Thanks to the munificence of Janet Morrison,
over the course of the next few months I will be posting
The Estate Papers of John and Mary Morrison of Rocky River.
They begin thus:
John and Mary Morrison of Rocky River
John Morrison was baptized by the Rev. James Boes of the Lowland Church of Scotland in Campbeltown, Scotland, February 6, 1726. His parents were William Morrison of the Lowland Congregation of Campbeltown and Janet Hall of the Southend Parish. They were married April 25, 1725. Little did William and Janet know then that about 25 years later their three sons would leave Campbeltown in search of a better life in the American colonies. John married Mary Morrison, possibly a cousin. It is thought that he returned to Campbeltown for her in 1755 and they came to Pennsylvania and rejoined his brothers, James and Robert. Mary was born in 1732. After spending some time in Pennsylvania, the three brothers and their wives and young children traveled down the Great Wagon Road about 1764 and settled in the community growing around Rocky River Presbyterian Church in present-day Cabarrus County, North Carolina. At that time, Cabarrus County was part of Mecklenburg County.
The Morrisons, no doubt, traveled with friends from Scotland. One can just imagine the bond that formed between neighbors from Campbeltown and Southend as plans were made to sail for America. The Morrisons and Caldwells (and perhaps the Huies and Greenlies) from that area of the Kintyre Peninsula found security and a support network as they probably settled near one another in Pennsylvania and later perhaps made the trip together to Carolina. Perhaps John Caldwell went ahead of the others and sent word back to Pennsylvania that Rocky River was a desirable place to live. Other families from the Kintyre Peninsula of Scotland that came just a few years later to Rocky River were the McEacherns and McLartys.
The land John and Mary purchased on which to farm and raise their family lay about five miles southwest of Rocky River Presbyterian Church. John's earliest known deed was dated October 20, 1766. It is recorded in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in the Harris Book, page 151. That deed was for 134 acres bought from John Caldwell on the head branches of Caldwell Creek for 70 pounds proclamation money. Five years later John Morrison bought three more tracts of land in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina on the head branches of Reedy Creek. The three tracts purchased on February 5, 1771, were as follows: 154 acres called "Tract #2" for 20 pounds proclamation money; 30 acres called "Tract #2" for five pounds proclamation money; and 137 acres called "Tract #2" for 20 pounds proclamation money. This land was bought from Abner Nash and his wife Justina of Halifax County, North Carolina, and was recorded in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in the Harris Book, pages 68 and 69.
John and Mary Morrison only had about 13 years together on the Carolina frontier. Their story becomes sad, but not atypical of the place and times, as John was killed in the early days of the American Revolution in 1777. According to tradition, he was ambushed not far from his home by Tories. Knowing that he was going to soon die from the wounds he suffered, he wrote a will on August 30 and 31, 1777, and was dead by September 2. From his will, which was proven in open court at the October sessions, 1777, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, and was recorded in Book E, page 117, one finds the names of seven of his and Mary's first eight children.
John and Mary's oldest daughter was not named in John's will, or in any other recorded document; however, John directed his executors to convey to his son-in-law, William Driskell, a deed for "that plantation which he now lives on". William Driskell's name appears on a November 10, 1770, petition for a pastor for Crystal Springs Presbyterian Church in Rowan County, North Carolina. He apparently moved to the Rocky River community soon thereafter and married John and Mary’s oldest daughter about 1773, for their church letter from Rocky River Presbyterian Church in April of 1785 states that "William Driskell with his wife, have lived in the bounds of this congregation upwards of 12 years". William Driskell was obviously loved and completely trusted by his father-in-law, as John Morrison chose him as one of the executors of his estate. William Driskell purchased land on Cleghorns Creek in Rutherford County, North Carolina in February of 1785. The next record of William is his marriage bond to Sarah (Sally) Scott in Rutherford County, December 11, 1788. It is not known when or where his first wife died. William and ? Morrison Driskell had three sons and three daughters. In 1799, William sold his land in Rutherford County and moved to Logan County, Kentucky. William died prior to September 14, 1816, for he is referred to as being deceased in a land sale record of that date.
John and Mary Morrison's second child, Sarah, married John Ross. The date of their marriage is unknown, but she is referred to as Sarah Ross in her mother's will in 1781. Sarah's birth is estimated to be circa 1759, which means she was born before the family left Pennsylvania to come to Carolina. In her will, Mary Morrison left her son, Robert, in the care of Sarah Ross. John Ross fought in the American Revolution and signed for young Robert Morrison's property when he died prior to 1790. Sarah Morrison Ross must have died before 1786, for John Ross signed for his share of Mary Morrison's estate. There is no marker for Sarah Ross in Rocky River Presbyterian Church's Spears Graveyard, which probably means she is buried there but there was no marker or the marker was destroyed before twentieth century readings were done. A John Ross served on various juries in Cabarrus County between July, 1799 and January, 1817. John and Elizabeth Ross conveyed land to Daniel Beanin in April of 1798, which would indicate that he had remarried, if that is the same John Ross. He was one of 13 men appointed in October, 1811, "to lay off" the road from Concord to Beatty's Ford as far as the county line by Poplar Tent Meeting House, so he was still in Cabarrus County at that time. He was identified as being from Bedford County, Tennessee in an April 21, 1817 land transaction, and he was listed in the Bedford County, Tennessee 1820 United States Census.
John and Mary Morrison's third child, Jane, was already married in 1781, when her mother wrote her will. Based on that, it is estimated that Jane was born about 1761, probably in Pennsylvania. Jane married Samuel Huie. In 1954, a receipt which bore Samuel Huie's signature, was on file at the State Archives in Raleigh, North Carolina. That receipt was for his share of Mary Morrison's estate, "part of which was left by John Morrison for raising his children...." Samuel Huie fought in the American Revolution. A Samuel Huie is mentioned as a juror and in land transactions throughout early Cabarrus County records. That Samuel Huie's land was not far from the Cabarrus County Courthouse in Concord, which makes one question whether or not he was the Samuel Huie who married Jane Morrison. The Morrisons' land was about 15 miles from the Cabarrus County Courthouse. In the January, 1793 Session of the Mecklenburg County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, a deed dated September 7,1789, conveying 292 acres of land from Evan Shelby to Samuel Huie was proved and admitted to record for registration. That land would have been in present day Mecklenburg County, but within several miles of John Morrison’s land.
Elizabeth Morrison was the fourth child of John and Mary Morrison. It is thought that she was a twin sister of James M. Morrison, who was born August 27, 1768. Nothing more is known about Elizabeth. She is named in her father's 1777 will, but there is no mention of Elizabeth in her mother's February 7, 1781, will. There is no marker for Elizabeth Morrison in Rocky River Presbyterian Church's Spears Graveyard, but that is surely where she was buried.
James M. Morrison was born August 27, 1768. He was willed the home of his parents. He and his first wife, Margaret Pharr, married July 13, 1789 and had three sons and seven daughters. Margaret Pharr Morrison died in 1817, and in 1830 James M. Morrison married Mary Johnston.
John and Mary Morrison's next child was named John. Born April 4, 1771, he was just six years old when his father died and 10 when his mother died. He married Margaret Pickens in 1792. She was a daughter of William Pickens and it is thought she was born in Scotland. The 1850 United States Census of Cabarrus County, North Carolina indicates that the mother of James Leonidas Morrison (born to John and Margaret in 1813) was "of foreign birth." John and Margaret Pickens Morrison joined Rocky River Presbyterian Church prior to 1835, when the first official church roll was made. They lived in the Rocky River community and remained members of Rocky River Presbyterian Church until their deaths. They farmed land that had belonged to his father, some of which lay in Mecklenburg and some of which lay in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. John inherited one-third of his father's 455 acres of land. He later bought land from his brother, James M. Morrison, and in September, 1796, he bought his brother William Elias Morrison's land before Elias moved to Tennessee. John and Margaret had five daughters and four sons. A portion of John's will was recorded in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in Will Book I, page 10. The entire will is on file in Raleigh, North Carolina at the State Archives.
Born about 1773, William Elias Morrison was John and Mary Morrison's seventh child. He married Mary Elizabeth Stewart May 31, 1796. Elias and Mary were, undoubtedly, members of Rocky River Presbyterian Church, but they left the area before the first church membership roll was made in 1835. When Elias was four years old, his father died. Elias inherited one-third of his father's 455 acres of land. In September, 1796, Elias sold his land to his brother John, and he and Mary moved to Sumner County, Tennessee. They settled on Deshas Creek, about four miles from the town of Gallatin. Elias was a planter. Elias and Mary had two daughters and two sons. It is not known when Elias died or where he was buried. His will was written on September 24, 1805, and probated in 1809 in Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee. It was recorded in Will Book 1B, pages 95-96. After Elias' death, Mary Stewart Morrison married Wat Farr. The brick house Elias and Mary's sons, John (a brickmason) and Samuel Stewart (a carpenter) built for them in 1829 still stands and is the oldest house in Macon County, Tennessee. It is still owned by descendants of Samuel Stewart and Mary Carr Eubanks Morrison. The house has an interesting history. It has been in two states and three counties without ever being moved. It was built on a 30-acre tract of land granted to Samuel Stewart Morrison by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. When the boundary separating Kentucky and Tennessee was set, the house was in Sumner County, Tennessee. When Macon County was formed out of parts of Sumner, Smith, and Wilson Counties in 1842, the property the house is on lay in Macon County. More land was acquired over the years, eventually making the farm 140 acres.
John and Mary's eighth child, Robert Morrison, was about two years old when his father died and six when his mother died. In her will, Mary left Robert in the care of his sister, Sarah Morrison Ross. Robert apparently died prior to 1790, because Sarah's husband, John Ross, signed for Robert's property. Nothing else is known about Robert.
It is known from her father's August 30 and 31, 1777, will that Mary, John and Mary Morrison's ninth child, was born after that date, for in his will he wrote, "If my wife be pregnant with a male child, my three sons, James, John & Elias, are to pay him, each of them thirty pounds, if a female, to have an equal share with the rest of my daughters." Mary was still living when her mother wrote her will on February 7, 1781, but it is not known for how long she lived or where she was buried.
One can take John Morrison's last will and testament and his estate inventory and have a fairly accurate accounting of his possessions when he died in 1777. Samuel Martin collected 26 shillings and eight pence proclmation money from the Executors of John Morrison's estate (his widow Mary Morrison, his brother Robert Morrison, his son-in-law William Driskell, and a friend Samuel Montgomery) for Letters Testamentary. John Morrison's estate papers, on file at the State Archives in Raleigh, North Carolina, reveal that his brother James, sons John and Elias, and sons-in-law William Driskell, John Ross and Samuel Huie, turned in vouchers totalling 70 pounds, seven shillings and six pence for expenses incurred in settling John Morrison's estate. Those vouchers included two pounds and four shillings for James Morrison's trouble in settling a debt with Phillip Hart in Charleston, South Carolina. That would indicate that John Morrison had been to Charleston to conduct some business or do some trading. On November 1, 1777, Robert Harris, Jr. was paid 12 shillings and seven pence for being the clerk at the public sale of John Morrison's estate. On January 20, 1778, James Harriss was paid 30 shillings for making John Morrison's coffin. John White was paid three pounds and ten shillings on January 20, 1778, for putting a shed around part of John Morrison's barn. Hugh Galaher was paid one pound eight shillings on February 25, 1778, for weaving a piece of cotton for John's widow, Mary. She signed her mark on the receipt. It is not known whether she could read or write or if she was incapacitated in some way and could not sign her name. Alexander McGinty was paid two pounds ten shillings on September 10, 1778, but the handwriting on the receipt is unclear and it has not been determined what service Mr. McGinty had rendered. Among the estate papers is an October 8, 1778, receipt for John McCall being paid for the making of one saddle and two collars and mending a saddle for John Morrison in 1777. A February 2, 1779, receipt was for 12 shillings owed to Hezekiah Alexander for four kegs bought between May 15, 1777, and July 31, 1777. Thomas Donnell received payment in 1785 for medicine provided for Elias Morrison and his little sister, Mary. William Morrison(probably Robert and Sarah’s son, called “Miller William”) was reimbursed in 1779 for four kegs. Robert Harris, Jr. was paid for being the clerk at John’s estate sale. Isaac Wilson was paid for surveying John’s land for his heirs. James Finney was paid for conducting John’s estate sale. There is a voucher from Francis Snell, dated 1786, for one quarter’s schooling of John and Mary’s son, Elias. John’s brother, Robert Morison, (one “r”) Sr., signed a voucher for boarding and schooling John’s son, Elias. John Ross signed a voucher for burial liquor on September 2, 1777.
Included in John Morrison's estate papers is "A True Inventory of the personal Estate of John Morison Deceased. Sold by publich vendue the 29th Day of October 1777." It is a detailed list of 198 items and groups of items sold that day, to whom they were sold, and how much was paid for each item. The sale totalled 397 pounds, five shillings and nine pence.
The animals John Morrison owned at the time of his death were as follows:
8 horses
19 sheep
25 head of cattle
17 + "a number of" hogs + "a parcel" of pigs
17 geese and ganders
3 hives of bees
The fact that he owned "a parcel of books" indicates that John Morrison could read. His signature on his will indicates that he could write. Education was important to John Morrison, as he left 20 pounds of his estate "for schooling my children. Perhaps the most puzzling item on the inventory is the selling of "the half of the waggon and the half of the waggon Impliments" to John Springs for 62 pounds, 12 shillings and six pence. The other half of the wagon and wagon impliments are not mentioned. One theory about “the half of the waggon and the half of the waggon impliments” is that John Springs was a family friend. He knew that Mary needed money from John’s estate sale, but she also needed the wagon. It was the only wagon listed in John’s inventory. Therefore, Mr. Springs paid a generous amount for half the wagon and half its impliemnts and perhaps said something like this to Mary, “Mrs. Morrison, I could use that wagon, but I know you need it, too. How about if I pay for half the wagon and half the impliments and leave it here at your place. When I’m going to Charleston for supplies, perhaps I could borrow it.”
It also appears that John Morrison was fortifying himself for the Revolution as 17 pounds of gun powder plus a keg was sold, as well as 55 1/2 pounds of lead. The 14 1/2 pounds of steel was probably not steel like we have today, but was possibly rods used to sharpen knives or other cutting edges. Perhaps John was involved with the Committee for Public Safety that was established to help provide for the safety of the people after the Revolutionary War started. It appears that John might have been stockpiling gun powder and lead for war. Tradition says that John was ambushed in the neighborhood by Tories or men who were siding with the British Crown. Perhaps they had gotten wind of what John was doing.
It is interesting to note the items that Mary bought at John’s sale -- and a bit sad to think that she had to buy her own things back from the estate. She bought such things as a hammer, hoes, a saw, a frying pan, a candlestick, two spinning wheels, iron pots, four chairs, three beds, a dresser, a mirror (called a “looking glass”), flour and rice barrels, cattle, geese and bees. In his will, John had left Mary one-third of his personal estate, two horses, “her own saddle,” three cows, four sheep, his new plow and plow irons, three sets of horse gears, and her living off the plantation and the use of the house during her widowhood. But she had to buy back her own cooking utensils.
One of the most interesting names listed at John’s estate sale is “Sarah Morrison, Jur.” She was apparently John and Mary’s daughter. Since John had a sister-in-law named Sarah Morrison, they had to find a way to distinguish between the two. That also tells us that Sarah was not married yet.
John Morrison's wife, Mary, was ill when she wrote her will on February 7, 1781, and she died the following May. That will, on file at the State Archives in Raleigh, North Carolina, appoints Mary's brother-in-law, Robert Morrison, and son-in-law, William Driskell, as executors of her estate. She left daughters Jane Huie and Mary Morrison all of her household furniture. She left her mare and saddle (mentioned in John Morrison's will) to her son, Robert. She left each of her children except James a cow and ordered the rest of the cattle to be sold and the money divided among the children. She left the money she had coming from her husband's estate to their son, Robert. She ordered her spinning wheel to be kept for her daughter, Mary. The looms and big wheels were left to daughter, Jane Huie and a small chest was left to her son, John. She left a silk gown to her daughter, Sarah Ross, and her other gown to Jane Huie. She ordered her hogs to be sold "for the advantage of" her children.
When Mary Morrison’s estate was settled in 1781, part of John’s estate had to be settled then, too. The day of Mary’s estate sale, John’s remaining inventory was also sold. It is interesting to note that there had been terrible inflation or major changes in the money between 1777 and 1781. For example, the sprouting hoe that Mary paid five shillings one pence for at John’s estate sale in 1777, went for 108 pounds at Mary’s estate sale just three and one-half years later. Perhaps some of the people at the estate sales in 1781 were just being more generous since the proceeds from the sale were going to support orphaned children.
In addition to telling us what Mary owned, who bought each item and for what price, the account of Mary’s estate sale also helps us to know when Mary died. Before having this inventory, it was thought (based on the information the Misses Lore had in their Morrison genealogy) that Mary died in May, 1781. Mary’s will and estate papers place her death between February 7 and March 6, 1781.
Since there were orphaned children involved, Mary Morrison’s estate was not settled until 1796. The Committee of Court to Settle Orphans Estates met in 1786 and again in 1796 to monitor the money remaining in the estate. When the Committee met in 1796 they found that more money had been spent than was in the estate, there was no money in the hands of the executors, and the executors had received nothing for their trouble. With those findings, the estate was apparently settled.
One can surmise from the two wills and John Morrison's estate papers that life was going pretty well for John and Mary prior to John's death. They were fairly self-sufficient as they grew wheat, oats, corn, flax for the spinning of yarn that could be woven into cloth, sheep for wool and meat, cows for milk, cattle for beef, hogs for pork, geese for meat and feathers, and bees for honey. The tools John owned give a good indication of his ability to fell trees, do woodworking, stone work, and farming. Mary apparently made cloth on the loom she left to Jane Huie, although there was no mention of a loom in John Morrison's inventory. Mary would have made her own candles using the tapper vessel and butter in the two cedar churns. The wills and inventory paint a fairly good picture of John and Mary Morrison's lives in present day Cabarrus County, North Carolina during the American Revolution.
Page 2: Janet and Marie Morrison's 1993 Trip to Scotland - Part 1
Page 3: David Whitehead's Genealogy Special - Part Two
Page 5: Bracken - A Weed of Great Antiquity
Page 6: The Vegetation of Kintyre - Part One
Page 7: The Cistercian Abbey of Saddell, Kintyre - Introduction By A.I.B. Stewart
Page 8: By Hill and Shore - Part 2
Page 9: An Unusual Visitor // To: The Editor, The Kintyre Magazine