Morrison-Q Gathering 2013

We gathered for the third time since 2010 as Morrison-Q in Chesterfield, Missouri – and have plans to gather again in 2014 at the NC Outerbanks. The event was a good time of renewing ties with old friends as well as making new ones – not just friends, but family. This year’s schedule was filled with interesting and informative topics lead by some of the experts of our family. Each day of sharing and fellowship continued well into the night. Below are comments from some of the attendees:

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I really enjoyed our meeting in Chesterfield, MO. It was nice to see Jean, Coit, John & Sue Morrison again, and it reminded me of our first meeting in Lancaster, PA in 2010. It was also a pleasure to get reacquainted with Don & Richard Morrison since it had been a number of years since I had went to one of their family Reunions held in Warren, IN where they were from, and their father had so graciously invited my Mother & myself to attend. It was neat to meet many cousins I knew of, but until then had never met. (Don & Richard & I share a common 3rd Great-Grandfather Andrew B. Morrison from Brother Andrew’s line).

I also finally met Merrie Morrison in person, another cousin of mine from Brother Andrew’s line, her 4th Great-Grandfather, David Morrison, and my 4th Great-Grandfather, Andrew Morrison were brothers. I had a real sense of pride that my line of Andrew was so well represented at the Chesterfield gathering place, and hope that by next year’s meeting, that the other 3 lines, of James, Thomas and William will be as well represented with some new faces, as well as the familiar ones I am used to seeing.

Time seemed to pass all too quickly and although many items were discussed and presentations presented, it all came to an end quicker than I had hoped, and so with that I look forward to next year’s meeting with great anticipation!!!

James Morrison (IL)

The Soil our Ancestors Tilled and Lived On

The participants in our Morrison-Q gathering in Chesterfield participated in a very quick and informal survey of the areas where our Morrison ancestors lived and raised their families. As our families left Lancaster PA on the Wagon Road south for North Carolina to the counties of Bladen, Anson, Rowan, McDowell, Burke, Rutherford, and Iredell, looking to the west as they traveled, I can imagine their dreaming even then of the land beyond. From the late 1780s and later our Morrisons were found in Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Idaho, Utah, Oregon, California, and Washington.

For Michael and Mark

You all may remember that Michael and Mark are stumped with researching their lineage lines, though each tests a member of our Morrison family. This is not unusual in family history research, and we will keep working till we tie up the links. Three of us spent considerable time on Sunday evening after everyone had left researching your Thomas Morrisons, in several generations. After we have a chance to pull the notes together I’ll get them out to you as to the next step. I don’t have a mailing addresses, so if you’ll send them, I’ll get some paper work to you resulting from our Sunday night discussions.

Sharing

The hours we spent sharing our individual family lines and stories, though I think Richard took the ribbon for stories!!, was fun and enjoyable, as well as educational. Hearing how much Merrie and Jim enjoyed researching with their parents took me back 15 years when my Dad could follow me through cemeteries, or control the copy machine in libraries. After all, it is “Family History Research” we are doing. And thanks to Coit for pulling us all together in Chesterfield.

As always, renewing friendship with Coit, Jean, and Jim was a pleasure. The more we are together, the stronger our friendship grows, in addition, I think, to our dedication to continue and intensify our mutual quests to expand the active membership in Morrison-Q and knowledge of our common ancestral heritage. The Chesterfield meeting also introduced Richard, Don, and Merrie Morrison to us, all of the line of Andrew Morrison. I enjoyed their company and their obvious knowledge of the history of their ancestral lines. Richard’s work in restoring the monuments in the cemetery in Huntington County, Indiana, where members of his and Don’s family are buried was impressive, as shown by the before and after photographs he brought with him. Merrie brought with her a knowledge of the spread of the Morrison family into Missouri. It is my hope that they will return for future meetings of Morrison-Q, and that others who have not yet attended these gatherings will also attend. Determination that our next meeting will be in October, 2014, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina was an accomplishment that should result in a large attendance from our North Carolina members from which we all should profit.

More specifically, preparation of my own presentation material on the history of the migration of Scots to Ulster and from thence to North America refreshed my memory of that time period and, I believe, may have been useful to those who attended. The material on the Morrison family of Burke County was met with gratifying attention on the part of the rest of the group, even though none shared the Burke origins. I hope that our Burke County members will profit by the material when it is presented on our web site. Jim and Jean’s presentations on the families of Andrew and William Morrison were excellent. Jean’s discussion of the results of the Morrison-Q DNA study done by her consultant was most interesting to me. Coit’s charts – and the work he has put into them – were and are useful to all of us, and his explanations of STR’s (e.g.,y-111 DNA) and SNP’s (e.g., DF-41) clear and informative.

I am anxious to learn of the results of an examination done by Coit, Jean, and Jim after the rest of us left for home, from which further actions were identified to help “unblock” the obstacles that up to now have made mysterious the ancestries of some of our other members in Morrison-Q.

As always, Coit did a great job in finding an excellent accommodation in Chesterfield, setting up our agenda, and serving as the meeting moderator. All we have done in Morrison-Q, from beginning to now, has been the result of his efforts. We owe him a debt of gratitude.

Our attendance at Morrison-Q meetings has grown from four in 2010 and 2012 to seven in 2013. Interest is growing with membership in Morrison-Q. I believe we should set a target for at least 15 attendees in 2014. God willing, I will be there.

John Morrison (MO)

This past weekend I spent time with newly found “cousins” at the Chesterfield Gathering for Morrison Q. As we shared a little about ourselves I was happily surprised to find out how much each of us had in common (and I’m not just talking about DNA either!). As it is with many people, I had some trepidation about going as I didn’t know anyone who would be there. It was so special to go away from the weekend feeling as if I might have known some of these new “cousins” most of my life.

I was very excited about Coit’s explanation on DNA and feel like I came away with at least a working knowledge of it. I’ve gained some genealogical research tips and names to previously unknown databases from both Jean and Jim and John’s explanation of the Scot-Irish-America migration thru historical happenings was very enlightening.

I’m really looking forward to the Outer Banks gathering in 2014. Coit, here’s one room called for!

Merrie Morrison (MO)

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• Friday, October 4
  • 11:59 am – House Available
  • 12:00 pm – 06:00 pm – Settling in, Browse Morrison-Q items & Informal Fellowship Time
  • 06:00 pm – 07:00 pm – Supper – Spaghetti with meat sauce, garlic bread & salad
  • 07:30 pm – 10:00 pm – Evening Sessions:
    • Introduction and summary of weekend
    • Share something about yourself other than genealogy (All)
    • The Scot Irish Migration: Scotland, Ulster Plantation, Pennsylvania, Old Wagon Rd (John)
    • The Capture of Frank Burke by Allen Morrison (1932 documentary)
    • Informal Q & A Time
• Saturday, October 5
  • 08:30 am – 09:30 am – Breakfast – Biscuits & Gravy, Sausage, Fruit, Raisin Bran
  • 10:00 am – 12:00 am – Morning Sessions:
    • Genealogy Detective Tips (Jim)
    • Morrison-Q in Lancaster County, PA (John)
    • Thomas Morrison Line (John)
    • William Morrison Line (Jean)
    • Group Picture
  • 12:00 pm – 01:00 pm – Lunch – Sandwiches
  • 01:00 pm – 07:00 pm – Group Outing
    • St Louis Arch and Museum
    • Supper at Rib City (http://RibCity.com)
  • 07:30 pm – 10:00 pm – Evening Sessions:
    • Share something about your branch of the family (All)
    • Y-DNA-STR Basics and the Morrison Y-DNA Project and Group Q (Coit)
    • Morrison-Q in the Civil War – Confederate and Union (Jim)
    • Projects – Status, Brainstorming, and Discussion (Coit)
      • 3rd Generation Males
      • Morrison-Q Book
      • “Stories of our Ancestors”
      • Operation Tree Gaps
• Sunday, October 6
  • 08:30 am – 09:30 am – Breakfast – Pancakes, Bacon, Fruit, Raisin Bran
  • 10:00 am – 12:00 am – Morning Sessions:
    • Y-DNA-SNP Basics – Haplogroup Migration – DF41 (Coit)
    • Burke County Morrison Line (John)
    • Morrison-Q Migration Patterns (Jim)
  • 12:00 pm – 01:00 pm – Lunch – Sandwiches
  • 01:00 pm – 05:00 pm – Group Outing – St Charles or St Louis Zoo
  • 05:30 pm – 07:00 pm – Supper – Backyard Grilling
  • 07:30 pm – 10:00 pm – Evening Sessions:
    • Share something else about you or your family (All)
    • DNA Consultants Report (Jean)
    • Andrew Morrison Line (Jim)
    • Plan Next Morrison-Q Gathering
• Monday, October 7
  • 08:30 am – 09:30 am – Breakfast – Oatmeal, Fruit, Raisin Bran
  • 09:30 am – 11:59 am – Clean up, pack up, Vacate House

   

Seated: Coit Morrison, Jean Morrison, Richard Morrison
Standing: Jim Morrison, Don Morrison, Sue Morrison, John Morrison, Merrie Morrison

We have plans of a 2014 Gathering on Oct 23-26, 2014 at the NC Outerbanks
mark your calendar