NOTE: The following article was published in The Schuylerite (Schuyler County IL), Summer 2015.
By Dann M. Norton with
Denise Hardnack
The Father of Edward P. and Henry W. Morris, sons of
Sarah Wolfe Morris of Sussex County, Delaware, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The genealogy researcher is a person who relentlessly
digs into the past until that elusive grandfather or grandmother’s maiden name
is found. Some searches can take years,
even decades, to find and prove. Proof
is sometimes lacking—what evidence does one need to prove a connection?
In today’s Internet world, a lot of records have been
transcribed and digitized. Some new
researchers may think that all the available records are online and ready to be
found—and if it is not located at a website, that it must not exist. But even in our digital age, nothing beats
the tried-and-true method of going to the records repository—the courthouse,
the archives, the library—and pulling out dusty old oversized volumes or
cranking through pages of microfilm to find a name, or a tidbit of fact to
prove or dispel a connection.
Denise Hardnack of Turnersville, New Jersey is a
researcher who will not give up. Denise
shares ancestry with me on the Morris family.
Denise descends from Henry W. Morris, born May 14, 1827 in Sussex
County, Delaware, who grew up and lived in Philadelphia. I descend from Henry’s brother, Edward P.
Morris, born September 7, 1821 in Sussex County, and also moved to
Philadelphia, where he followed the trade of Ship’s Carpenter.
Edward P. Morris married, first, Christianne Clymer
and, second, Ophelia Davis. He fathered
13 children, one of those being Edward Page Morris, Jr., born in 1846 in
Philadelphia. This younger Edward was in
Co. C, 19th Pennsylvania Cavalry in the Civil War. After the war, for some unknown reason, he
moved to the Midwest, settling in Schuyler County, Illinois, near the border
with Fulton County. He married Nancy
Lynnia Aten. One brother, Genera W.
Morris, lived with Edward and Nancy during the time of the 1880 census. Edward died in 1913, and his obituary stated
that he was one of 13 children.
Henry W. Morris married Sarah E. Maull. He was a Pump and Block Maker. He had the following children, including one
with an unusual name, Endless: Henry W.,
Jr., Endless, Joseph M., Ida E., Samuel M., Edward M., George L., Mary E.,
Hetty, Theodore T., Alfred D., Laura, Eva and John L. Morris.
I started my research in 1984 as a high school
project for Mr. Tucker’s science class at Rushville (now Rushville-Industry)
High School. In the late 80s, I visited
my grandfather’s uncle, Eddie Morris, and asked him questions about the
family. He mentioned the work of a man
in Philadelphia named Karstein or Karstien.
Later, a visit to another cousin, Doris Morris Jones, would reveal
letters and research by H. W. Karstien.
This information had been passed around to other relatives. It gave some detailed information on the
ancestry of the Morris family, including the name of the mother of Edward P.
Sr, and Henry W. Morris. She was Sarah
Wolfe Morris, daughter of William Wolfe, Esq.
Of Lewes and Rehoboth, Sussex County, Delaware. This was proven by the July 4, 1818 will of
William Wolfe, and further confirmed by the 1867 will of Sarah’s brother,
William B. Wolfe of Philadelphia. There
was no name for the father.
Usually, in genealogy, the name of the father is easy
to confirm, but a mother’s name, especially the maiden name, might be lost to
descendants. It was strange not to know
the father—wasn’t there a marriage record?
In the early 2000s, other genealogists began tackling
the mystery of the husband of Sarah Wolfe Morris. A man named Frank Morris, of Philadelphia,
stated that his mother had a deed for land of a Joshua Morris, naming sons
Jacob, Joshua, and James. He believed
that Sarah was married to the younger Joshua.
Some people have listed such on their online family trees without proof.
About the same time, another researcher descended
from Kitty Morris Spicer, knew Kitty had a brother Edward P. Morris of Sussex
County, Delaware. They were the children
of Joshua Morris and Zipporah McCaulley.
Could it be that Sarah was a first or second wife to this Joshua? This almost lined out, except for the fact
that both Zipporah and Sarah were alive and well in the 1850 censuses. I even considered that Sarah was a mistress,
but that seemed a little far-fetched given the time period and her father’s
standing in the Lewes community. In the
1850 census were actually two men named Edward P. Morris: one, in Philadelphia,
was married to a Christianne (my ancestor); the other, in Sussex County,
Delaware was married to Ellen (he’s the son of Joshua and Zipporah). This cleared up the problem with the Joshua
and Zipporah connection, and we did not have his father’s name yet.
Back to the land deed by Frank Morris—the information
was sketchy, until Denise Hardnack got on the case. Denise found the original deeds and the will
for the owner, Joshua Morris. This
Joshua was married twice, his second wife and widow was named Patience. He had young children, Joshua and Nancy, and
they were to be cared for by an older brother Jacob. This will was dated March 17, 1806. One of the papers in the estate says,
“…Joshua, who is not yet seven years old.”
That puts Joshua, the son, born about 1799. Sarah Wolfe Morris was born in 1789—would she
have married a much younger man?
Continued research into the land records made a
marriage to Joshua more unlikely.
However, two deeds were located that listed Jacob Morris and his wife,
Sally Morris. Sally is a nickname for
Sarah; Sarah Wolfe Morris was called “Sally” in the 1850 census of
Philadelphia. Was Jacob Morris the
husband of Sarah, and thus the father of her four sons—Edward P., Charles A.,
Henry W., and William W.? Questions
remained!
Other researchers had noticed the unusual combination
of Endless Morris in some early Sussex County records. There was a man named Endless or Inless
Morris. His August 29, 1777 birth was
recorded in Indian River Hundred, and he was christened the same year at St.
George’s Protestant Episcopal Church. He
was married to a Polly Jones on July 1, 1798, according to early church
records. “Inless” and Polly were mentioned in the February 23, 1800 will of Polly’s
mother, Mary Jones. He was listed in the
1800 census and in tax records. He was
in the War of 1812. AND, on January 21,
1821, he married “Sarrah” Morris. Who
was she? Was she our Sarah? This did not seem to work because we know
that Sarah Wolfe Morris was married before 1818 because she was called Morris
in her father’s will. There was really
no telling if this other Sarrah Morris was a single woman or a widow. A check of the actual bond shed no light on
the subject, but the timing certainly seemed off. Additionally, there were references in online
message boards that Endless and Sarah had divorced in 1832. That was intriguing, as 1821-1832 fit roughly
with the time period for the births of Sarah’s boys, but… still no
confirmation. The message board said
there were no details about the divorce.
Denise Hardnack doesn’t give up, though! She located a will which named Endless Morris
as a legatee—his parents were Joshua and Nancy, which we knew from the
baptismal record. From the will, we knew
that Endless had a brother, Isaiah.
Through additional research, it was learned that Isaiah is the father of
Joshua Morris who married Zipporah McCaulley.
Denise has spent almost two years carefully searching
the books and microfilm at the Delaware Archives, the Historical Society of
Pennsylvania, and the Edward H. Nabb Research Center. Her charts and notes have been invaluable
resources for me. Try as I might, I
could not make a connection with anyone to definitely confirm who the husband
of Sarah Morris was. Denise kept at the
search and on Friday, September 5, 2014, she made a discovery that named the
father of Sarah Wolfe Morris’s sons, absolutely and without doubt!
As such, in genealogy, you might be on the right
track without even knowing it. The
nagging question about the marriage and divorce of Endless and Sarah Morris
kept at Miss Hardnack. Together we
learned that divorce, in 1830s Delaware, was a state issue, not a county
issue. One had to petition the state
legislature to be given a divorce. All
that was available online was a notation that Sarah Morris was granted a
divorce from Endless Morris. The
message board post that stated “there were no details” was wrong, but even
Denise had been told a year ago that the divorce records could not be
viewed. BUT they could be viewed, and
there were great details in them.
Without doubt, Sarah Wolfe Morris was married to a
Mr. Morris (probably Jacob, son of Joshua d. 1806) prior to 1818. Jacob Morris disappears from tax records
after 1813, and is assumed to have died without issue. Then Sarah married Endless Morris, a widower
and veteran of the War of 1812. They had
a son soon after the marriage—Edward P. born. September 7, 1821. They had two more sons—Charles A. and Henry
W.—and moved to Philadelphia. Endless
fell on hard times, or for other reasons, becomes abusive and neglectful. He disappeared leaving Sarah and her three
boys destitute. From the depositions, it
might be that Endless would show up from time to time to renew his relationship
with Sarah, or to harass and abuse her more.
She filed for divorce in 1831/32 to assure that the legacy her father
had left to her in 1818 would eventually come to her, and not fall into the
hands of her husband. Sometime after the
divorce, it seems she had one more child, William Wolfe Morris, born about
1834–This casts doubt on Endless being his actual father, but only DNA tests
of descendants would prove or disprove that.
From Sarah’s own hand, the first three sons are children of Endless Morris.
Checking all records, as a great researcher should,
Denise located the apprenticeship papers for Edward P. Morris and his brothers,
Charles A. and Henry W. Links to these
documents and instructions for ordering these records can be found at the Delaware
Public Archives “Collection Gateway,” http://archives.delaware.gov. Edward P. Morris was apprenticed to Samuel
Martin on 18 January, 1838, to learn the trade of Ship’s Carpenter. He was assigned to Martin until the age of 21
years, which was delineated on the document as four years, seven months, and 19
days. (Calculating this age, determines
that Edward P. Morris was born on 7 September, 1821
Descendants of Edward P. Morris, Charles A. and Henry
W. Morris now have an irrefutable answer to a question that is almost 100 years
old. Maybe Sarah threatened her sons
about mentioning the name of their deadbeat father. Maybe they remembered the abuse and just
never brought his name up. Whatever the
reasons, we know his name now: Endless
Morris, son of Joshua and Nancy, of Indian River Hundred.
The Divorce Papers of Sarah Wolfe Morris
Researched and found by
Denise Hardnack, Turnersville, NJ, 2014
Transcribed by Dann M.
Norton, Lawrenceville, IL, 2015
Roll # 45 Legislative Papers, Delaware, Jan 1832-Feb
1833
Frame 229 (Frame indicates the page on the microfilm)
An Act to divorce Sarah and Endless Morris
House of Representatives
Jan 5 1832, Reported and read
Jan 6, 1832, read 2nd time
Jan 9, 1832, read 3 time by paragraphs and passed the
House
J.R. Cooper Clk.
In Senate
Jany 9th 1832, Read
Read 2d time Jany 12, and committee Jany 23d reported
back—
Read 3d time by paragraphs and passed the Senate
J. H. Sparks, Clk
Frame 230
An act to divorce Sarah Morris and her husband Endless
Morris from the bonds of matrimony
Be it
enacted by the Senate and House of representatives of the State of Delaware in
General Assembly to wit that Sarah Morris of Sussex county and her husband
Endless Morris he and they are hereby divorced from the bonds of Matrimony any
law usage or custom to the Contrary notwithstanding.
Frames 404-407
No 4
Petition of Sarah Morris for Divorcement
House of Representatives
January 4 1832
Read and referred to
Messrs Houston, Canfrey, and Williamson
In Senate Jany 9th 1832
Read
To the Honorable Senate and House of Reprsentatives of
the State of Delaware,
The petition of the subscriber humbly showeth that she
was married to Endless Morris in Lewes in the State and lived with him for the
term of six years that she had three children by the said Morris during their
cohabitation all of whom are now living with your petitioner and depending on
her for support the eldest being ten years of age and all of them quite
helpless—that she removed to Philada with said Morris where he
became dissipated and worthless leaving her to struggle alone for the support
of herself and children as the accompanying letter of Mr. Elwell Trustee of the
Poor of that city sheweth—that she has been for four years past entirely
abandoned by her said Husband—that she is now residing at Lewes her native
place^where she has been living three years past and
comfortably supporting herself and children and she makes this application to
your honorable body that she may be divorced from the said Endless Morris and
she would respectfully state that the necessity is the more urgent inasmuch as
she has the prospect of heiring her share of her late fathers estate which will
come to her possession upon the death of her mother his widow who is now far
advanced in life and in ill health. And if it should come into possession of
said Morris she and her children would lose all benefit of said property.
In
corroboration of the foregoing statement of facts your petitioner submits the
names of several respectable citizens of Lewes and as in duty bound your
petitioner will ever pray.
Lewes, Dec 1st, 1831
Sally
Morris
We the subscribers do certify that the petitioner Mrs.
Sally Morris is well known to us that sh e is the daughter of the late Wm Wolfe
Esq, deceased who bequeathed her a share of his estate to be had by her on the
demise of his Widow her mother—that we believe her husband (if living) to be a
worthless man improvident and neglectful in the care of his family and that ^the
Statements made by her in the foregoing certificate or petition are in the main
true and correct.
Lewes Dec 1, 1821
Henry F. Rodney
Benj. McIlvain
Jacob Hickman
Peter Paynter
Robert Burton
Lewis West
David Walker
John M. West
George Kickman
Caleb Rooney
Wm. Futcher
Jacob A. Conwell
Wm A. Conwell
Asa Clifton
Danl. Rodney
Frame 408
Letter of Henry Elwell
Accompanying the Petition of Sarah Morris, praying a
bill of Divorce
In Senate
Jany 9th 1832
Read
Frame 410
Philada September 21st
1831
Mrs. Sarah Morris
In
accordance with my promise, when I saw you last at Lewestown, that I would
transmit you a communication for the purpose of certifying to all persons
Interested what I knew concerning the bad character of your Husband, I therefor
herein state that you, Sarah Morris, at the time I was guardian of the Poor for
the district of Southwark, in the County of Philada did receive
relief weekly form me, in that capacity; through which means I was enabled to
understand the character and perceive the conduct of your Husband, which,
together with his treatment at the time to you, I am compelled to say was not
only unmanly, but Brutal! In the extreme.
It is
therefore my candid opinion, that the guardian of the Poor at Lewistown or
whatsoever other place you may reside should protect you from his troublesome
and obnoxious visits, so far as it may be practicable for them to do, or else
compel him to assist to support you.
With
the hope that this may be productive of the desired effect It is submitted by
Yours,
Henry
Elwell
I do certify that I am intimately acquainted with Mr.
Elwell the author of the above and believe him to be a most worthy and
honorable man and entitled to full credence
Lewes, Dec 20 1831
H. F. Rodney
Dann M. Norton Genealogical Services 