Dennis Morris

GEDCOM Note

Unconfirmed name, birth, immigration, and death info

"I can't give you very much information about your Grandfather Morris. I was small when I saw him not more than 8 or 9 years old. From what I learned later in life he was born in New Jersy [sic] but in month or year I can't tell. From what heritage I can't tell he came from it was often told to me that he was close related Robert Morris of Philadelphia who in time of the revolutionary war borrowed money on his account to carry on the revolutionary war. Whether we are related to him or not he was a great man in the time of the war but became involved and was imprisoned in jail for debt and it has been stated that he died in jail and that debt was for the money borrowed. You will find in the history of the revolutionary war more than I can tell you. You [sic] Grandfather Morris died about 1846 or at about 90 year of age. He left Pennsylvania about 64 years ago and never was back and one time and was 3 or 4 years after he went to Ohio." Source: Letter from Robert Morris to David Morris, 13 Dec 1885

George Harvey Elms, son of George Elms and Sarah Jones Elms, was born Feb. 22, 1863. He died June 27, 1947 and is buried in Greene Mount Cemetery, Waynesburg, Pa. He married (1) Eva Morris Oct. 18, 1894. She was born May 13. A daughter of Robert Morris and [space] Brown, a descendant of the pioneer, Peter Brown. She died Janaury 17, 1902. I wish here to insert this note about Aunt Eva's father. He was not the famous "Financier and Signer" of American Revolution as some relatives claim. Uncle Harvey told me that his father-in-law's father was Dennis Morris. He was much older than his wife. He never cared for children and Robert Morris was reared by the Millikens who lived between Sycamore and Nineveh. Dr. Milliken always considered Robert Morris as being one of the Milliken family. Although Uncle Harvey did state that Milliken told him when Robert Morris was a boy, he would get angry and would visit his Morris relatives at Blacksville, W. Va. This is a clue to his family. He also stated Dennis lived in Ohio until he reached the age of in his 90's. Aunt Eva's father was an excellent carpenter. It was he who worked years on the Main Hall of Waynesburg College. He and Dr. Miller were the best of friends. I hope to insert these Morris records in my Morris history later. Source: Laura Elms Morris, The Story of George and Sarah (Jones) Elms, self-published, p. 19, no place or date given, but Cicely Stewart cited the date as 1959. [Note: Laura Elms married Thomas Henry Morris, son of Andrew Jackson Morris and Missouri (Goodwin) Manis. This Morris family was not related to Robert Morris. Laura retired in 1959. See pp. 20-21 of her book.]

RESEARCH NOTES

I decided to see if I could find Robert Milliken/Millikin/Milligan in the US census, since Robert Morris said that he was bound to him before the age of 4. There was indeed a Robert Millikin in the 1820 census in Morris Township, Greene County, PA. There were two males living in his household under the age of 10, one of whom may have been our Robert. Next I looked at all the census images for Morris Township and the surrounding townships in Greene Co and found the following:

John Morris in Richhill Twp, 1 male 45+, 1 female 45+, 1 female 10-16. While the ages of the parents are in the right range, we're not aware of Robert having a sister.

John Morris in Franklin Twp, 1 male 26-44, 2 males under 10, 1 female 26-44, 3 females under 10, 1 female 10-15. These parents are probably too young to be the parents of our Robert. Robert thought he died in about 1846 at about the age of 90, making his year of birth around 1756. In addition, Robert Millikin was born about 1773 (he was 77 in the 1850 census), meaning he would have been over 45 in the 1820 census. Assuming he was a contemporary of Robert Morris' father, the elder Morris also would have been over 45.

John Morris in Jefferson Township, 1 male over 45, 1 male 16-25, 1 male 10-15, 1 male under 10, 1 female over 45, 2 females 16-25, 2 females 10-15, 1 female under 10 (12 total). While the ages of the parents are in the right range, there just seem to be too many family members. Surely if Robert Morris had come from such a large family, he would have mentioned it in his letters. All we know for sure is that he had a brother Jesse and possibly a brother Andrew.

Dennis Morris in Morris Township, 1 male over 45. I am inclined to believe that he is a very good candidate to be Robert's father because his age is in the right range, he was living without any children, and he lived in the same township as Robert Millikin. I have seen a source, (Cicely Stewart, citing Morris, Laura Elms, "The Story of George and Sarah (Jones) Elms," 1959), who believed Robert's father was Dennis. Intriguingly, there was a Dennis Morris who arrived in Philadelphia in 1812 from Ireland; Robert Millikin was also from Ireland. This isn't enough to be considered proof, but it certainly gives us a hypothesis to check. By the way, Dennis Morris disappears after the 1820 census. There was a Dennis Morris in the 1840 census in Ohio, but he was only in his 30s, so he wouldn't have been old enough.

Laura Elms Morris (see sources) thought his name might have been Dennis. Celia Gdovin Riggle said, "I believe that Robert Morris's father was named Dennis.  Even many years ago that was said.  Somewhere I read that they thought his father had ties in West Virginia" (email to Keith Riggle, Re: Possible Father of Robert Morris, 25 Jun 2012).

22 Jan 2013

I don't know if Robert Morris was actually bound over to Robert Milliken as an indentured servant or apprentice or not. It certainly sounds like he was, since he said he served his time out with him until he was 21. I did a little research on indentured labor at Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentured_servitude_in_Pennsylvania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indenture

I've copied some pertinent passages here:

Those under the age of twenty-one needed the consent of even higher officials, as well as the approval of his/her guardians. Most immigrant children "sold" by their parents were registered in Pennsylvania as "apprentices," with only a small portion being labeled as "servants." Certainly, apprenticeship and servitude differed in that the former required some sort of education. Although indentured servant contracts could stipulate the provision of "instruction," this condition was not necessary. Yet, the boundary between child apprenticeship and servitude could prove quite ambiguous. Child servant contracts were sometimes converted to apprenticeships, and vice versa, upon "assignment" (or resale). In some cases children recorded as apprentices actually found themselves laboring in the fields instead of receiving the stipulated training. Whether a servant or apprentice, children usually held contracts that lasted until their reaching an age of maturity, twenty-one/two for males and eighteen for females. . . .

Pennsylvanian law established regulations for indentured servants without contracts. "Every such Servant being seventeen years of age or upwards, shall serve five years; And all those who shall be under seventeen years, of age, shall serve till they Come to the age of twenty-two." Masters of these indentured servants were required to "bring such Servant or Servants within three months time after their arrival before said Courts to be adjudged."

So there may or may not have been a written contract between Robert Milliken and Mr. Morris, but maybe there is a court record of Robert Morris' release from his indenture when he turned 21 in 1837. Still, since Robert Milliken essentially became Robert Morris' guardian in 1820, it seems there ought to be a record of that.

I did some research on the laws that were in effect 1810-1820, and it seems that parents could bind their children over only for an apprenticeship, which meant they had to learn a skill or trade. Perhaps that's how Robert Morris learned to be a carpenter. I've attached the relevant pages from the Laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Volume 1 (http://books.google.com/books?id=IgJCAAAAYAAJ).

A search of Deeds for Morris and Milliken might be fruitful, since an indenture is a type of deed. Candice Buchanan searched the Deeds indexes in Greene County for any records listing both Robert Milliken and a Morris but found nothing. The indenture may not have been filed with a court. There should have been two copies, one for each party. It might have been passed down in one of the families, but if Robert had a copy, you would think he would have mentioned it in one of his letters to David. I can't imagine anyone in the Milliken family would have kept it.

A search of church records for a Morris-Milliken connection might be useful. They should have been of the same religion for Mr. Morris to bind his son to Mr. Milliken (see p. 85 of the Pa. Laws extract). See below for results of a search of Quaker records.

23 Jan 2013

Since Emaline Mills, wife of Robert Morris, came from a Quaker family, the Morrises may also have been Quaker. Here are some Quaker Meetings to research:

Westland Monthly Meeting, Centerville, PA. The Morrises were not likely to attend there, as it was in northwestern Pennsylvania.

Redstone Monthly Meeting (later a Quarterly Meeting), near Brownsville, PA, on the border between Fayette and Washington Counties. The meeting-house was on Two-Mile Creek in East Bethlehem Township. It was the repository for many years for certificates of families moving from Pennsylvania to Ohio. "This society of the "Westland Friends" or "Westland Monthly Meeting" held its last meeting and disbanded in 1864, the members being transferred to Salem Monthly Meeting, Ohio, the nearest meeting of the Quaker Society." Creigh, Alfred: History of Washington County (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, Pub., 1870, 71), p. 165.

Pike Run Meeting House, West Pike Run Township, Washington County, PA. Fallowfield Meeting-house, Allen Township, Washington County, PA. These two meeting houses were sold in 1858. The deed stated that the Westland Monthly Meeting, under which these meeting houses fell, was a branch of and in Unity with Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends in Unity and Epistolary Correspondence in America.

Wheeling Meeting House, East Finley Township, Washington County, PA.

See Robert Morris Sources folder for detailed info.

Searched Encyclopedia of American Quaker genealogy, Vol. 4, by William Wade Hinshaw (https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/show?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fcatal...). This volume covers Westland and Redstone MMs. Found no Dennis or Robert Morris or Robert Milligan. It seems highly unlikely that the Morrises would have been Quaker. Abel Mills, Emaline's father, was disowned by the Westland Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends on 27 Apr 1820 for marrying contrary to discipline, which meant that the couple, both Quakers, chose to be married by the Justice of the Peace or a clergy from another religion thereby "by-passing meeting." Catherine Ulery is not listed as a member, and I doubt if she was, since she was of German descent. I don't know what other church records in Morris Township we could check for a birth record for Robert, but they may be our last hope of finding his father.

These records were abstracted by Gilbert Cope: Records of Westland Monthly Meeting of Friends, Washington County, Pennsylvania, FHL film 387921.

11 Feb 2013

Churches

Waynesburg

Waynesburg Methodist Episcopal Church Cumberland Presbyterian Church; had branches in Jefferson, Carmichaels, Clarksville, Muddy Creek, Jacksonville, Ninevah, Ten Mile, West Union, Clay Lick, and Hewitts; Jefferson was the first one established, in 1831 Waynesburg Baptist Church Presbyterian Church of Waynesburg, with branches at Greensboro, Jefferson, Carmichaels, Harvey's (Unity Church) Waynesburg Catholic Church

Morris Township

Cumberland Presbyterian Church - Ninevah, 1850 Bate's Fork Baptist Church - near Washington Township, 1842 Beulah Baptist Church - near Washington County line, 1823 Methodist Episcopal Church - Ninevah, 1881

Richhill Township

Unity Presbyterian Church - Harveys, 1814; David Gray was one of the first elders (Mary Milliken, wife of Robert Milliken, was his daughter). Building was destroyed by fire in 1880.

28 Feb 2013

The death certificate for Jesse Morris lists his parents as Andrew Morris, birthplace unknown, and unknown Fisher, birthplace Pennsylvania. The informant was Jesse's wife, Lurania.

Searched the 1810 and 1820 US Census for Andrew Morris but found none in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

Robert Morris, the signer of the Declaration, owned almost 41,000 acres of land in what is now Greene County, including large portions of Aleppo, Richhill, Jackson, Springhill, Gilmore, Jefferson, and Center Townships. There were at least 75 titles in his name. Source: Howard Louis Leckey, The Tenmile Country and Its Pioneer Families, Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009, pp. 360, 361, http://books.google.com/books?id=UM7gBFLDzvkC

13 Apr 2013

Searched http://beta.worldcat.org/archivegrid/ for "robert milliken," "milliken robert," "robert millikin," and "millikin robert" but found nothing.

28 Apr 2014 Scanned "Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1790," by John B. Linn and William H. Egle, for entries with a male Morris and female Fisher, but found nothing.

1 Aug 2015 - Not listed in “Ohio Wills and Estates to 1850, an Index”

16 Oct 2015 - Perused the “Morris Township, Greene CO PA, Tax Book 1800-1819” but the only Morris I found was a Bazal Morris in 1799-1800.

6 Feb 2017 - Searched Pennsylvania, Land Warrants and Applications, 1733-1952 at Ancestry.com for any Morris in Greene County 1790-1810 but found nothing.