THE ANCESTRY OF DENNIS MORRISON

Transcription

1 THE ANCESTRY OF DENNIS MORRISON Dennis Morrison, of Carson City, Nevada, is a member of the Morrison Surname Project, which uses y-dna haplotypes plus what is known of each member s lineage to align members into possible close kinship groups. Dennis is a member of Group Q, which now consists of eleven people. Most of the people in Group Q can trace their ancestry to the piedmont and foothill country in Iredell, Burke, and McDowell Counties of North Carolina prior to the American Revolution. Dennis, however, can trace his ancestry only back to a man named James J. Morrison, whose entry in the United States Census of 1870 for Calhoun County, Arkansas, gave his age as 35 and his birthplace as Tennessee. In his household were his wife Nancy J., age 22, birthplace Mississippi, and three children: Nancy, aged 9; George H., aged 3; and William N., aged 7 months. All of the children were born in Arkansas 1. There are some insignificant errors in the above census data, but the information is fundamentally correct and serves as the starting point of a search both backward and forward in time to determine the forebears and descendants of this family of five. Of most importance to the members of Group Q is the male line, since y-dna is passed exclusively and almost without change from father to son. Even so, learning about the original family of Nancy Jane Morrison is useful because the knowledge gained may help to learn the identity of the paternal forebears of James J. Morrison. Dennis, of course, has a dual interest; Nancy Jane s forebears were also his. Information gained in this inquiry has come in large part from Ancestry.com. Within the Ancestry databank, the most useful has been census data. Examination of the census has been both direct, by looking for and finding persons related to Dennis, and indirect, by finding people who were associated with his ancestors and, by association, may help to identify them. Marriage information and the Social Security Death index has supplemented the census data. Calhoun County, Arkansas, cemetery surveys were also useful in providing information about some of the members of the elder George H. Morrison s family. The results of the inquiry are based on facts taken from public records as much as possible, although speculation and educated guesses were necessary in some cases. When either of these non-factual methods was employed, the writer tried to say so clearly and to explain his logic for using them. In several cases, information from unproven ancestral lines available in Ancestry.com was used; these are noted in the narrative and cited as family tradition. Morrison s in Calhoun County, Arkansas As a point of departure from the James J. Morrison census data of 1870, people named Morrison who lived in Calhoun and Ouachita Counties in Arkansas (Ouachita was a parent county of Calhoun) in 1850, 1860, and 1870 were identified. Their relationship, if any, to James J. Morrison is considered important. The study found the people listed on the following chart: 1

2 Census Ouachita County Calhoun County 1850 John B. Morrison 1816 AL Mary 1833 TN None Benjamin 1847 AR Sarah A AR 1860 K. Morrison 1837 Scotland W. P. Morrison 1800 TN Mary 1824 OH C. H OH James 1835 TN Sarah 1836 GA G. H TN Julia 1841 AR George 1853 OH Harriet 1855 OH Martha 1857 AR Frances 1860 AR 1870 None Jas J. Morrison 1835 TN Nancy J MS Nancy 1861 AR Geo H 1867 AR Wm N 1869 AR Wm P. Morison 1803 TN Sarah 1823 TN Geo H TN Julia 1843 AR Sarah J TN Naoma 1859 AR Nancy 1863 AR Jas W 1865 AR The people of most interest in these two counties all gave their birthplaces as Tennessee and are highlighted in bold type. Five family groups are on the list. Two were immediately eliminated: In 1850 the family of John B. Morrison of Ouachita County is of no interest, even though John s wife Mary is from Tennessee she is not a Morrison by birth. In 1860, the family of C. H. and Mary Morrison from Ohio, with two children, is of no interest, either. K. Morrison, born in Scotland, is single and is of no interest. But three families are of interest. They are headed by: W. P. (Wm. P. in 1870) Morrison from Tennessee, born in 1800 or 1803, with his 2

3 wives named Sarah (the first born in 1836 in Georgia and the second born in 1823 in Tennessee) and daughters Martha, Frances, and Sarah J. 2, 3 Jas J. Morrison from Tennessee, with his wife Nancy J., daughter Nancy, and sons Geo H and Wm N. Also of interest was James Morrison of Tennessee, born in 1835 and single in G. H. (Geo H in 1870) Morrison of Tennessee, with his wife Julia, daughters Naoma and Nancy and son Jas W. 4,5 Not only are the heads of these three families from Tennessee, but their ages suggest that Wm P could be the father of both Jas J and Geo H. As it turns out, the study of these three families has not yet helped to learn the ancestry of James J. Morrison. No positive familial linkage among them was found in previous studies. Since the present inquiry has also failed, further research is necessary. It is important to include in this report, however, a reference to a study entitled James J. Morrison, Ancestor of Dennis Morrison. 6 This study determined that another James J. Morrison, coincidentally born in 1835 in Tennessee, and whose father was Robert W. Morrison, could not possibly have been the ancestor of Dennis Morrison. In the quest to learn more about James J Morrison, a great deal was learned about Nancy Morrison s original family. Even more was learned about the descendants of James J. and Nancy Jane Morrison. Most of this paper will be devoted to these two topics. Then there will be a discussion about William P. Morrison while he lived in Arkansas, followed by a discussion of the family of George H. Morrison the elder (1836 or 1837, Tennessee); George H. lived in Calhoun County from 1859 until his death in At the very end of the paper, a series of next steps will be identified in the continuing effort to discover James J. Morrison s paternal ancestors. James J. Morrison and Nancy Jane Adams/Letlow(Ludlow)/King/Morrison Arkansas marriage records show that James J. Morrison married Nancy J. King on August 1, 1866, in Calhoun County. 7 Examination of the 1860 United States census reveals Nancy J. King, age 21 and born in Mississippi, at Washington, Bridge Creek and Fremont, Ouachita County, Arkansas. She was the wife of William King, age 22, born in Arkansas. In their household is Margaret N. Ludlow, age 2, born in Mississippi. 8 Arkansas marriage records show that William King and Nancy Jane Letlow were married on March 7, 1860, in Calhoun County. 9 Immediately above the King family census entry is the family of Nathan N. Adams, age 48, born in Tennessee. The rest of the household consists of Margaret Adams, age 44, born in Alabama, and William, Washington, and Martha Adams, aged 19, 16, and 13, respectively, all born in Mississippi. 10 3

4 Calhoun County, Arkansas, 1860 census records include James Morrison, an unmarried boarder in the household of J. H. Adams, age 24, who was born in Tennessee. 11 A suspicion that James might be the James J. Morrison who married Nancy J. King in 1866, an idea that J. H. Adams might be a member of Nathan N. Adams family, and notice of the proximity of Nathan N. Adams to the William King family in the 1860 Ouachita County census, led to a search for the family of Nathan Adams in This logic process may sound like a long shot, but it is not; Dennis Morrison s family tradition says that Nancy Jane s maiden name was Adams. Nathan Adams, age 37, born in Tennessee, was found in the Northern Division of Carroll County, Mississippi in the 1850 census. 12 The other members of his family were: Margaret Adams, age 24, born in Alabama James Adams, age 14, born in Tennessee Nancy Adams, age 11, born in Mississippi Jackson Adams, age 8, born in Mississippi Washington Adams, age 6, born in Mississippi Martha Adams, age 3, born in Mississippi Franklin Adams, age 0, born in Mississippi This 1850 Mississippi family is definitely the same one as Nathan N. Adams in Arkansas in Nathan, Margaret, Washington, and Martha are members of both households. Their birthplaces are the same in each record. James Adams, age 14 in 1850, is probably J. H. Adams, age 24 in 1860; Nancy Adams, age 11 in 1850, is most likely 21 year old Nancy J. King of the 1860 Ouachita County census. Jackson Adams, age 8 in 1850, is presumably William Adams, age 19 in Franklin Adams is missing and probably deceased by Examination of Arkansas marriage records revealed that James H. Adams married Martha E. Stover in Calhoun County on July 17, That agrees with the 1860 census records for the J. H. Adams family. J. H. Adams wife was Martha; in the household were John Stopher, aged 10, and Bettie Stopher, aged 7, who were in all likelihood related to Martha (nee Stover). From the information in the preceding six paragraphs, the following conclusions can be drawn: Nancy Adams had a child with a man named Letlow or Ludlow in Mississippi in 1858, when she was 19. Given the morals and laws of the time, they were probably married. Their daughter Margaret N. may have been named for Nancy s mother. Letlow/Ludlow s fate is unknown; a likely assumption is that he died before Nancy made her way to Arkansas. Nancy and her young daughter either moved to Ouachita County, Arkansas, with the family of her father, Nathan Adams, or followed them there after Letlow/Ludlow was no longer in her life. In Arkansas, Nancy J. met and married William King. Margaret N. Ludlow became a member of their family. By 1866, William King was no longer a part of Nancy s life (he may have died during the Civil War) and 4

5 Nancy married James J. Morrison. It is possible that Nancy King and James J. Morrison met through James association with James H. Adams, Nancy s older brother and James Morrison s 1860 landlord. Alternatively, they may have met by means of George H. Morrison (the elder), whose wife was Julia King, the sister of William King 14 and former sister-in-law of Nancy J. King. By 1880, Nancy J. Morrison had moved north and west from Calhoun County and was a widow living at Lees Creek in Washington County, Arkansas. The census entry identifies her as N.J. Morrison. Immediately below her is N. E. Adams, identified as Nancy s sister. Then there are: Georg H. Adams, age 13, son, born Arkansas; William M. Adams, age 10, son, born Arkansas; Martha M. Adams, age 8, daughter, born Arkansas; Ida B. Adams, age 6, daughter, born Arkansas; William Adams, age 13, son, born Missouri; and John Adams, age 10, son, born in Kansas. 15 There are errors aplenty in this census record. The most important error pertains to the children of Nancy J. Morrison, who were misidentified with the surname of Adams. Since N. E. Adams, identified as Nancy Morrison s sister, was in the household, it appears that the census taker applied the name Adams to all the children who are listed below her name. N. E. Adams was probably Nancy s sister-in-law instead of her sister, since the last two people listed in the household are a second William Adams, aged 13, and John Adams, aged 10. These last were likely the children of N. E. Adams; their ages and birthplaces are inconsistent with Nancy J. Morrison s children. It is clear that N. J. Morrison is in reality Nancy J. Morrison of the 1870 Calhoun County census. She reports herself as born in Mississippi, her father as born in Tennessee and her mother in Alabama, and her sons George H. and William M (N?), aged 13 and 10, both born in Arkansas, are in the household. All of this is consistent with the family of James J. and Nancy J. Morrison in the 1870 census. The presence of Martha and Ida suggests that the two are probably the children of James J. Morrison and, if so, that James J. died between 1873 (after Ida was conceived) and At this point, it seems appropriate to summarize the members of James J. and Nancy Jane Morrison s family: James J. Morrison, born in 1835 in Tennessee, died between 1873 and 1880, most likely in Arkansas. Nancy J. Morrison, born in 1839 in Mississippi, died in 1913 in Oklahoma. George H. Morrison, born 1867 in Arkansas, died in 1942 in Oklahoma. William N/M Morrison, born 1869 in Arkansas, died? Martha M. Morrison, born 1872 in Arkansas, died? Ida B. Morrison, born 1874 in Arkansas, died after It also seems appropriate to discuss Nancy s child/children born before her marriage to James J. Morrison. The first was Margaret N. Ludlow, born in 1858 in Mississippi. The possible second is Nancy King (identified as Nancy Morrison in the 1870 census), born in 1861 in Arkansas. I say possible second because Margaret N. Ludlow could be Margaret Nancy Ludlow, and be 5

6 identified in the 1870 census as Nancy Morrison, aged 9 instead of 12. Either way, nothing more is known because she is/they are not present with Nancy Morrison after In 1900, Nancy was still in Washington County, Arkansas. In her household were her youngest daughter, Ida, and a grandson, William H. Morrison, who was born in November, (Was he the son of William M/N, the second son of Nancy and James J. Morrison, or the son of Ida B. Morrison?) Nancy has not been located yet in the census of 1910; family tradition holds that she died in November, 1913, in Oklahoma and was buried in the town of Stilwell, in the northeastern part of the state. 17 A photograph of her alleged gravestone in the Stilwell City Cemetery gives her dates as 1840 to There is a great deal of information about Nancy s son George H. Morrison (the younger), who was the great grandfather of Dennis Morrison. George can be found, in addition to entries in 1870 and 1880 in his parent s households, in the census records from 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 as head of his own household. Some descendants have the tradition that George H. Morrison married a Willie Hall in 1890, from whom he was divorced in George H. Morrison married Eve (or Eva) Ellen Hatfield in Washington County, Arkansas, on March 18, They were present in Kentucky township, Madison County, Arkansas, (east of Washington County) in 1900 and 1910, where he worked as a farm laborer and farmer, respectively. Seven of their children were born there. 21,22 By 1912, George and Mattie had moved into Oklahoma (as shown by the birth dates and states of birth of their two youngest children), where they remained the rest of their lives. In 1920, they were at Hulbert in Cherokee County, which is about midway between Wagoner and Tahlequah. 23 In 1930, George and Eva and the two youngest children lived in Lincoln County, northeast of Oklahoma City. He continued to make his living as a farmer or farm laborer. 24 By combining the information in the several census records cited above, the family consisted of the following people: George H. Morrison born in May, 1867 in Calhoun County, Arkansas Eve (or Eva) Ellen Hatfield born in 1876 in Indiana Luther L. Morrison born February 18, 1894 in Arkansas 25 William B. (Bertie) Morrison born in 1896 in Arkansas James N. Morrison born in 1898 in Arkansas Teddy Morrison born in 1904 in Arkansas Isa Morrison born in 1906 in Arkansas Retta Morrison born in 1908 in Arkansas Keron (Nerva?) Morrison born in 1910 in Arkansas Elzie L. Morrison born in 1912 in Oklahoma Flossie Morrison born in 1914 in Oklahoma 6

7 Since Isa and Keron were absent in subsequent census enumerations, it would appear that they died before Family tradition holds that George Morrison died at Peggs, Cherokee County, Oklahoma, on June 18, Eva is said to have died July 28, 1949, at Salina, Mayes County, Oklahoma. 27 Luther, the eldest son of George and Eva Morrison, was Dennis Morrison s grandfather. He was present in the census records of 1900 and 1910 with his parents. His World War I draft registration shows his residence as Tahlequah, Oklahoma in , but he has not been located in the 1920 census. He married Mattie Taylor about In 1930, Luther and Mattie were registered in South Fox township, Lincoln County, Oklahoma, near Luther s parents. They had three sons, all born in Oklahoma: Raymond, born about 1922; Bobby C., born on April 14, 1927; and Leon, born about In their household were Mattie s parents, J. H. and Fannie E. Taylor, both born about Luther Morrison died December 18, 1966, at Langley, Mayes County, Oklahoma, according to family tradition. 30 Bobby C. Morrison, Dennis father, appears only in the 1930 census (with his parents). He was first married to Doris Atkinson. Dennis Morrison was born to them at Concord, California, in Later, Bobby and Doris divorced; Bobby eventually remarried and moved back to his native Oklahoma 31 (not necessarily in that order), where he died November 4, 1994, at Prue in Osage County. 32 The charts below summarize Dennis lines to the extent they have been described in this paper. Adams Line Nathan Adams = Margaret? (Ca Tn Bet Ak) (Ca Al aft Ak) Nancy Jane Adams =? Letlow/Ludlow (1839 Ms 1913 Ok) (? -?) m. abt Margaret N. Ludlow (1858 Ms -?) Nancy Jane Letlow = William King (Abt Ak Bef. 1866) m. Mar. 7, 1860 Nancy King (1861 Ark -?) Nancy J. King = James J. Morrison (1835 Tn Bet Ak) m. Aug. 1, 1866 Ak 7

8 Morrison Line James J. Morrison = Nancy Jane King (1835 Tn - Bet. 1873/1880Ak) (1839 Ms Ok) m. Aug. 1, 1866 Ak s George H. Morrison = Eve Ellen Hatfield (May 1867 Ak - June 18,1942 Ok) (Oct. 1, 1877 Ind- July 28, 1949 Ok) m. March 18, 1894 Ark Luther L. Morrison = Mattie Taylor (1894 Ark -Dec. 18, 1966 Ok) (1905 -?) m. about 1920 prob. Oklahoma Bobby C. Morrison = Doris Atkinson (Apr.14, 1927 Ok Nov. 4, 1994 Ok) (?) m.? Dennis Morrison = Toni? (1951 Ca -) (?) m? With industry and good luck, we will be able to extend James J. Morrison s line farther into the past. We must start with the Morrison s who lived near him in Calhoun County, Arkansas, between 1860 and William P. Morrison This man has not been identified by any public document earlier than 1855, although he was then over 50 years old. The United States Government granted William P. Morrison, then of Bradley County, Arkansas (immediately east of Calhoun County and one of the parent counties of Calhoun) forty acres of land on March 1, On the 14 th of May, 1855, Wm. P. Morrison married Cynthia Farmer in Calhoun County, Arkansas. 34 On January 31, 1859, Wm. P. Morrison married Sarah A. Morgan in Calhoun County, Arkansas. 35 On July 2, 1860, the family of W. P. Morrison, a farm laborer aged 60 and born in Tennessee, was enrolled in the United States Census of that year. He lived in Huey Township in Calhoun County, Arkansas. W. P. s wife was named Sarah, and there were two children in the household, both daughters. They were Martha, aged 3, and Frances, aged 3 months. Both were born in Arkansas. 36 On April 7, 1870, Wm. P. Morrison married Mrs. Sarah A. Mauldin in Calhoun County, Arkansas. 37 8

9 Three plus months later, the family of Wm. P. Morrison, aged 67 and born in Tennessee, who owned real estate valued at $300, was enrolled in the 1870 United States Census. The family lived in Polk Township, Calhoun County, Arkansas. His wife, Sarah, was 47 years old and was born in Tennessee. In this household was a 13 year old girl, born in Tennessee, named Sarah J. 38 After 1870, there is no trace of William P., Sarah, or Sarah J. Morrison in Calhoun County, Arkansas. What is going on here? Where was Wm. P. Morrison before1855? What is happening to his wives? Where are the daughters who lived in the household of 1860? Where did Sarah J., 13 in 1870, come from? Is this the same man in all the recorded instances? Is all of this feasible? The answer to the first and last of these questions can be given: in answer to the first, we don t really know; to the last, yes, it is feasible. But underlying the feasibility assertion is an important assumption, which is that in all of the instances recorded, the same man was involved. Assuming it was the same man, let us build a case for feasibility. It is possible that a 55 year old man might go unrecorded in the census listings from 1800 through 1840 for two reasons. The first is that he was a dependent child, and the second was that he was a non-taxpaying adult, i.e., was still dependent upon another adult. Children were invisible to the census until 1850, being only shown statistically until then. Dependent adults might also be invisible, owning no property and paying no taxes, until It was harder to be invisible beginning in 1850, when all people were supposed to be enrolled by name, regardless of legal status. However, under what name was he listed in 1850? We have already noted in this study that Morrison children were mistakenly given the surname of Adams. Further, even if listed as William Morrison, without the P, we might be at a loss to find him due to the very large number of William Morrison s in the United States in It is true that we have the further identifiers of age and state of birth, i. e., William Morrison, born in 1800 (or was it 1803?) in Tennessee. That does narrow the field. Even so, he has not yet been found and not for lack of search hours of search! He could simply have been overlooked by the census takers. At this late date, I have still not found my own parents in 1930, and I am quite sure that I know where each of them lived at the time! Let us accept the best bet he is listed but we just haven t found him yet. Whatever may be the answer, in 1855 he lived in Bradley County, Arkansas. We can assume that the land he was granted was in Calhoun County, and that he lived on it subsequent to the grant. This can probably be checked by examining Calhoun County land records. It is safe to say William was unmarried when he received the land grant, but corrected that error soon afterwards. What we don t know is whether William had been married before 1855, and whether he had children by an earlier marriage. William must have been married to Cynthia Farmer at least until the birth of Martha in about Cynthia must have died between Martha s birth date and January 1, 1859, when William married the first Sarah. (But wait a minute! A woman named Cynthia Morrison married Joseph 9

10 Calaway in Calhoun County, Arkansas in 1859! 39 ) William, being a potent 59 year old, had Sarah with child by late that same spring. Sarah gave birth to Frances about April of What happened next is anyone s guess. However it happened, the first Sarah, Martha, and Frances were gone by the time the census of 1870 was conducted. Did they die? Probably. In the summer of 1853, my gr gr grandmother lost two little boys within weeks of one another, while she was pregnant with my gr-grandfather. Her survival of the birth of my gr-grandfather was problematic, since death of a mother during or shortly after childbirth was one of the tragedies of 19 th century medicine. If that had happened, three people would have disappeared, two little boys and their mother, with no record of their death, at least as far as the census was concerned. The real disappearance of Sarah, Martha, and Frances meets our requirements it is feasible. The third marriage, to Mrs. Sarah A. Mauldin, was just in time to confuse us, since she was present with him in the 1870 census and had the same first name as her predecessor. Where did Sarah J. come from? At 13, she is just the age of Martha Morrison of the 1860 census. But the original records of the two census rolls are clear that they were two different people both Martha and Sarah J are written legibly and without any chance of confusing one name for the other. My guess is that Sarah J. was not named Morrison, but Mauldin. The census taker just assumed her name was Morrison. And that, too, is feasible. All of this presumption and assumption is meaningless if William P. Morrison was not related to James J. Morrison. But what if he was? We must go to next steps and lay out a course of action, which will call for more detective work. George H. Morrison (the elder) Thus far we have covered two legs of this Morrison triangle, James J. and William P. Morrison. We come now to the third, George H. Morrison, who must be referred to as the elder to avoid confusion with the son of James J. Morrison, also named George H. Indeed, the very coincidence of people with the same name in the same geographic area in two successive generations suggests kinship. What would be more natural than for one brother to name a son for another brother? But we need more than presumption to determine kinship. George H. Morrison the elder is much less of an enigma than James J. or William P. Morrison. This is principally because he lived in Calhoun County from before 1860 until his death in He and his family are present in every census during that time period. George appears first in available Arkansas records when he married Julia King on March 3, 1859, in Calhoun County. 40 The following year, on August 11, 1860, he and Julia were in Hampton Township, Calhoun County, when the United States census enrolled them. George is recorded as 23 years old, born in Tennessee. Julia, 19, is a native of Arkansas. George is employed as a farm laborer, Julia is a weaver. 41 There may be some significance in the fact that George and Julia are listed as family number 345, on the same census page as that on which James Morrison appears as part of family number 343, the J. H. Adams household. 10

11 George is shown in the census records in Polk Township, Calhoun County, in 1870, 1880, 1900 and 1910 where his occupation is that of farmer. 42,43,44,45 Without going into all of the details in these census records, George s family is as follows: George H. Morrison, born December 11, 1837, in Tennessee, and died December 20, 1911 in Calhoun County, Arkansas. 46 Julia King Morrison, born October 14, 1841, and died May 29, 1880 in Arkansas. 47 Julia B. Morrison, born December 21, 1862, and died August 13, Naoma Morrison, born Dec. 8, Married Thomas J. Black January 10, Died October 20, James W. Morrison, born April 1, 1866, died September 13, Married Lucy Ann Hall October 22, Lucy was born September 13, 1867, and died July 3, Nancy Morrison, born December, 1869, married Huey Thomason August 15, Joseph D. Morrison, born about 1872 Robert L. Morrison, born April17, 1875, married Mary E.? in Robert L. died March 17, Thomas Otto Morrison, born 1878, married Maggie?, born June 6, 1879, d. July 3, George didn t remain a widower very long following Julia s death. He married Mahala Barclay on December 9, Mahala was born September 14, 1846, and died November 4, George and Mahala had two sons, listed in the 1900 census: Hugh Morrison, born in 1882, married Carry? in George H. Morrison (Jr.), born May 16, 1884, died November 16, George married for the third and last time on June 7, His bride was Rebecca Elizabeth Williams (or Hall) 62, born in 1850; she died in Their family consisted of three daughters, all listed in the 1900 census: Era Morrison, born 1890, married Charlie D. Proctor before 1908 Vera Morrison, born 1891 Virgie Morrison, born 1895 George is buried in New Hope Cemetery in Calhoun County, near many members of his family, including his first wife, Julia, and his third, Bettie. Next Steps When the records of several families are involved, as in this study, the work never ends because additional detailed information can always be found, assuming enough effort is exerted. 11

12 However, the essentials are already present in this study, except for determining the identity of James J. Morrison s parents. The remaining effort is to do just that. (1) Re-examine U. S. census records for 1850 for the purpose of finding James J., George H. (the elder), and/or William P. Morrison. These records have been examined several times already, with no success. Nevertheless, this is the most direct means for achieving the goal. At this point, it is necessary to forget their birth state of Tennessee, assume it is in error, and proceed to research all males with their names who are present in the 1850 census. It goes without saying that a family that includes all three of these people would be the best possible outcome. It seems inconceivable that three people with the same surname would appear in the same county at about the same time, having been previously invisible to the census, without being members of the same family. This thought elicited the following information, perhaps omitted previously. In 1860, James and George H. Morrison were on the same census page for Calhoun County. In 1870, George H. and William P. Morrison were on the same page, household numbers 276 and 279. Not only were the three people proximate in the same County, they were quite near to one another within the county, at least in pairs. Nevertheless, there is a possibility of no kinship between James and George H. Morrison. Their arrival in Calhoun County, and their proximate locations, may be mere coincidence. They might have become friends to the extent that James named his oldest son after George. Either or neither of them might have been the sons of William P. Morrison, whose arrival about the time of the other two could also have been a coincidence. (2) Continue searching for William Morrison of Dickson and Benton Counties in Tennessee. This William Morrison was born in 1799, the son of William M and Rachel Patton Morrison. The elder William moved to Sumner County, Tn, in 1796 from North Carolina and was a Revolutionary War pensioner. His pension petition included a page from the family Bible that named his youngest son as William, born as stated above. The younger William married Naoma Knight (note the name of George H. Morrison s eldest daughter) in He is present in Dickson County, Tennessee, in the 1830 census. Later in the 1830 s, he sold his birthright to a man named Patterson; the legal document listed his address at that time as Benton County, Tennesee. William is present in Benton County in the 1840 census. He conveyed his Benton County land to a James Shirly on September 8, 1840.And then he disappeared! Note Rachel Morrison s maiden name, Patton. Could Wm. P. Morrison in Arkansas be William Patton Morrison? 12

13 Examining this man is important because his father was the older brother of my 3x grandfather. If he was James J. Morrison s father, it would explain the exact match of Dennis Morrison s y-dna with mine. Among the known grandsons of John Morrison s father, William Morrison, born in 1799, is the most likely candidate to be James J. s father. (3) Visit Calhoun County, Arkansas, in June or July of this year. Examine land, probate and estate administration records, civil and criminal court records, additional cemetery records and any other county or genealogical records there to learn more information about these people. (4) Submit this document to Morrison Group Q as a report, and request that other members of Group Q be on the lookout for any clues that may be helpful in this search and report them to me. A first response from the Morrison Q group, from Jean Morrison, indicated that a descendant of George H. Morrison named Eloise White Libby, now a resident of Searcy, Arkansas, identified the father of George H. Morrison the elder as William Morrison, born about There is a William Morrison, born in 1811, in Warren County, Tennessee, in the 1850 census. His wife is Polly, and there is a son George, aged 14. There is also a son named Elisha, aged 7, which suggests a connection with the ancestors of Michael Morrison, also in Morrison Surname Group Q. This lead will be examined further. John A. Morrison Lee s Summit, MO June 16, 2010 Footnotes: U. S. Census. Huey, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll M593_48. Page 630. Image U. S. Census. Huey, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll M653_38. Page 653, Image U. S. Census Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll M593_48. Page 658A. Image U. S. Census, Hampton, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll M653_38. Page 686, Image U. S. Census, Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll M593_48. Page 658A. Image See James J. Morrison, Ancestor of Dennis Morrison, authored by John A. Morrison on August 18, 2009, appended to this document. This identifies another James J.Morrison, born in Tennessee in 1835, as a non-legitimate candidate as the ancestor of Dennis Morrison. 7. Arkansas Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., U. S. Census, Washington, Bridge Creek and Fremont, Ouachita County, Arkansas. Roll M653_47. Page:112; Image: Arkansas Marriages , etc U. S. Census, Washington, Bridge Creek and Fremont, Ouachita County, Arkansas. Roll M653_47. Page: 112; Image: U. S. Census, Hampton, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll M653_38; Page: 686; Image: U. S. Census, Northern Division, Carroll County, Mississippi. Roll M432_369; Page: 281B; 13

14 Image: Arkansas Marriages , etc. 14. See 1850 U. S. Census, Bird, Jackson County, Arkansas. Roll M432_27; Page: 49A; Image: 102. James King is head of household, with following members: Nancy, aged 29; John, aged 13; William, aged 11; Jane, aged 10; Julia, aged 8; Diomede, aged 7; Rhoda, aged 3; and James, aged U. S. Census, Lee s Creek, Washington County, Arkansas. Roll T9_58. Enumeration District: 212; Image: U. S. Census. Valley, Washington County, Arkansas. Roll T623_79. Page: 4B; Enumeration District: Her dates can be found in Ancestry Public Member trees under Nancy J. (or Jane) Adams in the Adams, Rogers, and Potter Family Trees. 18. Photograph appears in the Rogers Family Tree (Ancestry Public Member trees under Nancy Jane Adams. 19. Ancestry Public Member Trees under Nancy J. Adams. Potter Family tree. 20. Arkansas Marriages, , etc U. S. Census. Kentucky, Madison County, Arkansas. Roll T623_67. Page: 13B; Enumeration District: U. S. Census. Kentucky, Madison County, Arkansas. Roll T624_57. Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 74; Image: U. S. Census. Hulbert, Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Roll 31109_ Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 13; Image: U. S. Census. South Fox, Lincoln County, Oklahoma. Roll Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 36; Image: Ancestry Public Member Trees: Several, including the Potter Tree. Search Luther Levi Morrison. 26. Ancestry Public Member Trees: Several, including the Potter Tree. Search George H. Morrison. 27. Ancestry Public Member Trees: Several, including the Potter Tree. Search Eve Hatfield. A few trees disagree, stating that she died in Peggs, Oklahoma. 28. Ancestry Military Records, World War I Draft Registration Cards, , Cherokee County, Oklahoma U. S. Census. South Fox, Lincoln County, Oklahoma. Roll Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 36; Image: Ancestry Public Member Trees: Several, including the Potter Tree. Search Luther Levi Morrison. 31. Information in this paragraph to citation provided by Dennis Morrison. 32. Ancestry.com. Social Security Death Index [database on-line]. Provo, Utah, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Original information: Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. 33. Ancestry.com. U. S. General Land Office Records, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc, Original data: United States. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records. Automated Records Project; Federal Land Patents, State Volumes. Springfield, Virginia: Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, Arkansas Marriages, Arkansas Marriages, United States Census. Huey, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll M653_38; Page: 653; Image: 201; Family History Library Film: Arkansas Marriages, United States Census. Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll M593_48; Page: 658A; Image: 517; Family History Library Film: Arkansas Marriages, This marriage took place on September 9, I have tried in vain to find a Joseph Calaway in the 1860 census, in hopes of finding a clue to Cynthia s identity. The coincidence of names in the same county is extraordinary; nevertheless, divorce being so rare in mid-19 th century, I am sticking to the belief that William P. Morrison s wife, Cynthia, died and Joseph Calaway s bride was a different Cynthia Morrison. 40. Arkansas Marriages,

15 United States Census. Hampton, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll M653_38; Page: 686; Image: 234; Family History Library Film: The Ancestry transcription of this census entry incorrectly identifies G. H. Morrison as S.H. Morrison United States Census. Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll M593_48; Page: 658A; Image: 517; Family History Library Film: United States Census. Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll T9_39; Family History Film ; Page: ; Enumeration District: 21; Image: The Ancestry transcription of this census entry incorrectly identifies George H. Morrison as George N. Morrison United States Census. Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll T623_52; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 27. Rebecca E. Morrison in this entry must be Rebecca Elizabeth (Bettie Williams) Morrison. See note United States Census. Polk, Calhoun County, Arkansas; Roll T624_44; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 27; Image: New Hope Cemetery, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Survey submitted by Debbra A. Szymansik December 22, This will be referred to in subsequent footnotes as New Hope Cemetery. 47. New Hope Cemetery. 48. New Hope Cemetery. 49. Arkansas Marriages, The Ancestry record shows Naoma Morrison as Naomia Morrison. 50. New Hope Cemetery. 51. New Hope Cemetery. 52. Arkansas Marriages, New Hope Cemetery. 54. Arkansas Marriages, Arkansas Marriages, New Hope Cemetery. 57. Means, Hampton Cemetery-Calhoun County, Arkansas.. Survey submitted by Debbra A. Szymanski December 22, This will be referred to in subsequent footnotes as Means Cemetery. 58. Arkansas Marriages, Means Cemetery United States Census. Franklin, Calhoun County, Arkansas. Roll T624_44; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 26; Image: Means Cemetery. 62. Arkansas Marriages, Wife named as Bettie Williams. 63. New Hope Cemetery Research conducted by John Morrison - M194, Group Q of the Morrison DNA Project 15