here are several places in England named Moreton (the old spelling)
of Morton. The Henrico County, Virginia branch of the Mortons came from
the County of Warwickshire, in the English Midlands.
Early Henrico County records show the original Morton and Randolph families were neighbors, and closely associated in land transactions. It is likely the two families were also from the same neighborhood in England. The Randolphs lived in Moreton Morrell, Warwickshire. William Randolph was born here in 1650. When about 22 years old, he emigrated to Virginia, to make a new life. He was the son of Richard Randolph, who lived at Moreton Hall, in Warwickshire. There are other Morton Halls in England, and at least two sprang up in Virginia, where 7th Great Grandpa John Morton's descendants lived.
The Randolphs were one of Virginia's 1st families, acquiring land and money, and were neighbors of John Morton, who came to Virginia about 1675. It is likely that John Morton and William Randolph came to the New World together, and were about the same age. So we can assume John Morton was born about 1650, in Warwickshire, England. It has been suggested the Randolphs may have obtained the passage of John Morton to Virginia, and he may have been indentured to them. However, John himself claimed in Henrico County records, that he imported himself, and was entitled to a land grant. He married a widow, Joanne Hughes Wade, in 1682. One account says she also came to Virginia with the Randolphs.
The Mortons may have been old-established residents in England, and preceded the Randolphs. Several Mortons came to England from Normandy, France, after the Norman invasion of Britain. In the 13th Century, people often took their surnames from place names. It is possible that the Morton name came from the Old English name for "marsh" or "hill" dweller.
It is certain John Morton is our earliest known Morton ancestor in Virginia. He had at least three sons - John Jr., Thomas and Joseph, who were listed in land transactions between the Mortons, Randolphs and Woodsons, in the 17th and early 18th centuries. The three sons became planters along the Chicka hominy River. John Morton died by 1720, leaving his land to his sons and grandsons. It is unknown if his wife died first, if he re-married, and had other children.
The Mortons were primarily land owners. The whole economic system of Virginia was based on agriculture, and many owned thousands of acres and slaves.
According to Dr. Daniel Morton of St. Joseph, Missouri (relationship to our Mortons not known), many Virginia Mortons lost their fortunes in the Civil War.
William Randolph married in Virginia, founded a family, and his grand-daughter Jane Randolph, married Peter Jefferson, (of Welsh descent). Their son Thomas Jefferson, born in 1743, in Albemarle County, Virginia, became the third President of the United States - 1801 - 1809.
Three or four Randolphs were Governors of Virginia. General Robert E. Lee's wife was Mary Randolph Custis. The village of Moreton Morrell in Warwickshire, England, has close ties with some of Virginia's most honored citizens.
Dr. Daniel Morton wrote of a John Morton living in Richmond County, VA., in 1713. He was known variously as John Morton Jr., Lieutenant, Captain, Merchant, Sub-Sheriff, and father of Joseph Morton. About 1721, this John Morton Jr., dropped the suffix Jr. from his signature, indicating the John Morton believed to be his father had died.
John Morton Jr., the oldest son of John and Joanne Wade Morton, was certainly the father of Joseph Morton, born 1709, who married Agnes Woodson, sister of Elizabeth Woodson, who married Thomas Morton - Joseph's uncle.
Joseph was a surveyor, employed by the Randolph family to survey their lands. A John Morton was said to be associated with him in surveying. Joseph Morton, grandson of John and Joanne Morton, settled at Roanoke Bridge, and is said to have been in Orange County before that. He traveled a lot in his profession of surveying, having lived in Amelia, Louisa, Charlotte and finally, Prince Edward counties.
Doctor Daniel Morton wrote a book "Mortons and Their Kin", published in St. Joseph, Missouri, in the early 20th century. We managed to get a micro-film copy through our local library, which had to be read there - quite a chore - as it contained 300 - 400 pages. Daniel Morton claimed descent from "John Morton, the immigrant", and listed pages of descendants, not only Mortons, but many other families with whom they inter-married. His father was a David Morton. Daniel Morton, born 1864 in Kentucky, lived well into this century, probably into the 1940s.
Although he listed many of our Morton ancestors, we found no mention of 3rd Great- Grandpa Richard Morton, although his father Samuel Morton, and Richard's brother Archibald Morton were listed. Richard died about 1851 - 1852, in Lancaster, Missouri. No Will has been found.
Dr. Morton also wrote about Captain John Watson Morton - General Forrest's Chief of Artillery in the Civil War, whose ancestors, descendants of 7th Great-Grandpa John Morton, went to Tennessee. Like our Morton branch, many of the Virginia Mortons went to Kentucky and Missouri. Dr. Morton felt all these Mortons were related, from the first Virginia, down to the 8th generation. Some inter-married, not knowing of their relationship.
Over 60 Mortons were on a Revolutionary War list of Virginia - "every Morton large enough to carry a gun."
Our 4th great-grandpa Samuel Morton was one of them. He was a Minute Man in 1775,1776 and 1777.
Line of Desent from Woodsons
1 |
Doctor John Woodson...born, 1586 in Devonshire, England - died, 1644 in Virginia. Married Sarah Winston in Devonshire. |
2 |
Robert Woodson...born, 1634 in Virginia - died: after 1707, Henrico County, Virginia. Married Elizabeth Ferris (French), 1656 in Henrico County. |
3 |
Richard Woodson...born, 1662 in Henrico County, Virginia. Married Ann Smith (daughter of Obadiah and Mary Cockesmith). |
4 |
Elizabeth Woodson...born, 1699 in Henrico County, Virginia. Married Thomas Morton in 1718 (on or about). |
5 |
Richard Morton...born, 1720 (on or about) in Virginia - died, 1815 in Clark County, Kentucky. Married Judith Quin (daughter of John and Susanne Michaux Quin (French Huguenot) in Virginia. |
6 |
Samuel Morton...born,1745 in Virginia - died, 1834 in Madison County, Kentucky. Married 1744 Philadelphia Wade, Virginia. |
7 |
Richard Morton...born,1772 in Virginia - died, 185? in Schuyler County, Missouri. Married (first wife) Nancy Tanner, 1795 in Kentucky. Married (second wife) Mary (Polly) Nolan (Irish), 1805 in Kentucky. |
8 |
James Richard Morton...born, 1808 in Kentucky - died, 1861 (on or about). Married Mary E. Reynolds, 1828 (on or about) in Kentucky. |
9 |
James Quin Morton...born, 1828/9 in Kentucky - died, 1866/7 (on or about). Married Charlotte Carlotta Baker (Cherokee), 1850 in Missouri. |
10 |
Richard Morton...born, 1860 - died, 1900 in Oklahoma Indian Territory. Married Samantha Campbell, 1881 (on or about). |
11 |
Walter Houston Morton...born, 1888 in Oklahoma Indian Territory - died, 1964 in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Married Carrie Myrtle Hanner, 1913 (on or about). |
12 |
Paul Houston Morton...born,1916 . Married Jean Mabel Tattersall (English) in 1944. |
Thomas Morton of Merry Mount
Rebecca Morton Burchfiel told of two Morton brothers who came to America from England, about 1620, one of whom was deported for selling guns to the Indians.
According to the Encyclopedia Americana: Thomas Morton, born ca. 1575 in England, landed in Massachusetts in 1622. He was a London attorney of a dubious reputation, from Clifford's Inn, London, and practiced mainly in the West of England. In 1625, he assumed control of the Wollaston Company, after its leader went to Virginia. Their Church of England settlement - Mount Wollaston - (now Braintree, Mass.), was named Mare Mount (Merry Mount) by Thomas Morton. In the Spring of 1627 he erected a maypole and proceeded to hold May-Day ceremonies, to the consternation of the neighboring Puritans. Contrary to law, Morton supplied the Indians with fire arms, and instructed them in their use. He was arrested by Capt. Miles Standish, and sent back to England in 1628.
In August, 1629, he was back again in New England. In 1630 he was again arrested and banished.
In 1637, he published "New English Canaan", which was denounced by the Secretary of the Plymouth Colony - one Nathaniel Morton - as "full of lies and slanders, and fraught with profane calumnies". (As a satire, it is sometimes amusing and contains information of interest regarding local features and the Indians).
When he ventured back to New England in 1643, Thomas was imprisoned for about a year, while evidence for a libel suit was being collected, but he was finally allowed to go, after paying a fine of $500.00. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Maypole of Merry Mount", from Twice-Told Tales, was based on Thomas Morton's career, and recalls a settlement full of merry-making. The inhabitants dressed in outlandish costumes and befriended the Indians, who couldn't understand their light-hearted ways:
"Bright were the days at Merry Mount when the Maypole was the banner staff of that gay colony. They were to pour sunshine over New England's rugged hills. Jollity and gloom were contending for an empire. May, or her mirthful spirit, dwelt all the year round at Merry Mount. Through a world of toil and care she flitted with a dreamlike smile, and came hither to find a home, among the lightsome hearts of Merry Mount."
Among the merry-makers and the Morris dancers, stood a real bear of the dark forest, lending his forepaws to the grasp of a human hand, as ready for the dance as any in that circle."
Alas, the Puritans chopped down the Maypole, a lofty pine tree, and the irrepressible leader was banished. But history tells us he returned twice more to enliven the lot of the settlers, and apparently died in Maine, at about 70 years of age.
We have found no record of Thomas Morton having a brother, wife or children, neither do we know if he was related to our Mortons. We would like to know more about this eccentric Englishman, and can't help wondering if the Puritans had joined in some of the May-Day "frivolities', the colonies might have been spared the horror and shame of the Salem witch-trials, some years later.
Note: A Hugh Wollaston arrived in Virginia in 1608, on the ship "Mary and Margaret".
Thomas Morton possibly was one of our Morton ancestors. Rebecca Morton Burchfiel had a New York genealogist researching the family, and her husband John Burchfiel referred to this Thomas as an ancestor.
An article from a Morton cousin says an examination of the Pilgrims' diaries shows the devout colonists did more than hunt, fish, plant corn, and pursue the Puritan ethic. They stole corn from the Indians, and welshed on promises to repay their Old World benefactors, who had paid for their passage to the New World. Some of them did not just give thanks for what they had got, but also for what they had got away with: According to their leader William Bradford, "things fearful to name have broak forth in this land."
Sin ran so rampant, that the Pilgrim Fathers sent Captain Miles Standish and a small army, to deal with the Merrymount Colony of Thomas Morton, where they were "drinking and frisking together like so many fairies, and inviting Indian women for their consorts. "Morton's answer was to give the Indians guns, and call Standish "Captain Shrimpe."
Bradford blamed all this on Satan, and the rebellion of the unruly against strict laws.
Index to Confederate Soldiers from Arkansas, Tennessee
| Great-Grandpa MORTON, Ja. Quin Co. C Clarkson's Battalion ** Ft. Smith, Arkansas Confederate Cavalry, Independent Rangers |
Four companies subsequently served in the 1st Battalion's Missouri Cavalry, 1st Indian Brigade. In Aug. 1862, the remaining five companies were divided into eight companies, and in Nov. 1862, were dismounted and consolidated into four companies and assigned to Clark's Regiment Missouri Infantry.
see also:
Confederate Mortons
MORTON, Ja. Quin Clark's Regiment Missouri Infantry Ft. S. Major/Major |
MORTON, Ja. Quin 3rd Lt./Major |
MORTON, Jackson T. Co. D, Clarkson's Battalion Confederate Cavalry Independent Rangers 2nd Lt./2nd Lt. |
Quin's cousin Son of Samuel and |
MORTON, Jesse Q. Co. C, Clark's Regiment Missouri Infantry Corporal/Corporal |
Could be Andrew's son - Yes! |
|
9th Missouri Infantry Private/Private |
Quin's brother |
MORTON, Capt. John Watson-Tenessee General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Artillery Chief |
Morton Cousin - direct descendent of Thomas and Elizabeth Woodson Morton |
Soldiers sometimes changed sides during the Civil War, for one reason or another. Jesse Q. Morton has been found in both Confederate and Federal records.
Federal Soldiers from Arkansas & Missouri
Union Mortons
|
(brother of Jackson T. Morton) Co. C, 27th Missouri Regiment, Volunteer Infantry |
Quin's cousin - son of Samuel and Nancy Burris Morton |
|
Co. A, 7th Missouri State Militia Cavalry Served under General Alfred Pleasanton |
Quin's cousin - son of Josiah and Margaret Callison Morton. Josiah - brother to Quin's father James Richard Morton. |
MORTON, Quin Served in Missouri (Occupation-carpenter) |
Quin's cousin - son of Archibald Morton; the son of Richard and Nancy Tanner Morton (1st wife). |
MORTON, Jesse Q. Changed to Federal Army, unit not known. ** |
Son of Andrew Morton |
MORTON, William Served in Missouri |
Quin's brother |
A William Morton farm overlooked the Battle of Prairie Grove in Washington County. Neighbors used to come and stay in the cellar there while the battle was raging.
Not known if William Morton was related to Andrew Morton, or to our Mortons.
** According to Loydale Richardson, descendant of Jesse Morton, he enlisted in the 15th Kansas Cavalry Volunteers, Union Army, and was in raids on Crawford County.
Quin's younger brother, Howard Richard, (Dick), enlisted in the Confederate Army in early 1862, the day after soldiers in Federal uniforms came to the house, threw food in the spring, and trashed things. They could well have been Quantrill's guerrillas, who often terrorized Arkansas innabitants on raids from Missouri, often dressed in captured Federal uniforms. Dick Morton supposedly walked from Uniontown to enlist in Van Buren. Upon reaching Figure Five, he sat down to rest, and ate a jelly sandwich, after which he discovered he could only walk backwards! Since the inhabitants of this part of Arkansas were sharply divided in the Civil War, those going to enlist in either army took great pains to avoid their neighbors, on going to sign up. Perhaps, Dick Morton, like others, took care to stay away from neighbors, pretending to walk the other way, so as not to be questioned, should he meet anyone he knew.
We never heard of a second wife being mentioned for James Quin Morton, but apparently there was one. We have a copy of a surveyor's report, listing part of Quin's land as a dower for 'the widow Morton, formally, now Mrs. Ramey', dated August 23, 1867. Nancy Morton was the administrator for Quin's estate. She applied to the Probate Court of Crawford County to sell some 160 acres of it. The land was on Quin's original homestead, just southwest of Uniontown, next to the Indian Territory. Quin apparently died in late 1866 or early 1867, at the age of 38 or 39. It was known he had T.B. Who was Nancy Morton Ramey? We believe she was great-grandma Charlotte's younger sister, Nancy Baker. The Baker homestead was just east of Quin's land. Charlotte was said to have died while Quin was in the Civil War, probably some time in early 1863. They had a 12-year-old daughter - Sarah Alice - at that time, and five sons - aged 3 to 10, including twins Richard, (Grandpa), and Joseph. John, 6, and little Joseph, 3, may also have died around 1863, as no trace of them was found afterwards. Things were bad in this part of Arkansas at this time, with guerrilla warfare, lack of food, and much illness. According to older relatives, Alice, (Sarah on a census), married a Jim Bailey.
After Quin and Nancy married, she looked after the family, perhaps with the help of the Baker family, until Quin died. Sometime after Quin's death, she married a Ramey. Could this have been William Ramey, who lived close by? He was the father of Phoebe Ramey, who would one day marry Quin's oldest boy William. Ramey's wife Sarah had died in 1865, leaving five or six children. The older three may have left home, but Arminta, Phoebe, (born 1857), and Cordelia, were at home in 1865. In 1880, the elderly William Ramey and Elizabeth Baker, (Charlotte's mother), were living with William and Phoebe Ramey Morton.
The 1870 census lists Quin's three boys - William, Sherrod and Richard - staying with their Uncle Dick Morton near Uniontown. No others mentioned. The only other Nancy Morton Howell in the area during the 1860s, was 7-year-old Nancy, daughter of James Morton, (Quin's cousin) and Eliza Jane Baker Morton, (Charlotte's sister). This Nancy married Adam Howell, years later, after his wife Harriet, (sister of Charlotte and Eliza Jane), died. The only Nancy Ramey we found was a 70-year-old widow in Cedarville.
1945 - It was quiet and peaceful at the old house on Lee Creek. Summer evenings we spent on the big porch, watching fireflies, and the lightening over the Boston Mountains. At one of the nearby houses was a picture of the Elkhorn Tavern battle, where Quin's unit fought. There was an old picture of Major James Quin Morton, sadly it was later lost. He was sitting in a chair, sword at his side. His eyes had a rather haunted look. His hands were long and slim, and he had a distinguished mustache. We feel he was an honorable man. 1995 - We visited Natural Dam, drove through the Boston Mountains, and stopped at Dripping Springs, where the two armies had a running battle, and the Confederate soldiers limped back to Van Buren after the battle of Prairie Grove.
John Morton of Henrico County, Virginia, a native of Warwickshire, England, has a host of descendants scattered across the U.S. today. There is a statue of one of his descendants in Indianapolis - Oliver Perry Morton, 14th Governor of Indiana. Another descendant was Silas Woodson, 21st Governor of Missouri. Both Governors descendants of the children of Captain John Morton of Prince Edward County, Virginia., younger brother of 5th great-grandpa Richard Morton Other descendants of John Morton settled in North Carolina and Tennessee, including the ancestors of John Watson Morton, Confederate artillery chief, and later Tennessee Secretary of State.
Many of John Morton's descendants went to Kentucky, to Clark and Madison Counties, after Kentucky became a State. One of Kentucky's famous sons, Joel Tanner Hart, the sculptor, was a descendant on his mother's side from John Morton's grandson Richard Morton and his wife Judith Quin. There are no pictures of the Kentucky Mortons' homes, but many of them were buried in the old Morton Cemetery, on Grimes Road, Winchester - site of the farm of Richard and Judith Quin Morton. From Kentucky, John's descendants went to Missouri, settling in Schuyler, Adair and Putnam Counties.
We know 3rd great-grandparents Richard and Mary Nolan Morton lived in Lancaster, MO. Mary Nolan Morton and some of her children and grandchildren were buried in New Harmony Cemetery, near Greentop, Schuyler County. In 1850, Adair County, Missouri, an important alliance introduced Cherokee blood into the Morton family, when great-grandpa James Quin Morton married Charlotte Baker, daughter of Sherrod and Elizabeth Asbill Baker. Elizabeth was a daughter of Elizabeth Ross, a full-blood Cherokee, who married William Asbill, thought to be half-Cherokee. Elizabeth Ross Asbill's Indian name was Nar'nee. She was thought to be related to Chief John Ross. Mary Nolan Morton's sister Jane Nolan, married John Asbill, older brother of Elizabeth Asbill Baker, making the Asbill-Morton-Nolan relationship even closer. Asbill Web Page
Arkansas and Oklahoma became the next dwelling places of John Morton's descendants, after leaving Missouri. Many of them settled in the counties along the western Arkansas-eastern Oklahoma line. Here they farmed, raised families, suffered through the Civil War - some wore blue, some wore gray, and eventually spread to other parts of the U.S., although many of their descendants remain in Arkansas and Oklahoma still. Among the deputies working for Judge Isaac Parker of Ft. Smith, were a Morton, and 2 cousins - an Asbill and a Burchfiel - Helping to keep law and order on the wild frontier.
Cousin Virgil McCoy gave us some important information on Quin's brother William. According to older relatives, William was in the Federal Army in the Civil War. Born in Kentucky, he lived most of his life in Missouri, but was on the 1850 Crawford County, Arkansas census, helping his father James Richard Morton, who had been injured in a fall.
Cousin Cora Roden said his name was actually Pleasant William Morton. He married a Harriet Roberson in Missouri.
Virgil sent copies of the 1860 Adair County census, Polk Township: P.O. Beatyville
| P.W. Morton | KY | 32 | Farmer | $1,800 |
| Harriet Morton | IO | 22 | ||
| Josiah Morton | MO | 2 | ||
| Martha Morton | MO | 1 |
and the 1870 Adair County census, Twp 64, Sublett Station:
| Pleasant W. Morton | KY | 41 | Farmer | $2,000 |
| Harriet Morton | IO | 33 | At School | |
| Josiah Morton | MO | 12 | At School | |
| Martha A. Morton | MO | 11 | At School | |
| Mary E. Morton | MO | 7 | At School | |
| William H. Morton | MO | 8 | At School | |
| Elbert Morton | MO | 6 | At School | |
| Lola S. Morton | MO | 4 | At Home | |
| John R. Morton | MO | 2 | At Home | |
| Delbert Morton | MO | 1 | At Home |
Relatives said that William's son John visited his uncle Howard Richard Morton about 1932, in Arkansas, to find out about the family. He had been to England to try and trace ancestors.
Also in Adair County, MO, were Quin and Rachel Buckaloo Morton, and children James, Nancy and George. Quin listed as a carpenter; and Jackson and Nancy Dunbar Morton, and children Mary, Quin and James. All cousins of Quin.
On the Schuyler County census - District 91, are (James) Richard and Mary E. (Reynolds) Morton, and family - Quin's parents and brother Howard Richard, and sisters. In 1850, cousin James William Morton, son of Samuel and Nancy Burris Morton, was working for his uncle - Quin's father.
Also in Schuyler County:
Richard Morton Polly Morton |
78 60 |
3rd great-grandparents Richard and Mary Nolan Morton |
James Morton Eliza Jane Morton Charlotte Morton |
23 23 1 |
Quin's cousin James, son of Archibald and Nancy Rowland Morton, and grandson of Richard and Nancy Tanner Morton - Richard's first wife. |
Notes:
C. L. Morton attended County Teachers' Institute, April 1867, Adair Co.
MO. This could be Charlotte, daughter of James and Eliza Jane Morton, who
would be 18 in 1867. Listed as C. L. Morton in home of James and Eliza Jane,
in earlier census.
3rd great-grandpa Richard Morton died in, or near, Lancaster, MO, sometime in the 1850s, and could have been buried in Glenwood Cemetery, 2 miles west of Lancaster.
All of our Mortons are descendants of John and Sarah Winston Woodson, of Devonshire, England. They were the first Woodsons to come to Virginia, arriving in Jamestown on the ship 'George', April 19th, 1619, after a "sore voyage."
Dr. John Woodson was a physician and surgeon to the British soldiers on the ship. Sarah's brother, Anthony Winston, came with them.
They settled in Flowerdieu, and survived an Indian attack there in 1622. In 1644, Dr. Woodson was killed in another Indian attack, as he was returning from seeing a patient.
A famous tale has survived the centuries, of the intrepid Sarah Woodson, who saved her two sons, John and Robert. She hid John under a tub, and Robert in a potato hole. Thereafter they were named "Tub Woodson" and "Taterhole Woodson" - the Mortons being descendants of the latter.
Sarah set fire to a mattress in the fireplace, flushing out two Indians from the chimney. She finished them off, with the aid of an elderly shoe-maker named Ligon.
Robert Woodson married Elizabeth Ferris, whose family came from Normandy, France. They had 1,785 acres in Henrico County, near the James River. In the early years, Henrico County was not a good place for peace-loving Quakers, because of Indian raids, negro uprisings and rebellions. The Quakers refused to bear arms in those days. Some became Anglicans.
By Revolutionary days, they no longer objected to taking up arms, and joined the army in great numbers. Forty-two Woodsons served in the American Army from Virginia.
John and Sarah Woodson were the ancestors of Dolley Madison, Silas Woodson - a Governor of Missouri, Oliver Perry Morton - a Governor of Indiana, and two outlaws named Frank and Jesse James, plus a large number of Morton descendants. All these descended from Robert 'Taterhole' Woodson.
Jesse James' middle name was Woodson, and Frank James used the name as an alias. Ironically, Governor Silas Woodson offered the reward for the capture of his kinsmen.
Oliver Perry Morton was an anti-slavery Democrat, who became a Republican, and was elected to the U.S. Senate. After the Civil War, he was stricken with paralysis, but continued to be one of the most eloquent and forceful figures in public life, often addressing the Senate standing, supported by two canes. He was nicknamed "Devil on Two Sticks." A statue of him stands outside the State Capitol in Indianapolis.
Robert Woodson's grandson Richard Woodson of Poplar Hill, was called 'Baron Woodson, because of his great wealth and prestige. He married Ann Micheaux, Aunt of Judith Quin Morton, who was the daughter of John Quin and a French-Huguenot mother. Judith Quin was the Morton's 5th great-grandma, and, we suspect, was responsible for the many Quin Mortons in the family tree.
There were several marriages between the Mortons, Woodsons, and Micheaux, including the marriage of Thomas Morton, son of John and Joanne Wade Morton, and Elizabeth Woodson, great-grand-daughter of John and Sarah Woodson.
A few historians thought Joanne Wade's maiden name was Ann Hughes. A female with that name was listed on the ship bringing John Morton to Virginia. She could have been a relative of Joanne. We have found no trace of a Hughes family. But it is on record that Joanne, widow of John Wade, married John Morton in Henrico Parish Church in 1682.
There were several Wades among later Mortons. Fourth great-grandpa Samuel Morton married Philadelphia Wade, daughter of Phillip Wade. Third great-grandpa Richard Morton had a son Wade, by first wife Nancy Tanner.
We recently discovered some Morton relatives in Warrensburg, Missouri. They are descendants of Josiah Morton and wife Margaret Callison Morton. Josiah was a son of Richard and Mary Nolan Morton, and brother of James Richard Morton, who was the father of great-grandpa James Quin Morton. We have pictures of Hiram Callison Morton and his wife, Lucy Margaret Ezell, and their house in Warrensburg. Hiram Callison was the son of Josiah Morton.
Research still continues among the Mortons and cousins, trying to find the father of 3rd great-grandma Mary Nolan Morton and her brothers and sisters. It is said he was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. We believe this is where he became acquainted with 4th great-grandpa Samuel Morton; as 4th great-grandma Clarinda Nolan was a widow, 4th great-grandpa Nolan must have died sometime before 1800. Samuel and his son Richard Morton became legal guardians of Mary Nolan, and two of her sisters - Sally and Edith.
We have not discovered the family of great-grandma Charlotte Baker Morton's father - Sherrod Baker. It is possible they were related to some Sherrods. There were also a Sherwood and a Shelton Baker in the area of Kentucky where the Sherrod Baker family were living.
Another long-time question remains unanswered. Was Andrew Morton of Natural Dam, Arkansas, related to our Mortons? Some older relatives thought so. We have found no evidence yet. But why would one of Andrew's sons be named Jesse Quin Morton? Andrew's son William also had a son Jesse Quin, who had two sons - Jess and Howard. Andrew's grandson John Andrew and James Quin Morton's son Richard resembled one another.
Andrew's mother was a Cochran, and he had Cochran relatives in Illinois and South Carolina.
There is also a record of one Cochran - Morton alliance. Zeradia A. Morton, grand-daughter of John Morton, the brother of 5th great-grandfather Richard Morton, married an Isaac Cochran in 1823, in Virginia.
Clara Ethel Morton, daughter of Howard Richard Morton, remembers Andrew Morton's great-grandson Ham Grieg visiting them in Crawford County. He said the two families were related. Clara Ethel was convinced that Andrew Morton and Howard Richard's father - James Richard Morton - were brothers, which would make them sons of 3rd great-grandpa Richard Morton - he married his cousin Nancy Tanner in 1795. They had two sons, Wade and Archibald. After Nancy died, Richard reportedly went to Tennessee.
In 1805, he married his 15-year-old ward - Mary Nolan, in Kentucky. We may never know for sure what the relationship between Andrew and our Morton line was, but feel there was one.
Twins
There have been several sets of twins in the Morton family. The first we found were David and Jonathan, sons of 4th great-grandpa Samuel Morton's brother John and his wife Tabitha Tinsley. The twins were born in Virginia in 1779. Their grand-parents were Richard and Judith Quin Morton.
Also in 1779, another set of twins were born to Samuel Morton's brother Quin Morton and his wife Mary Anderson. Their names were Thomas Anderson and Charles. Richard and Judith Quin Morton had four new grandsons the same year!
In 1795, 3rd great-grandpa Richard Morton married his cousin Nancy Tanner, his first wife, daughter of his aunt Sarah Morton Tanner. They had two sons, Wade and Archibald, named for Richard's mother Philadelpia Wade, and his brother Archibald. They were probably twins. In 1817, they were mentioned in a Clark County, Kentucky court case, involving the disposition of certain slaves. Being under 21, the two boys were referred to as "the infant heirs", so they were born by 1797. Both died quite young. Archibald married Nancy Rowland, and was the father of James Morton, who would marry Eliza Jane Baker, sister of great-grandma Charlotte Baker Morton. Wade had no children.
Nancy Tanner Morton's sister Judith married Josiah Hart. In 1804, they had twins - Robert Daugherty and Julian Hart, brothers of the famous sculptor Joel Tanner Hart.
In 1850, Branch Tanner, son of Arch and Sarah Morton Tanner, was on the Clark County, Kentucky census, living with a John and Jane Tanner, aged 22.
In the 1830s and 1842, Josiah and Margaret Callison Morton had two sets of twins. Josiah, son of Richard and 2nd wife Mary Nolan Morton, was an uncle to great-grandpa James Quin Morton. The twins were Richard and Benjamin, and Hiram Callison and Rebecca Morton, born in Missouri.
In 1860, in Arkansas, James Quin and Charlotte Baker Morton had twin boys - Richard and Joseph. Richard was our Morton's grandpa. No further mention of Joseph, and it is believed he died very young.
Quin and Charlotte's oldest son William and his wife Phoebe Ramey had several children, including twins, who died in infancy, and were buried on the Ramey place at Uniontown, listed as "Bessie" and her little brother. (One Morton relative thought they were both boys.)
In 1956, Perry Morton and wife June had twins Rodney and Pamela. Perry was a great-grandson of Quin and Charlotte Morton.
William and Rachel Crawford Morton lived at Prairie Grove, Washington County, Arkansas. During the Civil War, neighbors came to their big house for shelter during the Battle of Prairie Grove. Their relationship to our Mortons has not been established. But they had twins, James A. and Nancy Ann. The latter cared for the wounded soldiers of both sides.
Great-grandma Charlotte's colorful Uncle Ross Asbill, and one of his wives, had twins John and Thomas.*
There may be more twins to come, unless the gene dies out. The majority of Morton twins were boys - no twin girls. A few sets of a boy and a girl.
Many of the Virginia Mortons went to Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, so there could be other twins not accounted for. Perhaps long ago, there were some in England, where 7th great-grandpa John Morton was born.
* The Asbills, Mortons and Nolans were closely related.
Quin Mortons
The main focus of our search for Morton ancestors was to find out more about Great-Grandpa Quin Morton, the Confederate major, whose picture was at the old house on Lee Creek, in Arkansas.
Several years later, we learned there were many Quin Mortons. Great-grandpa was actually named James Quin, which made it difficult to trace him. Quin, sometimes spelled Quinn, was originally a surname, probably Irish. There were Quins in Virginia in the 1700s - a William Quin, 1742, and a Thomas Quin - 1756.
Our Mortons descended from John Quin of Henrico County, Virginia, who married Susanne Micheaux, a French Huguenot girl. They were the parents of Judith Quin, wife of 5th great-grandpa Richard Morton. Some of the Micheaux married Woodsons. Judith's brother George Quin gave his sister's heirs property in Henrico County.
Richard and Judith had eight children, including 4th great-grandpa Samuel, 1745,and a Quin who married Mary Anderson. This Quin owned an 'ordinary',(a tavern),at Little Roanoke Bridge. One of his sons was William Quin, 1794.
Samuel's brother Jonathan and wife Letitia McCargo, had a son Quin who married Angeline Blankenship.
Samuel's brother John and wife Tabitha Tinsley, had four sons who were Baptist ministers in Clark County, Kentucky - William, Richard, John and Quin. Some of them and their descendants were buried in the old Morton cemetery on Grimes Road, Winchester, Kentucky. This Quin married Elizabeth Sutherland.
Great-grandpa James Quin Morton, 1828, married Charlotte Baker in 1850. They had 5 sons and a daughter. Their oldest son William and wife Phoebe Ramey had a son William Quin, 1885.
Third great-grandpa and 2nd wife Mary Nolan's son Jackson, had a son Quin, 1843. The Quin Morton in Missouri, who married Minerva Buckaloo, was the son of Archibald Morton - son of Richard and 1st wife Nancy Tanner. This Quin was born in 1823. He was also a carpenter, like Richard.
Andrew Morton's son was named Jesse Quin, which may indicate they were related to our Mortons. Andrew's other sons were William and James.
Quin Morton Hill, 1857, was surely a close relative who came from Missouri, to Arkansas. He died in Van Buren in 1918, after suffering burns in a smelter fire. he was born in Tennessee to Timothy Hill and Louisa Lay, neighbors of the Mortons in Missouri.
Any Quin Morton from Virginia, Missouri or Arkansas probably has connections to our Morton branch.
We hope the name will not disappear, and there will be Quins in the younger generations, to carry on the illustrious name.