USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Vol. I > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89
Anthony Morris married in Philadelphia, 3mo. (May) 10, 1704, Phoebe, daughter of George and Alice (Bailyes) Guest, born 7 mo. (September ) 28, 1685, died March 18, 1768. She was for many years an elder of Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, and a woman of many rare and exalted virtues. "She died on the same spot on which she was born and was buried in the same grave with the husband with whom she had lived upwards of sixty years in the highest degree of conjugal affection." Among the "Pemberton Papers", in the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, (vol. viii, p. 2), is a deed dated March 14, 1672, by which Joane Guest, of Birmingham, county Warwick, England, relict of John Guest, late of Birmingham, deceased, conveys to William Bailyes, of Birmingham, and William Whyton, also of Birmingham, a tract of land in county Warwick, in trust for George Guest, son of said Joane and John and Alice his wife, a daughter of the said William Bailyes, which deed recites that said John Guest by will devised to his second son, George Guest, land pur- chased by him of Nicholas Farkson and William Bailyes, father of the above mentioned William, married, January 26, 1612, Alice Sommerland, and had the following children :-
Joane, bap. June 15, 1617; Margerie, bap. Feb. 27, 1619; WILLIAM, bap. Dec. 15, 1622, of whom presently ; Alice, bap. Jan. 14, 1626; Ann, bap. May 17, 1629.
William Bailyes, only son, married Alice, dau. of Thomas Chanders, and had two sons and six daughters, viz :-
William, d. y .;
John, m. Feb. 20, 1671-2, Sarah Dyke, of London, at Peel Mtg., and had John, d. unm., Samuel, of Evesham, d. s. p., and Hannah, m. Samuel Freeth;
Mary, m. Barnet Parks, surgeon of Dudley, d. s. p .;
Sarah, m. John Guest ;
Elizabeth, m. June 17, 1673, William Hard, of Kingston;
Rebecca, m. Thomas Rose, or Ross, of Birmingham;
Phoebe, m. Constantine Young. of Leominster ;
Alice, m. George Guest, before mentioned.
George and Alice ( Bailyes) Guest emigrated to Burlington, New Jersey, 1680, and were neighbors of Anthony Morris Sr. and his wife, during the residence of
53
MORRIS
the latter at Burlington. Having heard that her sister, Elizabeth Hard, was on the way to America, and "designed to Philadelphia", Alice Guest prevailed upon her husband to remove to Philadelphia, and, the ancient chronicles of the family recite, "had just got settled in a cave on the bank of the Delaware, when the sister Elizabeth arrived." Here Phoebe Guest, who later became the wife of Anthony Morris Jr., was born September 28, 1685. Her father died in the lat- ter part of the same year, and the widow, Alice Guest, later built a house near the spot of their first rude domicile and resided there until her death in August, 1705. Her elder sister, Elizabeth Hard, lived to the age of ninety-three years. Both were members of the Society of Friends.
Issue of Anthony and Phoebe (Guest) Morris were :-
ANTHONY, b. Feb. 14, 1705-6, d. Oct. 2, 1780, of whom presently;
James, b. Sept. 8, 1707, d. Jan. 29, 1750-I; m. March 12, 1729-30, Elizabeth Kearney; John, b. June 23, 1709, d. Feb. 3, 1782; m. April 18, 1734, Mary Sutton ;
Samuel, b. Sept. 20, 1710, d. October 7, 1710;
Samuel, b. Nov. 21, 17II, d. March 31, 1782; m. May 26, 1737, Hannah Cadwalader ;
Mary, b. Oct. 13, 1713, d. Oct. 31, 1759; m. Nov. 9, 1732, Samuel Powell ;
Joseph, b. March 10, 1714-5, d. July 1, 1785; m. Feb. 18, 1741-2, Martha Fitzwater; (second) Nov. 7, 1765, Hannah Mickle.
Elizabeth, b. Oct. 21, 1716; m. Sept. 6, 1739, Benjamin Shoemaker ;
Benjamin, b. Dec. 30, 1717, d. Sept. 7, 1719;
Phoebe, b. July 4, 1721, d. May 5, 1722;
Susanna, b. Sept. 27, 1722, d. Aug. 13, 1724;
Deborah, b. Feb. 13, 1723-4, d. March 31, 1793, unm .;
Benjamin, M. D., b. May 7, 1725, d. May 14, 1755, unm. ;
A daughter, d. unm. July 19, 1726.
WILLIAM MORRIS, eldest son of Anthony Morris by third marriage with Mary Coddington, born in Philadelphia, 5mo. (July) 23, 1695, died there November 6, 1776, was one of the most prominent members of the family, but his long career of usefulness and honor was largely spent outside of the city of his birth. Early in life he engaged in mercantile trade with the West Indies, and removed to the island of Barbados, where he married 4mo. (June) 14, 1718, a rich heiress, Sarah Dury, of Speightstown, Barbados. On 7mo. (September) 5, 1728, he brought a certificate from the Monthly Meeting at Heathescoate Bay, Barbados, to Philadelphia, but soon after located at Trenton, New Jersey, where his half sister, formerly Mary Coddington, daughter of his mother by first marriage, now the widow of Col. William Trent, was largely interested in real estate, purchased by her distinguished husband, who had died in 1724. William Morris purchased of the Trent estate 500 acres of land on the Assunpink, includ- ing mills thereon erected, and made his permanent home in Trenton for nearly the whole of the remainder of his life and is there buried. He, however, sold a large part of his valuable real estate there in 1733 to Col. George Thomas, of the island of Antigua, and again engaged in West India trade, with Joseph Cal- lender, a prominent West India trader, taking his certificate from Chesterfield Friends' Meeting dated 9mo. (November) I, 1733; he sailed for Barbados, and was absent for two years, returning by way of England, bringing certificate from Bristol Meeting, England, produced at Chesterfield Meeting, 8mo. (October) 2, 1735. He took an active interest in the affairs of the growing Jersey city ; was one of a committee to build the Friends' Meeting House at Trenton in 1737;
54
MORRIS
was appointed by Governor Lewis Morris in 1739 Judge of the Hunterdon County Courts, a position he vainly sought to be relieved from; was one of the first Council of the city of Trenton at its incorporation in 1746, and four years later was unanimously chosen by the Governor and Council for a position in the Council, but was never commissioned. His wife Sarah died August 26, 1750, in her fifty-sixth year, having been born 12mo. 26, 1694. He married (second) November 2, 1752, Rebecca, daughter of John and Martha Cadwalader, sister of Hannah Cadwalader, who had married in 1737 his nephew, Samuel Morris. She died October 9, 1764, and he November 6, 1776.
Issue of William and Sarah (Dury) Morris :-
William Morris, b. Barbados, Oct. 18, 1719; m. Oct. 5, 1752, Rebecca Peters; Mary Morris, b. Barbados, May 30, 1721, d. June 5, 1721 ;
SARAH MORRIS, b. Barbados, Sept. 9, 1722, d. 1746; m. 8mo. (October) 1745, Joseph Richardson, of whom presently;
Mary Morris, b. Barbados, Dec. 15, 1724, d. Aug., 1726;
Anthony Morris, b. Oct. 31, 1727, d. March 10, 1804; m. Dec., 1746, Sarah Cramner ;
Mercy Morris, b. Trenton, N. J., June 9, 1731, d. Feb. 15, 1775; m. Dr. Horton ; Joseph Morris, b. Trenton, Nov. 25, 1733, d. Feb. 15, 1733-4;
Israel Morris, b. Trenton, April 13, 1738, d. April 3, 1818; m. (first) Feb. 19, 1761, Phoebe Brown; (second) Sarah Bond;
Joseph Morris, b. Trenton, July 19, 1739, d. Aug. 14, 1739.
JOSEPH RICHARDSON, who married, October, 1745, Sarah, eldest surviving daughter of William and Sarah (Dury) Morris, was a son of John and Ann Richardson, and was born at the family residence on Christiana creek, 10mo. (December) 6, 1706. His father had expected him to join him in the West India trade and had built him a house at Christiana, but he settled in Philadel- phia, where he became a prominent business man, filling many positions of trust and representing the city in the Colonial Assembly from 1763 to his death, No- vember 17, 1770. His wife, Sarah Morris, died about a year after her marriage and soon after the birth of their only child, and he never remarried.
SARAH RICHARDSON, only child of Joseph and Sarah (Morris) Richardson, born October II, 1746, died March 13, 1825; married, May 22, 1771, Nicholas, son of Nicholas and Mary (Shoemaker ) Waln, and grandson of Nicholas Waln, who came from Chapelcroft, near Settle, Yorkshire, and was a member of the first Provincial Assembly, 1682-3, and served for many years thereafter in the Assembly, first from Bucks county and later from Philadelphia. The descend- ants of Sarah Richardson Waln will be given in this volume under the head of Waln Family.
ANTHONY MORRIS, eldest son of Anthony and Phoebe (Guest) Morris, born in Philadelphia, February 14, 1705-6, on arriving at manhood became associated with his father in the brewing business, to which the father, owing to the multiplicity of his business interests, was able to give but little attention. Becom- ing interested in a business venture in the Barbados, he took a certificate from Philadelphia Monthly Meeting to the Monthly Meeting at Barbados, dated 12mo. (February ) 28, 1728-9, and remained on the Islands six months. Returning to Philadelphia, he again gave his attention to the brewing business, and became a partner with his father, December 10, 1741. He was a large land owner in Philadelphia and elsewhere, and like his father was actively associated with the
55
MORRIS
ยท
business and official life of the city, and held a high place in the social life of Philadelphia in the palmy days of her prosperity during the years preceding the war for independence. He maintained a city house and two country seats, one, "Peckham" in district of Southwark, and the other, "Solitude" in the same dis- trict, and numbered among his friends and associates the most aristocratic fami- lies in America. He was admitted a member of the "Colony in Schuylkill," May I, 1748, of which his son, Capt. Samuel Morris, was later a distinguished member and Governor for a long term of years. He was elected an Overseer of Public Schools, 8mo. 8, 1742, and resigned 2mo. 23, 1758, to be succeeded by his brother, Joseph Morris, and also served for a number of years as one of the city assessors. He was a contributor to Pennsylvania Hospital, 1751, of which his brother Joseph was one of the original managers. He was from the first a champion of the Colonies against the oppressive measures of the mother country, and a signer of the non-importation agreement, November 7, 1765. He and his second wife, Elizabeth, took an active interest in benevolent and philanthropic work in the city and elsewhere, and were members of the Society of Friends.
Anthony Morris died at his country seat, "Peckham", in Southwark, October 2, 1780, aged nearly seventy-five years. He married (first) 12mo., 1730, Sarah, born June 29, 1713, daughter of Samuel Powell, a rich builder, by his wife, Abigail Wilcox. She died April 10, 1751, and he married (second) April 30, 1752, Elizabeth, born February 20, 1721-2, daughter of William and Jane (Evans) Hudson, and granddaughter of William Hudson, member of Colonial Assembly and Mayor of Philadelphia, 1725-6, by his wife, Mary Richardson. Elizabeth Morris survived her husband, dying May 23, 1783.
Issue of Anthony and Sarah (Powell) Morris were :-
Anthony, b. Nov. 25, 1731, d. Feb. 28, 1732-3;
CAPT. SAMUEL, b. June 24, 1734, of whom presently ;
Deborah, b. Nov. 15, 1736; m. Sept. 8, 1756, John Franklin, of New York; died Nov. 23, 1787;
Anthony (Major), b. Oct. 8, 1738, killed at Princeton, Jan. 3, 1777;
Israel, b. April 6, 1741, d. Oct. 30, 1806; m. Mary Harrison ;
Sarah, b. July 2, 1743, d. Jan. 20, 1830; m. April II, 1771, William Buckley ;
THOMAS, b. Jan. 25, 1745-6; m. Mary Saunders, of whom later.
Issue of Anthony and Elizabeth (Hudson) Morris :-
William Hudson, b. March 10, 1753, d. Sept. 14, 1807; in. Sept. 5. 1776, Sarah Warder; Luke, b. April 10, 1760, d. March 20, 1802; m. May 9, 1786, Ann Willing;
Isaac, b. Nov. 28, 1761, "died the following week".
CAPTAIN SAMUEL MORRIS, eldest surviving son of Anthony and Sarah ( Pow- ell) Morris, born in Philadelphia, June 24, 1734, usually referred to on the early records as Samuel Morris Jr. to distinguish him from his uncle, Samuel Morris Sr., both being members of the Board of War during the Revolution, was one of the most prominent of this prominent family in public affairs. On January 8, 1750, he was apprenticed to Isaac Greenleafe, merchant, to serve until he attained his majority, a period of four years, five months and two weeks. Greenleafe had married as his second wife, Catharine, daughter of Caspar and Catharine (Jansen) Wistar, and through her their young apprentice was brought
56
MORRIS
in close association with her sister, Rebecca Wistar, whom he married only a few months after the close of his apprenticeship, December 11, 1755.
Samuel Morris was a keen sportsman, very fond of outdoor sports and an excellent horseman. He was an original member of the Colony in Schuylkill in 1748, was elected its governor in 1766, and served until his death, a period of forty-six years, being a member for sixty-four years. He was also a member of the "Society of Fort St. Davids", of which the membership was principally Welsh, of the "Order of Ancient Britons." The "Fort" was a building on the east bank of the Schuylkill, near the falls, where the members resorted to fish and feast and entertain their friends, it being principally a fishing club. Samuel Morris was also one of the most ardent members of the Gloucester Fox-Hunting Club, of which he was president from its organization, October 29, 1766, until his death forty-six years later. It was from this organization, composed of the aristocratic youths of Philadelphia, that he organized, November 17, 1774, the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse, of which he served many years as Captain, and which rendered such efficient service in the early days of the Revolutionary War. Twenty-two of its twenty-eight members being members of the Gloucester Fox-Hunting Club, it had its inception while the first Continental Congress was assembled in Philadelphia, and Abraham Markoe was elected its first Cap- tain; Andrew Allen, First Lieutenant; Samuel Morris, Second Lieutenant, and James Mease, Cornet. Their first flag, presented to them by Captain Markoe, and still a prized possession of the Troop, was the first known flag to contain thirteen stripes, and is thought to have suggested the adoption of the striped Union Flag at Cambridge, six months after the City Troop had escorted General George Washington, accompanied by Lee and Schuyler, to New York, when on his way to take command of the army at Cambridge, June 21, 1775. Captain Markoe had then resigned and Samuel Morris was unanimously elected as Cap- tain. Captain Samuel Morris and his brother, Major Anthony Morris, were the most ardent of patriots from the time of the earliest protest, the signing of the Non-importation Resolutions, October 25, 1765, the latter being one of the dele- gates to the Provincial Convention of July 15, 1774, eventually gave his life to the cause of liberty, being killed in the battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777.
Samuel was selected a member of the first Committee of Safety of the State, appointed by Assembly, June 30, 1775, and when this body was merged into the Council of Safety, he was elected a member of that body, July 24, 1776, but declined, preferring to give his attention to more active service. He was appointed by a resolve of the Committee of Safety, January 22, 1776, chairman of a com- mittee to survey the Jersey shore of the Delaware from Billingsport to Newtown creek, to determine what posts it would be necessary to fortify against any attempted invasion of the enemy. He interested himself in the equipment of and organization of the army and was energetic in completing the naval defenses of the city and blocking the channel of the Delaware. When the Hessians embarked from Staten Island, October, 1776, the Council of Safety ordered that a letter be sent to "Samuel Morris Junr. requesting him to send up the Ammunition Sloop and to supply himself with a shallop in her stead, to assist in making the Chevaux de Frize, at Billingsport." His City Troop was kept constantly drilled, and its services tendered to the government at the breaking out of hostilities, and it served as a body guard of General Washington through the campaign of 1776-7.
57
MORRIS
In November, 1776, several of the troop were at the headquarters at Morristown, New Jersey, and on report of General Howe's advance, the whole troop, under Captain Morris, joined Washington at Trenton, December 3, 1776, and marched with him to Princeton, and covering his retreat, five days later, were the last to cross the Delaware into Pennsylvania. On Christmas night, 1776, they re-crossed the Delaware in the storm and sleet, and participated in the historic battle of Trenton, several members of the troop distinguishing themselves by special acts of bravery, though this was the first time they had been under fire, in active ser- vice. On December 30, 1776, the troop again crossed the Delaware and marched with Washington to Trenton, where was fought the battle of Assunpink Creek; both of these battles being fought on land that had belonged for a half century to the Morris family. When Washington decided to move off during the night to Princeton, it was the City Troop who were selected to keep up the camp fires to divert suspicion from his movements and to follow him to Princeton, where they especially distinguished themselves, being at the front with Wash- ington when he drove the enemy over fields and fences. Here it was that Major Anthony Morris was killed in action.
After the battle of Princeton, the troop remained in headquarters at Morris- town, New Jersey, for about three weeks, and the campaign being over were honorably discharged, January 23, 1777, with the highest praise of General Washington, the letter of discharge being still in possession of the Morris family. This troop was the only cavalry in the Jersey campaign, and served entirely at their own expense. After its discharge, it, however, maintained its organization, and with its valiant captain took part in the battles of Brandywine and German- town, camped at Valley Forge, and served in the operations around Philadelphia, until the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British in June, 1778, and for the next two years was in the service of Congress and under State authority ; was again at Trenton in June, 1780, but the enemy having left the state, returned to Philadelphia and again received the thanks of Washington. The troop again received his thanks for services during the Whiskey Insurrection of 1794. The organization has been maintained to the present time, it being now known as "First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry." Captain Samuel Morris continued with Washington until the close of the Revolution, and was constantly employed as the bearer of confidential messages, and his troop was always held in readi- ness to perform special duty. Captain Morris was elected to the Provincial Assembly in 1776, and served in that body until February 21, 1777; was again elected to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth in 1781-82-83. He pos- sessed a strong but gentle personality, and was known as "Christian Sam." He died at his residence in Philadelphia, July 7, 1812, universally loved and lamented. His wife, Rebecca Wistar, had died January 22, 1791.
Issue of Captain Samuel and Rebecca (Wistar) Morris :-
Samuel, d. y. ;
Sarah, b. Jan. 19, 1758, d. Jan. 7, 1831; m. March 14, 1782; Richard Wistar ;
BENJAMIN WISTAR, b. Aug. 14, 1762, d. April 24, 1825; m. Nov. 24, 1785, Mary Wells, of whom presently ;
Caspar W., b. Sept. 12, 1764, d. Feb. 27, 1828; m. Nov. 24, 1795, Elizabeth Giles ; Anthony, b. Feb. 10, 1766, d. Nov. 3, 1860; m. May 13 1790, Mary Smith Pemberton;
LUKE W., b. June 25, 1768, d. June 4, 1830; m. March 24. 1791, Elizabeth Morris Buckley ; (second) April 4, 1800, Ann Pancoast; see forward;
58
MORRIS
Isaac W., b. July 19, 1770, d. May 8, 1831; m. 12mo. 17, 1795, Sarah Paschall; Catharine W., b. April 22, 1772, d. Dec. 10, 1859, unm .;
Samuel, b. March 4, 1775, d. Sept. 17, 1793, of yellow fever;
Israel Wistar, b. Feb. 27, 1778, d. Aug. 17, 1870; m. 6mo. 12, 1799, Mary Hollingsworth.
BENJAMIN WISTAR MORRIS, eldest son of Capt. Samuel and Rebecca (Wistar ) Morris, born at Philadelphia, August 14, 1762, married at Market street Meet- ing, Philadelphia, November 24, 1785, Mary, born at Burlington, New Jersey, September 4, 1764, daughter of Richard and Rachel (Hill) Wells, and about 1800 removed with his family from Philadelphia to Tioga county, Pennsylvania, where the town of Wellsborough was named for Mrs. Morris, and her brother, Gideon H. Wells, and where they were among the earliest settlers. Benjamin Wistar Morris died at Wellsborough, April 24, 1825, and his wife, November 6, 1819. They had issue :-
SAMUEL WELLS, b. Sept. 1, 1786, d. May 25, 1847, of whom presently ; Sarah, b. Sept. 2, 1788, d. May 18, 1862; m. Aug. 5, 1804, Jacob Shoemaker Waln ; Rebecca, b. Dec. 23, 1789, d. Dec. 8, 1871; m. July II, 1810, William Cox Ellis ; Richard Wells, b. Feb. 18, 1791, d. Oct. 4, 1791.
The Wells family, from which Mary (Wells) Morris was descended, traces back to John, Lord Wells, of Alford, 1380, whose son, Lord Wells, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1433, and a lineal descendant was Anthony Wells, Cap- tain of York Castle, 1635. His son, Anthony Wells, "of Cottness on the River Ouse, near Howden," had a son Nathaniel, buried at York, 1734, who married, August 13, 1693, Abia Burden, died 1735, and had issue :-
Anthony, b. Oct. 2, 1694, d. Oct. 2, 1746; m. July 5, 1723, Abia Dickinson, b. June 4, 1703, d. July 2, 1743; Elizabeth, b. Feb. 22, 1695-6;
Gideon, M. D., b. March 3, 1700, d. 1759; married at London, Oct. 2, 1730, Mary Partridge, b. Feb. 26, 1707, d. 1789, dau. of Richard Partridge, of London, agent at the court of Great Britain for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
Richard Wells, son of Dr. Gideon Wells, born July 22, 1734, at Cutthorp, Eng- land, came to America, 1750, and settled in Philadelphia; married, April 17, 1759, Rachel Hill, born April 2, 1735, died Philadelphia, May 17, 1796, daughter of Dr. Richard and Deborah ( Moore) Hill, a descendant of Alfred the Great, through her great-grandfather, Thomas Lloyd, President of Provincial Council, 1684, Deputy Governor of Pennsylvania, 1691-3. Children of Richard and Rachel (Hill) Wells were:
Richard, b. June 10, 1760, d. June 29, 1760;
Samuel Preston, b. July 7, 1763, d. Aug. 29, 1763; Mary, b. Burlington, N. J., Sept. 4, 1764; married Benjamin W. Morris; Gideon Hill, b. Sept. 20, 1765; m. May II, 1790, Hannah Waln;
Henry, b. 1766, d. 1767;
Hannah, b. Nov. 10, 1767, died, Philadelphia, June 29, 1796;
William Hill, b. Jan. 7, 1769; m. Oct. 9, 1790, Elizabeth, daughter of Gen. John Dag- worthy, of New Jersey, later of Delaware.
SAMUEL WELLS MORRIS, eldest son of Benjamin W. and Mary (Wells) Morris, born in Philadelphia, September 1, 1786, died at Wellsborough, Tioga
59
MORRIS
county, Pennsylvania ; was educated at Princeton, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of Tioga county, where he practiced for some years ; became Judge of the District Court, September 4, 1837, and served until March 3, 1841. He was one of the founders of Wellsborough Academy, where his children were edu- cated, and was a man of considerable prominence in that section. He married at Muncy, Pennsylvania, Meeting, December 5, 1810, Anna, born May 7, 1791, died at Germantown, Philadelphia, January 26, 1858, daughter of William and Mercy (Cox) Ellis, granddaughter of Benjamin and Ann (Swaffer) Ellis, great- granddaughter of Ellis Ellis, born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, who married Lydia Humphrey, and great-great-granddaughter of Thomas Ellis, Register General of the Province of Pennsylvania, July 28, 1687, to July 25, 1689.
Issue of Judge Samuel Wells and Anna (Ellis) Morris :-
WILLIAM ELLIS MORRIS, b. Jan. 29, 1812, d. Oct. 15, 1875; m. May 7, 1839, Mary Nancy Burnside, of whom presently ;
Mary Wells Morris, b. 1813, d. Oct., 1896; m. 1834, James Lowrey ;
Sarah Ellis Morris, b. Oct. 14, 1815, d. Jan. 4, 1898; m. Nov. 2, 1836, Joseph P. Morris; Susan Marriott Morris, b. July 29, 1817, d. Sept. 3, 1891; m. May 4, 1841, John W. Guernsey ;
Benjamin Wistar Morris, D. D., Bishop, b. May 30, 1819; d April 7, 1906; m. June 22, 1852, Hannah Rodney ;
Rachel Wells Morris, b. 1821, of Portland, Ore .; d. August 30, 1906;
Ellen, b. 1823; d. 1885; m. 1846, Judge Henry Booth, LL. D .;
Charles Ellis Morris, b. 1825, d. 1883; m. 1851, Elizabeth Holstein Amies;
Anna Ellis Morris, b. Aug. 28, 1827; m. Aug. 3, 1853, George R. Barker ;
Louisa Morris, b. 1829, d. 1864, unm .;
Samuel Wells Morris Jr., b. 1835; m. 1863, Charity Payntar.
WILLIAM ELLIS MORRIS, eldest son of Judge Samuel Wells and Anna (Ellis) Morris, born at Muncy, Pennsylvania, January 29, 1812, received an academic education, and at the age of sixteen years left his parents' home at Wellsborough, Pennsylvania, to accept the lowest position in an engineering party, having in charge the building of canals in Western Pennsylvania. He rose rapidly in his chosen profession and became first assistant engineer of the West Branch Canal Company, later Engineer-in-chief of Bald Eagle Canal Company, and was ap- pointed by Gov. David R. Porter, one of the State Engineers of the Canal Com- mission. He became very eminent in his profession and constructed many im- portant works, among them the reservoirs at Hollidaysburg, Spring Garden Water Works at Philadelphia, Water Works at Athens, Schenectady, Rondout and Oswego, New York, Vicksburg and Meridian, Mississippi, as well as erecting works and improvements at Morristown and Trenton, New Jersey, Easton, Bristol and Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware. In January, 1843, he was called to the presidency of Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad Company, which position he filled for ten years and then was elected president of the Long Island Railroad Company, where he also served ten years, and was then made Vice-president and Acting President of the New York and Harlem Railroad Company, but at the end of one year failing health induced him to resign, and he returned to Germantown in 1864, and was employed as consulting engineer and in erecting various water works and other municipal improvements until his death. In June, 1875, he was nom- inated by the Franklin Institute and appointed by Mayor of Philadelphia as one
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.