Needles and Haystacks

Although I have solved some of the riddles and puzzled together some pieces, my journey with my Morris ancestors is far from over. In fact, there are times when I feel like I am just beginning since I must start over each time I come to another dead end. Right now, the answer seems to lie with how Thomas, the son of John Jacky and Amelia Morris, met Mary Williams, the daughter of Joseph and Nancy Williams, but that answer is the proverbial needle in the haystack, and I can’t seem to find it.

Several years ago, I was working with a descendant of a man named John H. Morris and Jane Coggins of Chatham and Moore counties because I wanted to find out if his Morris line connected to mine. John and Jane, in 1850, lived in Upper Regiment, Chatham, North Carolina and in 1860, they lived in Moore, North Carolina. In 1870 and 1880, they were in Chatham, but in 1900, back in Moore. John listed his occupation as construction and wheel wright, and I believe he worked between the two counties of Chatham and Moore. His children also lived on the county line, and he is found, in his later years, living with them. So, the movement between counties made sense.

What did not make sense is where John came from. A family letter dated 1938 says he was an early settler from Scotland but then contradicts itself and says he was born in New Bern, North Carolina. Others have him born in Pasquotank, North Carolina. The person I was working with believed that John may have been a grandchild of a man named Frederick Morris who lived in Cumberland (later Moore and Lee) County. That was certainly a possibility, but no actual proof can be found.

In the end, Y DNA testing has ruled out John H. Morris being related to my Morris line. A male descendant of John H. Morris Y DNA tested and is in Group M26. My Morris group is M29. So, these Morris men are from different Morris families. That means if John H. Morris is the grandson of Frederick Morris, then this is not my Morris family.

Since there is no genealogical proof that John H. Morris descends from Frederick Morris, I cannot rule out that my Morris line may (or may not) be related to Frederick. Perhaps neither of our John’s is related to Frederick Morris. A proven male from Frederick Morris would need to Y DNA test to prove or disprove a relationship. 

I am very interested in Frederick Morris because his descendants did live close to and possibly interact with my new-found Williams family in Moore County. There may be a family connection here. That’s what I am trying to learn.
 
Who was Frederick Morris?

Frederick Morris shows up as early as 1765 in Cumberland (now Lee) County, North Carolina when he buys 200 acres of land from George Robards (sometimes seen as Roberts). The 200 acres of land was on both sides of a branch of Upper Little River called the Juniper. The deed was witnessed by Henry Gaster and William Robards.

Lee County, located in North Carolina's Piedmont region, was formed from Moore County (formed in 1784 from Cumberland County) and Chatham County (formed from Orange County in 1771) in 1907. The Upper Little River rises in a pond about 1 mile east of Lemon Springs, North Carolina and then follows an easterly course into Harnett County to join the Cape Fear River about 0.5 miles northwest of Erwin. [Wikipedia]

The National Park Service has provided research on the early Development of Lee County, 1740-1849. Not surprising, the area that is now Lee County was populated mainly by Highland Scots who came to America in several waves of immigration, the first of those beginning after the 1745 Jacobite War.

According to the research cited below, there were a few Scots in the area as early as 1732. Highland Scots centered on the area of Cross Creek, now Fayetteville and extended north to the Deep River and South and west into South Carolina. So, the coverage area to research is quite large.

George Robards had two early land grants on Juniper Creek, dated 1753, when the area was still Bladen County. He continued to live on Juniper Creek until he sold his land to Frederick Morris in 1765.

Frederick Morris looks to have settled into farming on his 200-acre purchase from George Robards. In 1771, Frederick and wife Vaughan deeded to Henry Morris 100 acres of the 200-acre George Robards tract.

The witnesses for the 1771 deed between Frederick Morris and Henry Morris were Henry Gaster, who was a Captain in the Revolutionary War, and near neighbor to Frederick Morris, and no doubt, Gasters Creek is named for the Gaster family, and Arthur Boyes (also seen as Boyce and Boice) who may have moved on rather quickly to South Carolina.

A few of Henry Gaster’s grandchildren looked to have intermarried with Frederick Morris’s grandchildren. 

 

In 1774, Frederick and wife Vaughan sell to Archibald McGill the other half of the George Robards tract of land. The witnesses for the 1774 deed between Frederick Morris, who is the target of my research, and Archibald McGill were Malcom Buie and Gilbert Buie. Lots of good information on the Buie family here

 

In 1777, Frederick Morris was a witness on a deed between Charles Walker, who lived on Bear Creek, probably more than 20 miles west of Frederick, and Henry Gaster.

The witnesses for the 1777 deed between Walker and Gaster were Frederick Morris and Richard Timberlake, whom I have found no solid information.

In 1784, Frederick Morris and Vaughan his wife deeded to Henry Morris 10 acres on both sides of the Upper Little River. The witnesses for the 1784 deed between Fred and Vaughan Morris and Henry Morris were Henry Gaster and Peter Morris, who is most likely a son of Frederick Morris.

There are six Morris men who are thought to be the sons of Frederick Morris; William, Peter, John, Stephen, Matthew, and Henry. Let's talk about each one.

William Morris

Not much is known about William other than the deeds found in Chatham County (for land located in now Lee County) and an 1800 Census record that showed his neighbors were Thomas Wicker and Thomas Riddle. He is mentioned in other deeds with the Morris men who are believed to be his brothers.

 

A deed written in 1797 between Benjamin Bohannon (Buchannan) Jun of Chatham County and William Morris of Chatham County shows William purchased from Benjamin a tract of land, 99 acres, on Shaddox creek near Joseph Brantley's tar kiln, near Francis Drakes line. Witnesses were Thomas Stokes and Hinchia (?) Brewer. William Morris sells this same land to Thomas Stokes in 1802. 

In 1806, William purchases from James Laurence 100 acres of land on Lick Creek, south of Shaddox Creek, beginning at Wicker's corner and his own line. Witnesses were William Stedman and Randolph Battle.

In 1807, due to a judgement arising out of the court of Chatham for 196 pounds, against William Morris, recovered by Thomas Stokes, George Gee, Sheriff, seized two tracts of 393 acres of land belonging to William Morris and bounded by Nelly (or Milly) Wicker, Thomas Stokes, Bohannon, Hatley’s and Robert Wicker and Thomas Wicker. The land sold for $40 to Thomas Stokes. No waterway is named.

Peter Morris, John Morris, and Stephen Morris

I decided to cover Peter, John, and Stephen together as these three brothers married three of the daughters of Benjamin Wicker. Peter married Jemima Wicker, John married Nancy Wicker, and Stephen married Ferriby Wicker. There is a fourth daughter called out in Benjamin's will as Mary Morris who is probably the wife of one of the other Morris brothers. Maybe William or Henry as they are the only ones that I cannot find wives for.

 

Peter is found on the 1790 Moore County Census living next door to Henry, probably his brother, and Frederick, most likely his father. Henry Jun and Mathew Morris live nearby. 

In 1797, Peter Morris is mentioned in a deed between Stephen Morris and Benjamin Wicker of Moore County and Richard Buchannan (probably the same man named as Bohannan in the William Morris deed) of Chatham County. Stephen and Benjamin sold to Richard 200 acres of land in Chatham County that joined Peter Morris and James Wicker and William Morris. John Riddle, Jonathan Wicker, and John Morris were witnesses.  

John Morris is where things get a bit complicated. John had a daughter, Sophia, who married into a Sloan line. I have not completed the genealogy on this line yet but feel certain it will connect somewhere with my Marks line in Chatham County.

John’s daughter, Mary, married Edward Walker and their daughter, Isabella Walker, married Abner Gunter, my first cousin five times removed. Abner is the son of Benjamin Gunter and Elizabeth Long. Benjamin is the son of Isham Gunter, my fifth great grandfather and the brother of Mary Gunter Marks, my fourth great grandmother.

John married Nancy Wicker, the daughter of Benjamin Wicker. He also lived until 1850 so there is a good amount of information on him. John and Nancy had several other children too and I am still building out the children’s lines to find all the marriages. I do know John’s children married into the Gaster family. His son, Peter, married Sarah Gaster and daughter, Jemima, married David Gaster. Both Sarah and David are the children of Jacob Gaster, the son of Henry Gaster, who lived close to Frederick Morris.

Jacob Gaster married Nancy Dye who looks to be the daughter of Hopkins Dye. The Dye line reaches directly back to Richmond County, Virginia, and my Marks line.

It will be difficult to research John’s line in hopes to find my Morris connection because there looks to be some crossover with my Gunter/Marks line in Chatham County. 

Stephen was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and lived long enough to file his pension claim which provides a lot of information. His claim states that he substituted for Frederick Morris but does not say what his relationship to Frederick is. The claim also provides his birthplace as Juniper Creek in Cumberland County, the same place Frederick Morris lived, in the year 1768. 

Stephen married Ferriby Wicker, daughter of Benjamin Wicker. He lived past the 1850 Census and can be found living with his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Wicker Kelly, in 1850.

Mathew Morris

Mathew married Margaret Buie, daughter of Gilbert Buie. The Buie family is traced back to Scotland. There is a link above with a lot of information on the Buie family. Mathew may have lived past the 1850 Census. I found a man by that name who meets his age requirements living in Cumberland County in 1850.

Henry Morris

Henry may have married Mary Wicker, daughter of Benjamin Wicker. I suspect that either he, or his brother, William married the Mary Morris mentioned in Benjamin’s will. Henry had a land grant dated 1787 for 100 acres on Juniper Creek. Peter Morris and Alexander McBride were chain carriers.

Lastly, there is Vaughan Morris, the wife of Frederick. She is mentioned in several deeds as his wife. Her first name immediately caught my attention because it is a surname of an allied family who has ties to the Morris family from Mecklenburg County, Virginia, the place where John Jacky Morris, my third great grandfather, was supposedly born in 1785.

Jesse Morris lived and died in Mecklenburg County, Virginia. He was born about 1742 and married Jane Jones. There is much speculation on who his parents are, but, to my knowledge, there has been nothing solid found to prove his parentage. Jesse’s son, Henry, married Lucy Drumwright (also seen as Drumright) the daughter of William and Stacy Andrews Drumwright. There seems to be some doubt that her name was Stacy, but researchers agree that her maiden name was Andrews.

Henry and Lucy Drumwright Morris had a son named Harrison Ruffin Morris (born about 1809) who married Martha Ann Cheatham, daughter of John Cheatham and Nancy Vaughan who is thought to be the daughter of Ambrose Vaughan and Elizabeth Livingstone.

Is it possible that there is a connection between Vaughan Morris and the Vaughan family who lived in Mecklenburg County, Virginia?  

More research is required on my part on the Vaughan family, as well as the many other allied families, Morris, Cheatham, Drumwright, and others. There is a lot to learn, and I will post blogs along the way on these families as I find out more about them.

My hope is to find the parents of John Jacky Morris. There is a very long road ahead of me.

Wish me luck!

Adventures in Wonderland

“Have you guessed the riddle yet?” the Hatter said, turning to Alice again.
“No, I give it up,” Alice replied: “What’s the answer?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea,” said the Hatter”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

A fellow researcher recently told me “The plot thickens, and the mystery grows. Maybe it’s time to find an easy one instead of what seems so extremely difficult.” It reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. 

My Morris family just keeps giving me one riddle after another to solve. They are not making this easy for me.

In my previous blog on Mary ‘Polly’ Williams, I noted that Bartholomew Dunn and wife, Nancy Williams, had remained in Moore County, North Carolina and did not follow her parents and siblings to Montgomery County in or about 1860. I now need to make a semi-correction on this. Nancy, to my knowledge, did remain in Moore County. I thought old Bart, her husband, had too, and he did for most of his life, but during the research for this blog, I realized I was missing an 1840 Census record for him. I found him in 1840 in Montgomery County, North Carolina, East Pee Dee River, living a few doors down from Frances (Blalock) Dennis, wife of Jesse Dennis.

Jesse Dennis is the son of Andrew Dennis and the brother of my ancestor, James Francis Dennis. Jesse married Frances Blalock, daughter of William David Blalock Senior. The Blalock family migrated from Chatham and Randolph counties to Montgomery County in the late 1790s to early 1800s following on the heels of John Stewart and his wife Rachel Morgan, who were also from Chatham County, and settled in what is now the areas of Uwharrie and Eldorado on the Uwharrie River. Frances’s brother, William David Blalock Junior, married Jesse’s sister, Martha Dennis. Another case of siblings marrying siblings.

Even though Jesse did not live long, he died between the 1830 and 1840 Census years, I have been able to dig up some information on him. Jesse was born about 1785 in Montgomery County. As already noted, he is the son of Andrew Dennis who had been in the area when it was Anson county, pre-1779.
In 1817, Jesse indebted himself for $65 to William Brookshire for the rent of the Dutch John Plantation. Benjamin Bell was security. We learn from the document shown below that Jesse used his personal property to secure the debt; a bay gelding called Hercules, his stud horse called Bones, 30 barrels of corn, a cow and yearling, 19 head of hogs. James Gaines and James Mask were witnesses.

From this document we understand that William Brookshire owned the Dutch John Plantation, but the document does not inform us where exactly the plantation was located, although I am sure it must have been near Dutch John Creek in the Uwharrie area, or how many acres it contained. What we can figure out by using an inflation calculator is what cost $65.00 in 1817 would cost $1220.71 in 2022.

In 1818, Jesse was granted 640 acres of land in Montgomery County in the forks of the Yadkin and Uwharrie Rivers, near the ‘new road,’ joining Brookshire’s line. David Blalock Sr and Jr were chain carriers for the survey that was completed on 19 Nov 1819 by Britain Chappell.

Jesse married Frances Blalock about 1824. In 1830, he lived East of Pee Dee River and very near my ancestor John Jacky Morris. Merritt Williams is somehow related to my Morris family but that is a story for another day.

The 1830 Census shows Jesse with young children in his household, two sons and two daughters. Up until today, I had only been able to identify Jesse’s sons from later Census and other records. However, I now believe that Nancy Dennis Bridges can be identified as a daughter of Jesse and Frances. I’ll talk more about Nancy in a minute.

The 1840 Census shows Frances Dennis as head of household so we know Jesse must have died between the 1830 and 1840 Census years. We can narrow his death date down even further because there are two children listed as under 5 years of age in 1840, meaning they were born after 1835. The 1840 Census was completed 18 Oct 1840, so Jesse died between 1835 and 18 Oct 1840.

There are still 4 unidentified children of Jesse and Frances Blalock Dennis, and it may take DNA testing to find them.

1850 shows Frances Blalock Dennis living next door to her brother-in-law, James Dennis who is my 3rd great grandfather. Andrew J (1829), George Washington (1826), Henry Nelson (1836), and William Cabin (1838) are still in the home. All the females who were previously listed in 1830 and 1840 and one other male are no longer in the home.

In 1845, Nancy Dennis married William Bridges. John Morris and George Washington (called G. W.) Morris were bondsmen. These two men are my 2nd great uncles. I was a bit puzzled why John and G. W. would act as bondmen for Nancy and William, usually only family members did that. I also wondered who William Bridges was, as there are no other Bridges families in Montgomery County. So, where did Nancy meet William?

I was able to find a William Bridges in 1850 living in Moore County in the household of James and Catherine Bridges. However, there was no Nancy living in that household, but there is Ann who is the right age to be Nancy. Perhaps she is going by her middle name? I am not sure this is my William. Although, this did pique my interest because it looks like the Bridges family may be from Moore County, the same place my Williams family is from. I’ll talk more about this later.

The 1860 Census shows Nancy Dennis Bridges, widow, living next door to Nelson Dennis in the community of Zion, the same community where my Morris/Williams family lived. Nelson is the son of Jesse and Frances Blalock Dennis and must be the brother of Nancy.

William and Nancy had at least two children, John, b. 1853, married Rebecca Galloway, daughter of Redding Galloway and Rebecca Seagraves, and James, b. 1852, married Sarah F. Dunn, daughter of John Dunn and Mary maiden name unknown.

When I saw the last name Dunn, things started to come into focus. I immediately knew that Sarah F. Dunn, wife of James Bridges, was probably somehow related to the Dunn family of Moore County who married into my Williams family. This lent some (but not a lot) of credibility to the 1850 Census with William Bridges found in Moore County.

James W. Bridges, son of William and Nancy Dennis Bridges, married Sarah F. Dunn, daughter of John and Mary Dunn, on 22 Dec 1870 in Montgomery County.

John Dunn, Sarah's father, can be found on the 1850 Census for Montgomery County. He earned his living as a Blacksmith. In his household is his wife, Mary, and their 9 children, Sarah being a middle child, born about 1842.

1860 shows John living in Mount Gilead with his family. Sarah is now age 16. Frank Stafford, age 17, is probably a hired hand who is learning the Blacksmith trade from John. 

1870 paints the entire picture on how Sarah Dunn met James Bridges. The 1870 Census was enumerated on 10 Aug 1870. James Bridges is shown as hired labor and working for John. Sarah Dunn and James Bridges married 17 Dec 1870, just 4 months after the 1870 Census was enumerated.

Mary Dunn, wife of John, must have died between the 1860 and 1870 Census years, as she is not listed on the 1870 Census.

In 1874, John Dunn remarried to Martha Frances McLenden of Richmond County. His marriage license shows his father as Bartholomew Dunn. 

I’ve come full circle!

Bartholomew Dunn married, evidently, an unknown first wife and from that marriage was born John Dunn about 1810 who is the father of Sarah F. Dunn Bridges. 

Rechecking Census data, I found Bartholomew in 1810 with a young family living in Moore County. I am not sure who the first wife was, nor the female listed.

Bartholomew Dunn married second, Mary Williams (1800-1857), daughter of William Williams and Elizabeth Stutts of Moore County. Mary was the sister of my newfound third great grandfather, Joseph Williams (1803-1880).

Bartholomew Dunn married third, Nancy Williams (b. 1829), daughter of Joseph (1803-1880) and Nancy Williams of Moore County (my newfound third great grandparents).

Nancy Williams (b. 1829) is the niece of Mary, the second wife of Bartholomew.

Confused yet?

Let’s talk about the Bridges family.

There were no Bridges in Montgomery County, North Carolina prior to Nancy Dennis marrying William Bridges. The earliest record in Montgomery County of the surname Bridges I could find is the 1845 marriage license between Nancy Dennis and William Bridges. All other records are after 1845 and of the many that I reviewed, all led back to the two sons of William and Nancy Dennis Bridges, James, and John.

As already stated, William and Nancy are not found in Montgomery County in 1850. However, there is a male named William Bridges living in Moore County in the household of James and Catherine Bridges who meets what I think is the age requirement for William Bridges. Since I am not able to find a record showing his approximate age, I am assuming he was around the same age as Nancy who was born in 1825.

The female living in the home is shown with the name Ann. So, it is unclear if this is Nancy possibly going by her middle name or if Ann is the daughter of James and Catherine. I found conflicting information for Ann. Some documents had her married to J. Jackson Stedman and others to John Wesley Stedman.

It will take time to straighten out this Bridges line.

I was not able to find any other information on William, age 27, who is listed in the home.

In the same home (on the next page) is found Mary, age 18 (born 1832), and Joseph, age 16 (born 1834), and a 4-year-old child named Catharine Gilmore.

Research shows that Joseph Bridges married Permelia Fentress Stedman, daughter of John Wesley Stedman, the man who Ann Bridges is shown to have married. So, Ann became the stepmother to her own brother, which seems a bit odd to me. But Bartholomew Dunn also married his wife’s niece.

Joseph died in 1894 and Permilia in 1888. The couple are buried at Cool Springs Baptist Cemetery in Moore County.

Mary Bridges looks to have confusing records as well and it is going to take some time to straighten them out too. There were probably two Mary Bridges in Moore County about the same age, and they have been confused with one another.

One Mary Bridges (1832-1902) married Daniel Morris, the son of Stephen and Jeanett Morris. Stephen descends from Frederick Morris (born 1730) and his wife Vaughan, the couple that I am trying to connect my Morris line with. Mary Bridges Morris and husband Daniel were in Moore County in 1850. Mary looks to be buried in Scotland County, North Carolina. I do not know where Daniel is buried or when he died.

Another Mary Bridges (1824-1913) married a man named Gideon Tyson Moore (1815-1880) and this couple are buried at Browns Chapel Christian Church Cemetery in Moore County. Some resources have Mary Bridges Moore listed as the daughter of Newsom Bridges and Elizabeth Drake while others had her listed as the daughter of James and Nelly Bridges. Both of Moore County.

Again, I will need to work on getting these records straightened out.

The 1860 Census shows Joseph, Catharine, and Catharine Gilmore.

I was not able to find any further record of Catharine Gilmore.

The result is one of disappointment. My Morris line remains elusive but does look promising. More questions added to the ever-growing pile. Why did John and G. W. Morris sign as bondmen for the marriage of William and Nancy Dennis Bridges? Where did William Bridges come from? There are still pieces to the puzzle that are missing.

More genealogy research is needed on the Bridges line to see how they may connect to the Williams or Morris lines found in Cumberland / Chatham / Moore / Montgomery counties.

More to come...

The story of Mary ‘Polly’ Williams Morris

Mary ‘Polly’ Williams Morris is my paternal 2nd great-grandmother and my maternal 3rd great-grandmother. I descend through her sons, James, and John. Mary has been a brick wall in my family for many years. I have been researching Williams families who lived in the Uwharrie area for some time now and have an extensive research and DNA tree built for them. Using traditional genealogy research and a method called cousin matching with DNA test results, I have broken through the brick wall that surrounded Mary's life.

Mary was born about 1828. I do not know how she met Thomas Morris, but they married about 1845. Since there is no marriage record that exist, I must use the birth of their first child, William, born in 1846, to estimate the marriage date. Her second child, Elizabeth, was born about 1849. Mary and her family were counted on the Montgomery County, North Carolina Census on 30 Sep 1850. She is living next door to her in-laws, John ‘Jacky’ and Amelia Morris. 

Mary’s maiden name is Williams. We know that because her children’s death certificates tell us as does family lore. Her son Elias’s death certificate list Moore County as his mother, Mary’s, place of birth as reported by J. T. Morris, the son of Elias

Berry Morris married Sarah ‘Sallie’ Williams of Moore County shortly after his brother, Thomas, married Mary ‘Polly’ Williams, in 1845. Berry was born about 1828 and is just a few years younger than Thomas who was born in 1824. According to Census data, Sarah and Mary are about two years apart in age, with Sarah born about 1826 and Mary born about 1828.

Sallie’s great grandson, Clyde, tells us she was born in Moore County, the same place Mary was born and that her maiden name was Williams.

At this point, I began to wonder if it is possible that Mary and Sarah are sisters who married brothers, Thomas, and Berry.

With this new line of thought going through my mind, I began going through my tree and building out family lines, looking for other Morris relatives who lived in the same time frame, and who married anyone with a Williams surname.

I found that Elizabeth Morris, the niece of Thomas and Berry Morris, married William Williams in 1870. He was born about 1830 and is the son of Joseph and Nancy Williams of Moore County, the same place Mary ‘Polly’ and Sarah ‘Sallie’ were born.

Curiosity kept me going.

I then found that John Thomas Morris, the brother of Elizabeth Morris who married William Williams, married Louisa Williams from Moore County in 1873. Louisa is … drum roll please … the daughter of Joseph and Nancy Williams from Moore County. 

John and Louisa were married by Littleton Dennis, a Justice of the Peace and near neighbor to my Morris family. I found that Littleton’s daughter, Lundy Dennis, married Upshur Williams, the brother of Louisa.

At this point, this Williams’ family from Moore County had my full attention.

I started checking Census data and found that in 1860, Berry and Sarah ‘Sallie’ are living next door to Joseph Williams, but not in Moore County, in Montgomery County. This was just too much of a coincidence and I had to keep going! 

Circling back to Mary ‘Polly’ Williams Morris, I found that on 19 Aug 1860, Mary was enumerated by D. R. Cochran, on the Montgomery County Census, as living in the Zion District, Swift Island Post Office, in the household of Thomas Morris, her husband, and six of her children, William, who is now 12, Elizabeth, now age 11, Joseph, age 9, Lunda, age 6, Elias, age 4, and James, age 2. Thomas works as a miner to provide for his family.

So, Mary and Thomas lived close to Joseph Williams, but not next door.

Mary and her family are missed on the 1870 Census but are found in the next Census record. On the 8th and 9th of June 1880, James G. Cotton, a near neighbor and Census taker for that year, enumerated Mary and her family as living in Uwharrie Township. Mary and Thomas are still living among Morris family members. Their direct neighbor is their son, Joseph, who married Rosina Merritt in 1877. Two doors down lives Temperance Morris Sanders, wife of Jacob Sanders, and the sister of Thomas Morris.

On the other side of Thomas and Mary in household 3232, lives Upshur F. Williams, age 42, who married Lundy Dennis, in 1870. Remember, Lundy is the daughter of Littleton Dennis (who performed the marriage ceremony of Louisa Williams and John Thomas Morris in 1873). Upshur’s first wife, Margaret Williamson, daughter of Edmund and Mary Brown Williamson, died before 1870.

Joseph Williams was born about 1803. Census records insist his birthplace is Virginia, but I am not so sure about that. He is documented as the son of William Williams and Elizabeth Stutts from Moore County. His grandfather is George Williams who died in Moore County in 1797 and is believed to be the progenitor of that Williams family who settled in the area prior to Moore becoming a county in 1785. William Williams is found on the 1810 and 1820 Census for Moore County and does have a male child in his home that would meet Joseph’s age requirement.

Joseph is found in Moore County on the 1830, 1840, and 1850 Census records. 

1830 Census records for Moore County show Joseph, his wife, and four children. Comparing 1830 with 1850 Census record, I know the children are Nancy, born in 1829, and William, born in 1830, but there are two daughters unaccounted for and have either died or married by 1850.

1840 Census records for Moore County show Joseph, his wife, and eight children. Again, comparing 1840 with 1850 Census record, I know the children are, Nancy, born in 1829, William, born in 1830, Matthew, born in 1835, probably Upshur, born in 1837 but being counted older than he really is, and Ann, born in 1838. There are three unknown children counted in 1840, one male that was not shown in 1830, and two females who are not showing in 1850.
 
1850 Census records for Moore County show Joseph, his wife, Nancy, and children, Nancy (1829), William (1830), Matthew (1835), Upshur (1837), Ann (1838), Lewis (1842), and Louisa (1842), who look to be twins as they were both born in 1842. We are still missing the three unknown children from the earlier Census records so, it looks like by 1850, some of these children have left home, married, or died.

In 1860, for reasons unknown, Joseph packed up his family and moved to Montgomery County and was enumerated twice on the 1860 Census there. Once on 21 Jul 1860, in Beans District, Montgomery County, Joseph shows up on page 72. Listed in his household are his wife, Nancy, and children, Matthew, Upshur, Ann, and Louisa. Neighbors were Berry and Sallie Morris.

On the 27th of July, a week later, John Jacky Morris was enumerated and shows up on the next page, 73.

Joseph was enumerated again on 6 Aug 1860, just a few weeks later, but in Fork District, Montgomery County, with wife, Nancy, and two daughters, Ann, and Louisa. He is on page 85. He is surrounded by the family members of John Jacky Morris. His direct neighbors are Jacob Sanders and wife Tempy, the daughter of John Jacky Morris. Several Dennis family members live in proximity. On the other side of Joseph is Silas Kearns who is the uncle-in-law of Rhoda Morris Kearns, daughter of John Jacky Morris. Just a few doors away lives Susan Morris Morgan, daughter of John Jacky Morris. 

I am still trying to find out the exact location of Beans, so far, with little luck. I think it may be what is now Ophir or could be Uwharrie based on some of the other people listed on the 1860 Census in Beans. If anyone has an old map with Beans on it, please reach out to me through the blog. 

Fork was what today is known as the area of Eldorado. The area was called Fork because it was in the fork of the Uwharrie and Pee Dee Rivers.

Since D. R. Cochran performed both Census’s, all within a matter of just a few weeks, I think he may have crossed over the line from one community to the other without realizing it and therefore, several people show up as living in both Beans and Fork in 1860. That makes the most sense, but I would like to confirm that Beans and Fork were communities located next to one another. 

Joseph and his family are missed on the 1870 Census. It seems that an entire community was missed on that Census as my Morris family is also missed as are many others.

In 1874, Joseph remarries to Mary Warburton at the residence of Laurence Williams. This marriage license is a wealth of information! First, it tells us that Nancy Williams died before 1874, the date of the license. Second, it provides us a new name, Laurence Williams, whose home the marriage was performed in, and he may be the missing son on the earlier Census’s for Moore County. Third, it proves Joseph’s parents lived in Moore County. Fourth, it shows a witness as J. Williams? Who is that?

The 1880 Census shows Laurence Williams living in Ophir Township in dwelling 70 with wife, Julia, and children, Samuel, Franklin, Nathan, Guilford, and Mary. In dwelling 75 lives Washington Morris, son of John Jacky Morris, with wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Francis. Directly next door in dwelling 76 is William Williams, son of Joseph and Nancy Williams, and wife Elizabeth, daughter of Washington Morris who lives in dwelling 75, and children John, Christian, James, Lillie, Claudy. In dwelling 77 lives Gaston Dennis, first cousin of Lundy Dennis who married Upshur Williams, and wife Julia Morris Dennis, daughter of Washington Morris who lives in dwelling 75.

Following Laurence back to 1870, I found some surprises. First, that Mary Warburton is living with Laurence and Julia and second, that a near neighbor is Jones L. Williams, the son of Archibald Williams. He is probably the J. Williams who was a witness to the 1874 marriage of Joseph and Mary.
 
That brings a lot of questions to my mind - oh my brain! This requires a lot more research. Jones Williams is the son of Archibald Williams, who is the son of Isham Williams and part of the Williams family I started researching in Jan 2022 because I believe that the early Williams family in Montgomery County who lived in the Eldorado area were somehow related to Amelia, wife of John Jacky Morris, and Mary "Polly' Williams.
 

Digging into more records, I found that Julia is the sister of Mary. Their mother is Martha ‘Patsy’ Warburton or Warbritton. Julia’s Find-A-Grave details tell the sad story of her later years.

Continuing to follow Laurence back in time, I was not able to find him in 1860 but 1870 shows him living in Moore County with a Kennedy family. While I am not sure how the Kennedy family is connected yet, I did find that a member of that household, Marjorie Kennedy, daughter of Angus and Margaret McDonald Kennedy, married Alexander Williams, the nephew of Joseph Williams. Marjorie is living in the home of John Kennedy, her grandfather, in 1850. Nearby is William Williams, who is the brother of Laurence. William married first, Christian McKenzie in Moore County and he did not move to Montgomery until after her death which occurred between 1859 and 1869 when he remarried to Elizabeth Morris, daughter of George ‘Watty’ Morris.

On the same page are other members of the Williams family and closely related to Joseph Williams.

Joseph was enumerated in 1880 with his second wife, Mary Warburton. They lived close to James Roper, whom I wrote a blog on in March. Read that here: Oddball Out.

It was a DNA match and a Moore County deed (courtesy of Moore County Wallaces) that brought this whole thing together for me. Thus far, I have found hundreds of DNA matches from descendants of Jeremiah, William (Joseph’s line), and Thomas, all children of George Williams. Hundreds and hundreds of matches more are still waiting for me to research and add to my tree! It truly is overwhelming!

Since my Morris line intermarried so much with Joseph Williams line, I expected I would DNA match to that line heavily, and I do. I needed to find lines that did not leave Moore County and had not intermarried with my Morris or Dennis families. I found a match with whom I share 75 cM of DNA but this amount of shared DNA would put this match and me around the third or fourth cousin relationship and after researching them and adding their line to my tree, I found we are around fifth cousins once removed. The average for that relationship is about 21 cM. 

After researching many more matches and finding I was sharing a higher amount of DNA with them than I should, it dawned on me, that I have a double Williams line! Both of my parents descend from Mary ‘Polly’ Williams! So, I would share more DNA with matches. 

I checked to see if my uncle was a match to this same person and he was at 49 cM of shared DNA with the match while I share 75 cM! With that worked out, I moved forward.

Thankfully this match has a very well documented tree on both FTDNA and Ancestry.com so I was able to quickly identify and prove his line. The match has also Y-DNA tested and is part of the Moore County Wallace project and is very well documented there. The DNA match descends through Jeremiah Williams, the uncle of Joseph Williams.

I then checked my cousin DNA kits I manage to see if they also match this same person, and, as you can see below, we are overwhelmingly related to this match! But I still wanted more documented evidence that Joseph Williams was somehow, in some way, connected back to Moore County.  

I had Census data, as well as Joseph’s marriage license that showed his parents were from Moore County. Was there anything more I could find that connected him back to Moore County?

Nancy Williams, daughter of Joseph and Nancy Williams, married in Moore County in 1857 to Bartholomew Dunn and remained in Moore County. She never moved to Montgomery with the rest of her Williams family.

In 1836, Joseph Williams, witnessed a deed in Moore County for his brother and along-side his future son-in-law, Bartholomew Dunn, for a tract of land sold to George Davis. 

It was enough! Mary ‘Polly’ Williams Morris must be the daughter of Joseph and Nancy Williams of Moore County. She is one of the unnamed daughters showing on the 1830 and 1840 Census in the home of Joseph Williams. She is also, I believe, the sister of Sarah ‘Sallie’ Williams Morris, who is the other unnamed daughter on those two Census records. These sisters married brothers, Thomas Morris, and Berry Morris.

Even though I do not (as of now) have a piece of paper that says Mary is this unnamed daughter found in early Census records in Moore County, the documentation I have found, the family connections, and the hundreds of DNA matches tells me she is.
 
Mary ‘Polly’ Williams Morris died in Montgomery County, North Carolina on 28 Feb 1910. She was the mother of my great-grandfather, John Coon Morris, and the wife of Tommy Morris, my great-great grandfather. She is buried at Prospect Baptist Church Cemetery in the Uwharrie area of Montgomery County. 

And she is a brick wall no more!