Four Iredell Morrison’s, all members of Group Q of the Morrison Surname Project, met in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in September to visit historical sites important to the Iredell Morrison family and do research at the Pennsylvania State Archives and Lancaster County Historical Society Library. The four were Coit, Jean, James W. (Illinois Jim) and John Morrison. John’s wife, Sue, was the fifth member of the party. By coincidence, each one of the four members of Group Q represents, by descent, a different one of the four immigrant Morrison brothers.
Coit arranged to rent a farmhouse at the Spring Gulch Campground near New Holland which served as headquarters as well as a comfortable lodging place for the three days and three nights of the visit (21st, 22nd, and 23rd of the month). Note photographs which include our group outside the farmhouse.
On Monday, Jean, Jim, John and Sue met at the Paxton Church (now in Dauphin County and Harrisburg, in the period 1730-1750 in Lancaster County) and then went to the Derry Church in Hershey (also in Lancaster County between 1730 and 1750). Both churches were important to our immigrant ancestors Andrew, James, Thomas, and William and their families while they lived in Pennsylvania. There are modern churches at both places; at Paxton, the original stone church still stands as an annex to the modern building and is in marvelous condition (see photographs) and at Derry, the original log session house is preserved with temperature and humidity controls within a glass outer structure (see photographs). There are cemeteries at both churches that date from the 1730’s and perhaps earlier. Coit visited both places on Thursday as he returned home. Interred in both are members of families related by marriage to our ancestral immigrants.
On Tuesday, Coit and Jean spent their research time at Lancaster while Jim and John visited the State Archives at Harrisburg. On Wednesday, all four focused on records at Lancaster. Later that day, Jim went to Chester County for additional research.
Highlights of the time spent in Lancaster County were:
- Visiting the two churches and their cemeteries, being present and together on ground that was important to our forebears.
- The time we spent together, becoming personally acquainted in some cases, becoming better acquainted in all cases.
- Jim Morrison’s film about the Morrison’s, which begins with the early history of the family in Scotland, then narrows to his own line of Iredell Morrison’s, and includes many fine photographs of members of his family. The work represents many hours of research, film work, editing, and personal dedication – all done by him.
- Jean and Sue’s evening meals, and Chef Coit’s breakfasts; Jim’s choice of the Revere Tavern for our evening meal on Wednesday.
- Conversations that we had about making our website more attractive and effective and ideas we shared to influence probable relatives to have their DNA studied and thereby clarify Group Q relationships.
- The beautiful weather and pastoral atmosphere of rural Lancaster County during harvest time.
With regard to research findings, it must be admitted that little new information was gained. Nevertheless, we emphasize the following: there was no trace of a Hugh Morrison in the records; the only Morrison’s visible in the records between 1730 and 1750 were Andrew, James, Thomas, and William (some additional records revealing their presence were found); and Jim determined that the James Morrison of Chester County, who died there about 1760, was NOT our immigrant James. In other words, our research reinforced what we already thought was true of our ancestral family in Pennsylvania.
We believe all Iredell Morrison’s would enjoy spending some time in Lancaster County, especially during the fall.
Left to Right: Coit R. Morrison (descended from James), John A. Morrison (descended from Thomas), Jean Morrison (descended from William), James W. Morrison (descended from Andrew).
Paxton Presbyterian Church
Old Session House – Derry Presbyterian Church
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