William Morris (Virginia politician)
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William Morris Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the Kanawha County district | |
| In office 1792–1801 | |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Lewis Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1746 Orange County, Colony of Virginia |
| Died | 1802 Kanawha County, Virginia |
| Political party | Federalist |
| Spouse | Catherine Carroll |
| Occupation | Spy, military officer |
| Profession | Politician |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  Thirteen Colonies |
| Branch | Virginia Militia |
| Service years | 1774–1792 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Morris' Company of Rangers |
| Battles/wars | Lord Dunmore's War American Revolutionary War Northwest Indian Wars Whiskey Rebellion |
William Morris Jr. (December 17, 1746 – November 6, 1802) was a military officer and politician in Kanawha County, Virginia. Who, prior to serving in the Virginia House of Delegates, served in the Virginia Militia from 1774 - 1792 in the Greenbrier, Ohio, and Kanawha region alongside Daniel Boone, Colonel Andrew Lewis, George Clendenin, and William Crawford rising to the rank of Major.
Family[edit]
William Morris is the son of British born pioneer and merchant ship businessman, William Morris Sr and Elizabeth Stapp from Orange County, Virginia. Stapp was from a tobacco planter family and a descendant of William Powell. Morris Sr and Elizabeth Stapp had 10 children, eight sons and two daughters: William, Henry, Leonard, Joshua, John, Archillas Carroll, Levi, Elizabeth, Benjamin and Frances.
John Morris served as a Captain in the Virginia militia and is the father of US House of Representatives member Calvary Morris, and Thomas Asbury Morris.
Carroll Morris, a plantation owner, served as a Virginia politician in the House of Delegates representing Kanawha County in 1804 alongside David Ruffner[1] (father of Lewis Ruffner).
Leonard Morris served as a spy in the Revolutionary War, and a Justice and Sheriff of Kanawha County.
Benjamin Morris is a veteran of the Northwest Indian Wars, whose daughter Leah Morris married Captain John Harvey son of Civic leader, financier, and philanthropist Morris Harvey who the University of Charleston is named after.
Henry Morris married Mary Byrd, a former Shawnee captive from Fort Dinwiddie. Byrd was held in the same village as Simon Girty was before being released to Fort Pitt in 1764. Byrd's father who was killed during an Shawnee Indian raid in September 1756 served alongside Andrew Lewis who at the time was the Captain overseeing Fort Dinwiddie (or Byrd’s Fort). Mary’s brother, John Byrd Jr, also a former Shawnee captive, who later commissioned as a Captain in the Virginia Militia out of Greenbrier and serving under Colonel Lewis during the war. In 1792, Henry's two young daughters were murdered scalped by Indians and a white man alleging to be Simon Girty in Nicholas, Virginia.
Joshua Morris was a soldier and surveyor who accompanied Thomas Bullitt during his initial survey of the Kanawha valley in 1773.
Early life[edit]
When William was only four years old in 1749, George Washington, then a surveyor for the recently incorporated Culpeper County, conducted land surveys on tobacco plantations to include the properties of Morris, Stapp, Powell, and Moss.
William Morris, Jr., married Catherine Carroll on May 10, 1768 in Orange, Virginia. Carroll's father, William Carroll was a friend of William Morris Sr, who purchased several tracts of land from Lord Fairfax on July 21, 1749 which was surveyed by George Washington. Catherine's sister, Mary Carroll married John Alderson (surveyor). Carroll's father, William Carroll (1718 – June 5, 1759) was a friend of William Morris Sr, who purchased several tracts of land on Smith Creek in Augusta County from Lord Fairfax on July 21, 1749, which was surveyed by George Washington on June 28, 1749.[2] Catherine's sister, Mary Carroll, married Rev. John Alderson (March 5, 1738 - March 1821). Upon his death in 1759, William Carroll willed the proceeds of the sale of the 175-acre tract on Smith Creek go to his youngest daughters Catherine and Jane Carroll.
In Spring and Summer 1773, William's brother Joshua alongside his brother-in-law John Alderson go on Bullitt's expedition to Kanawha. Colonel John Field, a neighbor to the Morris's in Culpeper, William Jr and his brother John also accompanied the expedition but did not continue to scouting the Kentucky region upon reaching the Kanawha Valley. Field and the Morris's found Walter Kelley in the early stages of erecting a cabin. However, the Morris's left early to Greenbrier to relay the reports while Colonel Field remained with Kelly. Morris informed the garrison at Greenbrier and Lieutenant John Stuart of Kelly and Field's location. Shortly thereafter, John Stuart fled to the Kelly's Creek to warn of hostile Indian intelligence. Colonel Field believed the young Lieutenant was overreacting and told Kelly there was nothing to worry about. Shortly thereafter, Walter Kelly was killed.
In April 1774, Morris Sr. and family moved to where Kelly was killed and erected the first stockade[3] in the region upon the request of General Washington.[4] Where the Morris family became known as becoming the first permanent white settlement in the region. [5]
Military service[edit]
Upon learning about the attack against the Mingo and Shawnee chief Cornstalk, William and his brothers agreed to fight alongside Colonel Lewis in Lord Dunmore's War in the Battle of Point Pleasant in 1774.[6] William served under Major Robertson's Company, and was wounded during the battle after being struck by an arrow.[7]
Later, after the American Revolutionary War began William was commissioned as an officer in the Virginia Militia where he served in the Kanawha Valley, and Greenbrier County supporting General Andrew Lewis as a spy until 1792. In 1779, William was listed as holding the rank of Lieutenant. But eventually rose to the rank of Major by the end of the Indian Wars.
William led a company of spies whose primary mission was to track and report hostile Indian movements of the Mingo, Shawnee and Six Nations who aligned with the loyalists to include Simon Girty's aligned tribes who frequently attacked in the Kanawha, Ohio, and Kentucky regions. William served alongside his brother Leonard Morris, and John Jones (his brother in law) between the years 1778 - 1783 who were also spies.[8][9]
In March 1783, William commissioned John Young as a Lieutenant and assigned him as a spy. Lieutenant Young's principal role was to lead troops in surveilling, engaging, and reporting on Indian movements throughout the Greenbrier and Kanawha region. William's unit garrison was at Morris Fort (also known as Kelly's Post) from 1784 until 1786.[10]
Morris was promoted to Major in 1786, serving in the Northwest Indian Wars and Whiskey Rebellion in the Ohio.
Later life[edit]
In the October Session of 1794, William was appointed as a trustee of the newly incorporated town of Charleston (now the capital city of West Virginia) along with Ruben Slaughter, Andrew Donnally Sr, William Clendenin, John Morris, Leonard Morris, George Alderson, Abraham Baker, and John Young.
William took over for Daniel Boone as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for Kanawha County who held the post in 1791. From 1792 until 1801, William served in the House of Delegates as a member of the Federalist Party.[11][12]
After finishing his final term in 1801, William briefly became Sheriff of Kanawha County until his death in 1802 - replacing his brother Leonard Morris.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ Miller, J. L. (April 1901). List of Delegates to the Virginia Assembly from Kanawha County, from 1790 to 1863. Vol. 4 (4 ed.). Virginia Historical Society.
- ^ Carroll, William (1749). Colonial Virginia Land Northern Neck Grants G, p. 244 (Reel 292). Richmond, Virginia: The Library of Virginia. pp. 244 (Reel 292). Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ American Revolution, Daughter of the (March 19, 1922). "History of the First Settler to Locate in the Kanawha Valley". The Charleston Daily Mail. Newspapers.com. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Washington, George (March 30, 1774). "From George Washington to Valentine Crawford, 30 March 1774". National Archives. Princeton University. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
- ^ Laidley, William (1911). HISTORY OF Charleston and Kanawha County West Virginia AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS. Chicago, Illinois: RICHMOND-ARNOLD PUBLISHING CO. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Bruton, J. Makali. "Major William Morris Jr - In honor". The Historical Marker Database. 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Johnston, Ross B. (1977). West Virginians in the American Revolution. Baltimore: Genealogical Pub. Co. p. 205. ISBN 0-8063-0762-5.
- ^ Graves, William (December 26, 2006) [June 7, 1832; State of Tennessee, Marion County, Circuit Court presided over by honorable Charles F. Keith]. "Pension application of John Jones W373 Mary Jones" (PDF). Southern Campaigns Revolutionary War Pension Statements & Rosters. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Harris, C. Leon. "Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statement & Rosters" (PDF). Revolutionary War Applications. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Young, John (May 16, 1833). Revolutionary War Pension of 1833 of John Young (PDF) (1 ed.). Charleston, West Virginia: Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters. p. 3. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ Beeman, Richard (1972). The Old Dominion and the New Nation (PDF). University of Kentucky. p. 266. ISBN 978-0-8131-5117-5.
- ^ "Virginia House of Delegates". History Virginia House Members. Virginia House of Delegates Clerk's Office. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ Laidley, W.S. (January 1904). West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly (4 ed.). Charleston, West Virginia: West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society. p. 80. Retrieved 30 November 2021.