{"id":159,"date":"2010-10-01T07:35:23","date_gmt":"2010-10-01T11:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/iredellmorrison.com\/wp\/?p=159"},"modified":"2013-05-09T08:10:45","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T12:10:45","slug":"morrison-history-1700-to-1953-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/?p=159","title":{"rendered":"Morrison History 1700 to 1953 – Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morrison History 1700 to 1953<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Sudie Morrison Hood<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commentary by John A. Morrison,<\/p>\n

125 N. E. Wood Glen Lane,<\/p>\n

Lee\u2019s Summit, Mo 64064<\/p>\n

Tel. (816) 478-0345, (417) 588-1408<\/p>\n

Cell (816) 536-8161<\/p>\n

e-mail, juan3viajo@aol.com<\/a><\/p>\n

M194 \u2013 Group Q \u2013 Morrison DNA Project<\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201cMorrison History 1700 to 1753\u201d came into my hands after a search of more than twenty years.\u00a0 About 1985, a distant relative who lived in Clemson, South Carolina, sent me a \u201cfamily tree\u201d that depicted a Morrison family whose patriarch was John Morrison who married Margaret Erwin.\u00a0 The document was literally drawn as a \u201ctree\u201d, with John and Margaret Erwin\u2019s names on the trunk very near the root.\u00a0 My own 2x grandparents, Andrew and Elizabeth Morrison, and my 1x grandparents, Zelotus Columbus and Mattie Morrison, were shown on two of the branches together with the names of their children. John and Margaret Erwin Morrison were my 3x grandparents.\u00a0 During the intervening years, I traced the people named on the tree, primarily by examining U. S. census records, and have concluded that the information contained on the tree is quite accurate.\u00a0 There is a \u201clegend\u201d in the lower right hand corner that relates the origins of the family before John.\u00a0 The legend states, as in a fairy tale:\u00a0 \u201cOnce upon a time, there were six or eight Morrison brothers with their families who came from England and Ireland and settled in Va., N.C. and Ga.\u00a0 One settled in Iredell Co. N. C.\u00a0 He raised five sons, Andrew, James, Frank, John<\/span>, William.\u201d\u00a0 I will have comments on this legend later in this document.<\/p>\n

Immediately upon receiving the family \u201ctree\u201d, I began seeking its source.\u00a0 Lucille Vincent, the cousin who sent the document to me, did not know the source.\u00a0 Some years later, I visited Walnut Springs, Bosque County, Texas, where cousins of my great grandfather had settled in the 19th<\/sup> century.\u00a0 I knew members of the family still lived in that area.\u00a0 I was rewarded by finding a woman named Mildred (Chapman) Morrison, widow and second wife of Earl Morrison of Walnut Springs.\u00a0 Mildred showed me many photographs of the family, whose matriarch was Susan Jordan Morrison, widow of John Morrison of Pickens County, Georgia.\u00a0 Susan had journeyed to Texas as a widow with her three sons, James, Alonzo, and Charles, and had settled in Bosque County.\u00a0 As we talked, I described the \u201ctree\u201d and Mildred replied that it had been drawn by her stepdaughter Earline Morrison Hunter.\u00a0 Earline\u2019s motive for preparing the \u201ctree\u201d was to complete a freshman project requirement when she attended Texas Christian University.\u00a0 This was about 1948.\u00a0 Mildred gave me Earline\u2019s address and telephone number in Houston.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, I spoke with Earline by telephone.\u00a0 She told me that she knew nothing more of the family history than was shown on the \u201ctree\u201d.\u00a0 Her source had been her aunt, Sudie Morrison Hood, who lived in Dallas at the time.\u00a0 When I spoke to Earline, Sudie had been dead many years.\u00a0 I believe that Earline is now deceased.<\/p>\n

Fifteen or more years passed before I found another clue to the origin of the \u201ctree\u201d. At the end of a Morrison family history in one of the county Heritage Books that can be found in most genealogical libraries, I found the name and address of a woman named Gayle Maxson, who had submitted the information.\u00a0 Also at the bottom of the article were credits to her sources, which included Sudie Morrison Hood, who had written a document entitled \u201cMorrison History 1700 to 1953\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 I spoke to Gayle on the telephone, who sent me a copy of the document.<\/p>\n

My own \u2013 and largely independent \u2013 studies of the Morrison family have confirmed many of the things that are in Sudie\u2019s history and on Earline\u2019s tree.\u00a0 They also enlarge upon and correct some of the things that Sudie thought were true of the family.\u00a0 This commentary is my attempt to amend and enhance Sudie\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

About Sudie Morrison Hood<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sudie Morrison Hood was born in 1885 in Texas, probably in Bosque County.\u00a0 Her father was James R. Morrison, who was born in Georgia, the eldest son of John Morrison and Susan Jordan.\u00a0 Her mother was Ella Huffstutler.\u00a0 The 1900 United States Census for Bosque County shows her as Susan Morrison, aged 15.\u00a0 Included in her father\u2019s household was Susan Morrison, aged 72.\u00a0 This woman was Susan Jordan Morrison, Sudie\u2019s grandmother, for whom she must have been named. \u00a0\u00a0Sudie married William Frank Hood before 1915.\u00a0 To them were born Helen, about 1915, Ella M., about 1919, and William F. Hood, Jr., about 1924.\u00a0 The 1930 U. S. census shows this family living in Ft. Worth, Texas.\u00a0 Later, Sudie lived in Dallas.\u00a0 The Texas Death Index, 1903-2000, includes a Susan Hood who died in Dallas County on May 3, 1964.<\/p>\n

Commentary<\/strong><\/p>\n

This short history melds details of the families of several Morrison children who had left North Carolina for Georgia (and some of them from there to Texas later on) with general information about the origins of the family in Europe.<\/p>\n

In the details about her Georgia family, and of the migration from Georgia to Texas, Sudie was remarkably accurate. The \u201cHistory\u201d is not as comprehensive as was the family \u201ctree\u201d that she conveyed to Earline Hunter.\u00a0 Her knowledge seems to be family lore, not public information.\u00a0 There are some errors in the \u201cHistory\u201d that were not present in Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d, which may indicate that Sudie\u2019s memory was not as clear when she wrote her \u201cHistory\u201d as it was when she helped Earline prepare the \u201ctree\u201d.\u00a0 The \u201cHistory\u201d is also inconsistent within itself.\u00a0 The first paragraph and the seventh are contradictory in regard to the origins of the family, and differ with the \u201clegend\u201d on Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d.<\/p>\n

Even with these contradictions and differences, there is a degree of commonality in her statements about family origins that compares favorably with present day knowledge about the Morrison immigration into the North Carolina piedmont, my own research about the immediate family into which John Morrison (the man who married Margaret Erwin) was born, and the growing Group Q y-DNA information in the Morrison DNA Project.<\/p>\n

As one follows this commentary, it will be best if a copy of Sudie\u2019s history is available and open, as these comments progress as one reads the document.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u2026there was a family named \u201cMorrison\u201d from Ireland who settled in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ireland County, North Carolina\u2026\u201d<\/strong> If one considers intermediate stops in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 British \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 America as unimportant, the family did arrive in North Carolina from \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Ireland.\u00a0 In fact, three Morrison brothers from Northern Ireland (via \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Pennsylvania) did settle in that part of Rowan County, North Carolina, that later \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 became Iredell County.\u00a0 \u201cIreland County\u201d is an error; Earline Hunter\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 correctly says \u201cIredell County, North Carolina.\u201d\u00a0 Descendants of the three \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 brothers still live there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201csometime prior to the Revolutionary War.\u201d<\/strong> Yes, indeed, Sudie is correct.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The first of the brothers arrived about 1750 and all were there before the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revolution began.\u00a0 This is common knowledge in Iredell County and is \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 authoritatively covered in Ramsay\u2019s Carolina Cradle.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cTwo of the sons engaged in the battle of King\u2019s Mountain\u2026\u201d\u00a0 \u201cJohn, the<\/strong><\/p>\n

younger son, celebrated his 16th<\/sup> birthday by engaging in this battle.\u201d <\/strong>I cannot<\/p>\n

confirm that John Morrison was at King\u2019s Mountain, but in a letter from W. L.<\/p>\n

Twitty to Lyman C. Draper (see Draper\u2019s King\u2019s Mountain papers) dated October \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 19, 1880, John Morrison is identified as a participant in the battle as well as being \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 present at an earlier skirmish near Cane Creek in Rutherford County, North \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Carolina. \u00a0Twitty\u2019s source was William Long, who was in the infantry that arrived just after the Battle of King\u2019s Mountain concluded.<\/p>\n

In 1833, a man that I believe was John\u2019s elder brother, William Morrison, swore \u00a0 that he was a participant in the battle when he submitted a request for a \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revolutionary War pension (see Revolutionary War Pension Statement #1455, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 National Archives).\u00a0 William Morrison lived in Dickson County, Tennessee, in \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1833, but his statement says that he lived in Burke County, North Carolina (just \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 north of Rutherford County) until 1796, when he moved to Tennessee.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u2026he married Miss Margaret Erwin.\u201d<\/strong> I cannot confirm this.\u00a0 Many \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Morrison researchers have unsuccessfully sought confirmation of her identity.<\/p>\n

There were several Erwin families in both Burke and Rutherford Counties.\u00a0 Her<\/p>\n

county of residence before marriage was most likely Burke, since she and John \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 must have married about 1791\/1792, when John lived in Burke.\u00a0 They were<\/p>\n

present in Burke when the 1800 census was taken.\u00a0 After 1800, they are found \u00a0\u00a0 in Rutherford.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To John and Margaret \u201cwere born eleven children.\u201d<\/strong> This is correct.\u00a0 They were<\/p>\n

all accounted for, by name, on Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d.\u00a0 They were Francis, William,<\/p>\n

James, John, Margaret, Catharine, Robert, Thomas, Elizabeth, Andrew, and<\/p>\n

Joseph, all of whom are named in John\u2019s 1826 will<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe first were twin sisters.\u201d <\/strong>Margaret and Catharine were indeed twins, but \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 they were not first born.\u00a0 Francis, born in 1793, was the eldest, followed by \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 William, James, and John before the twins were born in 1801 or 1802.\u00a0 U. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 S. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 census data for 1860 recorded on June 10 shows Mary, age 58.\u00a0 James, who was \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sudie\u2019s 1x grandfather, was born in 1796 according to his tombstone in the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lebanon Cemetery in Pickens County, Georgia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJames, Andrew, and Joe, along with their three sisters, moved to Georgia \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 sometime prior to 1848 and settled in Pickens County.\u201d<\/strong> Sudie is correct.\u00a0 It<\/p>\n

appears that James may have arrived as early as 1837 (Gayle Maxson\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 information), and Andrew shortly after 1840 (Andrew Morrison is in Habersham \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 County, Georgia, in 1840 \u2013 U. S. census).\u00a0 They settled in that part of Gilmer \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 County that became Pickens in 1853.\u00a0 It is curious that this document<\/p>\n

doesn\u2019t name the three sisters or say anything about their families.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJames was born \u20261796 \u2026 married Miss Rachael Patton \u2026 born 1801 \u2026 in<\/strong><\/p>\n

1820.\u201d<\/strong> These were Sudie\u2019s 1x grandparents.\u00a0 All that I know of them and their \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 family bears out Sudie\u2019s statements in the second paragraph of her history.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cAndrew Morrison married Miss Elizabeth Wilson \u2026 and moved to Georgia \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in the <\/em>1840s.\u201d<\/strong> This is correct.\u00a0 Andrew and Elizabeth were my 2x grandparents.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u201d (<\/strong>meaning Andrew) \u201creared two daughters and three sons.\u201d <\/strong>Andrew\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 family was much larger than that.\u00a0 His children were Mary, Sarah, Adolfus, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Francis James, John Poston, Robert Andrew, Jerome Decatur, Zelotus Columbus, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and Florence Arrillia.\u00a0 There were nine in all, six males and three females.\u00a0 Of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 these, three little boys died when they were less than five years old, all between \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1849 and 1853.\u00a0 I know that Sudie knew there were at least three daughters and \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 three sons.\u00a0 Earline Hunter\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d identified them by name. \u00a0It is probable that \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sudie never heard of the three boys who died so very young.<\/p>\n

11.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHe\u201d<\/strong> (meaning Andrew) \u201cdied in November 1885.<\/strong> The two oldest boys were<\/strong> killed while serving in the C. S. A. Army.\u201d <\/strong>Sudie is almost correct.\u00a0 Andrew<\/p>\n

actually died on December 9, 1885. \u00a0 Adolfus was killed at Petersburg, Va., in June 1864; Francis was killed at Jonesboro, Ga., in August, 1864.\u00a0 All of these\u00a0 \u00a0 dates are taken from Andrew and Elizabeth\u2019s <\/em>bible.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

12.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThe youngest boy, Columbus \u2026 died in the spring of 1933 in Granbury, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Texas.\u201d<\/strong> Zelotus Columbus was known as Columbus while he lived in Georgia, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 but went by Z. C. in Texas.\u00a0 He died in 1930 in Granbury, Texas, not 1933.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

13.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHis\u201d<\/strong> (meaning Columbus) \u201cchildren were Frank, Hattie, Addie, and an \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 adopted<\/strong> son, who now lives in Granbury.\u201d<\/strong> In reality, Columbus had five \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 children.\u00a0 They were John (my grandfather), Frank, Betty, Addie, and Mattie Clyde.\u00a0 Sudie \u00a0\u00a0 is wrong here.\u00a0 However, Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d was more nearly correct.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It names my grandfather John, Frank, Betty, and Addie, as well as Betty\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 husband.\u00a0 Mattie Clyde died in Georgia as a very young child, and would easily \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 have been unknown to or forgotten by Sudie.\u00a0 Columbus didn\u2019t have an adopted \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 son, but he was the legal guardian of his orphaned grandson Howard Griffith, who \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 moved with him from\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Georgia and lived near him as an adult in Granbury for a \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 number of years.<\/p>\n

14.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cJoseph Morrison \u2026 in Gordon County.\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>Sudie is correct.\u00a0 Joe was still<\/p>\n

in Pickens County in 1860, but lived in Gordon County later on, and is<\/p>\n

buried there.\u00a0 He did outlive all his children.<\/p>\n

15. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Sudie names only the three brothers who went to Georgia, failing to<\/p>\n

name the three sisters.\u00a0 Mary Morrison, who married William Johnson Long,<\/p>\n

lived in Georgia until they went to Texas about 1870.\u00a0 They are the William \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Long\u2019s that Sudie said were members of the Lebanon Presbyterian Church, but<\/p>\n

even then aren\u2019t mentioned as relatives.\u00a0 Catharine Morrison, Mary\u2019s twin,<\/p>\n

married E. P. (Pat) Watson.\u00a0 Elizabeth Morrison, youngest daughter and a \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 spinster, lived with Joseph Morrison.\u00a0 It is strange to me that none of these \u00a0\u00a0 women are named, or identified as her relatives.\u00a0 Mary, Catharine<\/p>\n

and Elizabeth \u00a0are named on Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d.<\/p>\n

16.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In re churches:\u00a0 Luke Tate, in his History of Pickens County<\/span> substantially verifies<\/p>\n

Sudie\u2019s paragraph.\u00a0 Tate says the Lebanon Presbyterian Church was organized in<\/p>\n

1839 or 1840, soon after the Morrison family settled in Georgia.\u00a0 Tate says that all<\/p>\n

of the members of the Morrison family belonged to this church, not just the James<\/p>\n

Morrison and William Long families.\u00a0 Tate speaks of the library but doesn\u2019t say \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 where it was located.\u00a0 Tate mentions Mrs. Duckett.\u00a0 James Morrison did deed land \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so the Baptist\u2019s could build their log church and school in Pickens County.<\/p>\n

At this point, it is helpful to analyze Sudie\u2019s knowledge of her family, beginning with the John who married Margaret Erwin.\u00a0 Almost everything in the \u201cHistory\u201d is either borne out by my own independent research or, in the case of some omissions or minor errors,<\/p>\n

more nearly correct on Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d.\u00a0 Her knowledge of her family was quite good, and she can be considered a reliable source of information.<\/p>\n

However, in regard to the family before John Morrison, the husband of Margaret Erwin, her performance was inconsistent.\u00a0 It is useful to look at three different versions of John\u2019s ancestry.\u00a0 The first is from Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d; the second comes from the first paragraph of Sudie\u2019s \u201cHistory\u201d; and the third comes from the seventh paragraph of her \u201cHistory\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce upon a time\u00a0 there were six or eight Morrison brothers with their \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 families who came from England and Ireland and settled in Va., N.C., and<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ga.\u00a0 One settled in Iredell Co. N. C.\u00a0 He raised five sons.\u00a0 Andrew, James,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frank, John<\/span>, William.\u201d <\/strong>From Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTradition says that once upon a time there was a family named \u2018Morrison\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

from Ireland who settled in Ireland County, North Carolina, sometime prior<\/strong><\/p>\n

to the Revolutionary War.\u201d <\/strong>From the \u201cHistory\u201d, paragraph one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the 1700s, there were eight Morrison boys from Ireland, England, and<\/strong><\/p>\n

Holland who came to North Carolina.\u00a0 The lineage of five of these boys are <\/strong><\/p>\n

lost.\u00a0 Frank I, William I, James I, and Andrew I probably settled with three<\/strong><\/p>\n

sisters between 1750-1760 in Iredell County, Virginia.\u201d <\/strong>From the \u201cHistory\u201d,<\/p>\n

paragraph seven.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What are we to make of these three statements?\u00a0 Neglecting the errors associated with Iredell County, i. e., sometimes Ireland County, sometimes North Carolina, sometimes Virginia, and concluding that she always meant Iredell County, North Carolina, as was stated in Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d, let\u2019s consider the consistencies among the three statements.<\/p>\n

In all three statements, a \u201cfamily\u201d of Morrison\u2019s is defined, not just one \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 member of a family.<\/p>\n

Ireland is consistently a point of departure.<\/p>\n

North Carolina is consistently the place of settlement in North America.<\/p>\n

In North Carolina, the place of settlement is Iredell County.<\/p>\n

Two of the statements say that the settlement in North Carolina was before<\/p>\n

the Revolutionary War.<\/p>\n

How do these consistencies measure up to what is known.\u00a0 Remarkably well.\u00a0 Using Ramsay\u2019s Carolina Cradle<\/span> as our authority, three brothers named Morrison (William, James, and Andrew) settled in what later became Iredell County, North Carolina, beginning about 1750.\u00a0 They had accompanied their father, James, from Northern Ireland to America about 1730.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s look at the inconsistencies:<\/p>\n

Were there six, or eight brothers?<\/p>\n

Did some come from England and Holland?<\/p>\n

Did some settle in Virginia and Georgia?<\/p>\n

Were there three sisters in the \u201cfamily?\u201d<\/p>\n

Why doesn\u2019t she say Rowan County instead of Iredell County?\u00a0 Iredell<\/p>\n

County wasn\u2019t formed until 1788.<\/p>\n

Did only \u201cone\u201d settle in Iredell County, North Carolina, or were there more?<\/p>\n

Can we ever know the answers to the first four of these questions, and do we even care?\u00a0 I think not, to both questions.\u00a0 History probably can\u2019t tell us how many brothers came, whether there were sisters, too, or whether one or more came from England or even from Holland.\u00a0 It is quite possible that some in the family stopped off in Virginia as they traveled south, and that one or more went on to Georgia.<\/p>\n

What about Rowan vs. Iredell County?\u00a0 Either Sudie\u2019s informants knew that the family<\/p>\n

was from that part of Rowan that later became Iredell, or <\/span> the family didn\u2019t leave that<\/p>\n

area until after Iredell was formed.\u00a0 I believe the answer is the first of these two probabilities.\u00a0 I am quite sure that John\u2019s father was in Burke County when it was formed in 1778, not in the part of Rowan that became Iredell.\u00a0 Was he ever in the part of Rowan that became Iredell?\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 The other Morrison\u2019s were.<\/p>\n

What about the last question?\u00a0 We already know the answer.\u00a0 There were more than one. When Sudie singled out \u201cone\u201d, it was to point out that the \u201cone\u201d, whoever he was, fathered five sons named Andrew, Frank, James, John, and William.\u00a0 By saying \u201cone\u201d, she was telling us she didn\u2019t know his name.\u00a0 By naming five people, she was telling us that she did know the names of a set of brothers, sons of the \u201cone\u201d.\u00a0 And, by underlining John, she was saying that the John Morrison on the trunk of the tree, the one who married Margaret Erwin, was the brother who was the first nameable progenitor of her family.<\/p>\n

Another question:\u00a0 Did John have brothers named Andrew, James, William, and<\/p>\n

Frank.\u00a0 We cannot, at least now, know the answer to this question with certainty.<\/p>\n

I have examined the records in Burke County, North Carolina, from John\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 youth to his mid-forties, and have concluded that Sudie\u2019s \u201cone\u201d was \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 William Morrison, Sr., \u00a0and that John had brothers named Andrew, James, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 William, and Thomas, and that there were others not yet identified.\u00a0 So, three of \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 the four names fit, and the fourth is possible\u00a0 For a reference to the family, see the \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 last paragraph of this Commentary..<\/p>\n

The remaining question from these three statements I shall call the \u201cprobability\u201d question.<\/p>\n

Were Frank I, William I, James I, and Andrew I probably the brothers who settled in Iredell County, North Carolina?\u00a0 We know there is no \u201cprobability\u201d at all about \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 William, James, and Andrew.\u00a0 They were the original Morrison settlers in Iredell \u00a0 County.\u00a0 What about Frank?\u00a0 Was there even a Frank?\u00a0 We don\u2019t and can\u2019t know \u00a0\u00a0 the answer to these questions.\u00a0 If Sudie was wrong about Frank, is that enough to \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 discredit her?\u00a0 I think not.<\/p>\n

General Conclusion<\/p>\n

Sudie had an excellent knowledge of her family beginning in 1796 with the birth of her great grandfather James.\u00a0 She had a reasonably good knowledge of her broader family as it existed in Georgia and Texas beginning in the 1840s, and some knowledge of her family before the birth of her great grandfather, including the time and place of arrival in North Carolina and kinsmen who were present at the Battle of King\u2019s Mountain in 1780.<\/p>\n

She may have known the names of the original Morrison settlers in Iredell County and probably knew the names of at least some of John Morrison\u2019s brothers. That all of this was the product of family tradition instead of public facts is remarkable.<\/p>\n

The most confusing part of her \u201cHistory\u201d pertains to the origins of the family.\u00a0 Despite contradictions and mistakes of place, her location of the family in the piedmont of North Carolina between 1750 and 1760 is accurate.\u00a0 There is sufficient consistency in given names of the original settlers and the brothers of John to convince me that her sources knew of what they were speaking, even though her several attempts to convey \u00a0their knowledge is garbled.\u00a0 Her source was probably her 1x grandfather James, as translated by her grandmother Susan, his daughter-in-law.\u00a0 By the time Sudie was old enough to begin to absorb the stories, some 30 years had passed since James and Susan had last spoken.\u00a0 And by then Susan was 72 years old.\u00a0 And we must remember that Sudie herself was 67 when she was writing and dictating her History, and she was recalling things she had heard more than 50 years earlier.\u00a0 I believe there is the ring of truth in her combined \u201cHistory\u201d and Earline\u2019s \u201ctree\u201d, regarding the origins of the family.\u00a0 John Morrison was one of the \u201cIredell\u201d Morrisons, by means of connections still vague.\u00a0 I remain an optimist. As the little boy said when he was accidentally buried under horse manure, \u201cThere must be a pony in here somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

I have spoken briefly in this commentary about William Morrison of Burke County, who is the putative father of John Morrison (who married Margaret Erwin).\u00a0 See \u201cThe Family of William Morrison, Senior, of Burke County, North Carolina\u201d for my reasoning and for the names of a number of the members of that hypothetical family.\u00a0 It is on line at the Morrison-Q website.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morrison History 1700 to 1953 By Sudie Morrison Hood Commentary by John A. Morrison, 125 N. E. Wood Glen Lane, Lee\u2019s Summit, Mo 64064 Tel. (816) 478-0345, (417) 588-1408 Cell (816) 536-8161 e-mail, juan3viajo@aol.com M194 \u2013 Group Q \u2013 Morrison … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1595,"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159\/revisions\/1595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/morrison-q.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}