ground" that he tried to return in 1773, taking forty settlers with him, but the Indians drove them back. The next year he went again into the region carrying a warning of Indian troubles to Governor John Murray Dunmore's surveyors. Even as Judge Richard Henderson was concluding the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals (March 1775) by which much of Kentucky was sold to his Transylvania Company, Boone was hacking out the Wilderness Road. As soon as he reached his destination, he began building Boonesboro, one of several stations (forts) under construction at that time.
While traveling in North Carolina during April, 2002, I approached the town of Statesville, North Carolina after 20 years of research over the last, I had discovered that my grandfather, Turner's family reached back to this area before moving on to Kentucky.
As I entered the town, I looked with anticipation for clues to where my ancestors may have lived. I stayed in an RV camp outside of town and while registering the manager asked what had brought me to this place. In response to my answer of searching for the Morrison's, she became immediately excited and told me that the Morrison families were very prominent in the area. She also told me that two separate and unrelated families of Morrison's had moved into the area in the 1750's. This was later confirmed by documentation that I located. The manager directed me to the city's library as the location of the local historical society.
The next morning I drove into Statesville and found the library very prominently located on the main street. I discovered that the library is also the home of the Iredell County Historical Society. After researching here and later at the old city hall I found most of the documents that are cited below.
I also found several documents relating to John's land and military service records. There were also excerpts from Potts family records which verified the relationship of the two families.
In a declaration signed by Myrtie Sharpe Furches, great-great granddaughter of John and Sarah Morrison, stated that , "the land which was given to son James H. was part of the land granted the pioneer Morrison brothers by Lord Granville, and was still in the possession of the Morrison family through five successive generations". Their eighth child, Henry, owned the adjoining property, but sold it and moved to Tennessee where he died.
In the book entitled, "Two Centuries in Elizabethtown and Hardin County, Kentucky", by Daniel E. McClure, Jr., article #448 states, "John Morrison (B. November 11, 1743) came to Rowan County (later Iredell) at age nine with the Potts family from Lancaster Co, Pennsylvania. He married in December 1771 to Sara Potts (b. March 25, 1755, d. January 3, 1846, believed to be the daughter of Henry Potts. They lived on Fourth Creek on land now belonging to Thomas A. and Elizabeth Summers. He was a Revolutionary soldier. His wife worked in the fields while most wives stayed at Fort Dobbs afraid of the Tories. He died at the age of 91 on July 9, 1835, and is buried beside Sara at Bethany Presbyterian Cemetery."
In another book in an article titled "Kirkpatrick-Morrison ", on page 171, the author writes of the connection between the two families, but gives a very good genealogy of the Morrison family beginning with John's grandfather, James. About John, it confirms much of the information in the above related book. The article goes on to relate John's family through his children. This narration is given in the chapter's that relates to those particular persons.
The next day I obtained directions to the town of Bethany where I located the Bethany Presbyterian Church. Bethany Presbyterian Church in Iredell County was set off from Fourth Creek Presbyterian Church in Statesville in 1775. It is located about two or three miles from where John and Sarah were living. They are among the charter members of the Bethany Church which was organized in 1755. Dr. James Hall, served as pastor for 26 years. John and Sarah, and John Jr. and wife Margaret are buried. This John Jr. is probably a nephew as his son John moved to Kentucky and is buried there. All have legible tombstones. The church building is a beautifully upkept wooden building. The front of the church and one side is surrounded by lawns and trees. The cemetery is directly beside and behind the church. It is surrounded by rock and rot iron fences. After looking around for several minutes, I discovered John and Sarah's tombstones.
The inscription on Sarah's headstone states she is the second wife of John. No record of his first marriage has been located. John was 28 years old when he married Sarah and she was 16 years old so this does indicate that she was his second wife. Sarah's tombstone was small and very weather worn. John's headstone was much larger and the writing was very legible. The inscription stated that his headstone was replaced in early 1900 by the Daughters of the American Revolution. The headstone was ordered from The War Department.
While driving to the cemetery, I passed a road that had a sign pointing to the "Fort Dobbs Memorial". Later that day, I went to that location and found a replica of one of the buildings in Fort Dobbs.
In some of the documents that I found in the library the following information was related: "The State grants to John recorded in Book 10, page 112, November 8, 1784, (#1002 at 50 shillings the 100 acres) 400 acres surveyed for John Kerr, beginning on the south bank of said creed at the 4th corner." In a book titled, "Revolutionary War Bounty Land Grants, awarded by State Government", on page 379, lists two grants to John Morrison. The first lists him as a private, the grant given on September 20, 1784 and the amount as 640 acres. The bounty was granted to his heirs on April 23, 1785.
In the book "Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution", John's service was recounted.
John was awarded a pension of $99.99, August 28, 1832, (W-17171) beginning March 4, 1831 for his service in the war. His service is described in the book titled, "Catawba Frontier-115-1781", Memories of Pensioners", page 81-82, by Mary Elinor Lazenby. She states that John Morrison 'entered Captain Knox's company for the purpose of protecting the inhabitants at the head of the Catawba. This was not under any brigade or regiment and he was away about 1 month' in 1775. On his 'second tour against the Cherokees under General Rutherford, he served 1 month in July, 1776'. During his 'third tour, under Captain David Caldwell, Colonel Davidson, in and about Charlotte'. He 'went with Caldwell to forks of Yadkin in pursuit of Tories'. In 1777, he 'among those who reached Ramseur's Mill the evening after the battle'.
John's pension records gives additional information. It also states that during his second enlistment was in 1777 under Captain James Purviance, General Griffith Rutherford, and colonels name not recollected. This tour was against the Indians and was for three months. He lost a pack horse during this tour.
For the next four year from 1774 to 1778, Daniel Boone, a captain in the militia, was busy defending the settlements. His leadership helped save the three remaining Kentucky stations, Boonesboro, Logan's (St. Asaph's), and Harrodsburg. These were stirring years of ambushes (such as Blue Licks in 1778), captures (Boone was seized but escaped from the Shawnees), rescues, and desperate defenses. During this time, his wife returned to North Carolina with some of the younger children.
The third tour that John served was under Col. Davie; he was a guard at the jail in Salisbury also under Captain Frost, 2 weeks, Captain David Caldwell's Company, 2 weeks and Captain David Caldwell's Company, three months, 1780. He did not receive a discharge. He served in all ten months and eleven days. John was awarded a pension of annum from March 4, 1831. He served in the rank of private.
Although he was highly respected and served in the Virginia assembly, Boone was not a good businessman and he lost his Kentucky lands. In September 1799, he set out for Missouri where a son had preceded him. He settled in the Femme Osage valley where he continued to hunt and roam until his death. Twenty-five years later his remains and those of his wife were returned to Kentucky for burial. It is thought provoking to imagine that our ancestors were acquainted with the young Abraham Lincoln as well as the Boone family including Daniel.
John's will was recorded in Iredell County Will Book 2, page 153, written September 17, 1828. An abstract was written which states, "wife Sarah, entire use of my plantation and mansion during her widowhood (except one room with fireplace), orchard, stock, etc. At her death property was to go to his daughter, Elizabeth, except named daughter, ? (looked like Betsy)". To beloved daughter, Ellizabeth, (during her mother's life) use of 1 fine room, also her choice of 1 horse creature, bridle & saddle, 4 head cattle, 5 sheep, 3 feather beds and furniture, 1 bureau and trunk, loom tackling, 1 large pot-plantation and slaves at her mother's death. Also 2 flax hackles, and two smoothing irons.
Sons, Andrew and Henry, use of cross cut saw.
Sons, Andrew and Henry, named executors."
John was still living and is listed in the 1830 Federal Census of North Carolina, Volume XXVIII, Iredell County. John Morrison, Senior, 1 male 45+, 1 female 16-26, 1 female 45+.
In a family history book titled, "Cheely, Morrison, Gaither, Sharpe, Beall, Chambliss, Jacobs Connections", page 28, by John B. Fisher the following describes John's home: Consisted of 500 acres and was still in the family in 1978 belonging to Thomas A. Summers and his sister, Elizabeth Summers. The cellar and rock hearth of his big fireplace is all that remains of the original home. There also remained signs of the road and large poplars and oaks.
After taking many pictures of the locations mentioned above and the region around Fourth Creek, the trip ended all too soon. I felt that I had really begun to know my Morrison and Potts ancestors by visiting many of the places where they had lived.
smackdown and raw
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