yesterday's tennessee

CHANCERY ADDENDA IV
LOCATON OF THE HENRY MORRIS FARMS

Jonathan Kennon Thompson Smith

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HENRY MORRIS had settled in Civil District 9 of Henderson County by 1836 in which year and also in 1837 he appears in the tax list with no land but with paying a poll tax. He may have been occupying land that he later cleared with a state land grant. He and his family are listed in the 1840 U.S. census of this county, page 352; he is the male, aged 30-40; a female, aged 20-30; two males and one female under five years and a male and a female aged 5-10 years. In a letter dated April 11, 1841 of DAVID DAVIS who lived in Civil District 9 to his son, GREEN DAVIS, of Union Parish, Louisiana, he mentions at least nine deaths, due perhaps chiefly to typhoid fever, in the community since the past summer. Among those who died in 1840 were "Henry Morarrias wife and two children"(typescript letter furnished by Brenda K. Fiddler).

In the 1850, October 28, U.S. Census of Civil District 9, Henderson County, Tennessee, page 178, HENRY MORRIS and his family were definitely living just east or northeast of present-day Wildersville. The family's enumerated listing: HENRY MORRIS, age 45, North Carolina; PIETY MORRIS, age 35, North Carolina; BENJAMIN MORRIS, age 18, Tenn.; AMANDA MORRIS, age 8, Tenn.; SIVONIA MORRIS, age 6, Tenn.; ROBERT H. MORRIS, age 4, Tenn., FELIX W. MORRIS, age 3, Tenn.

HENRY MORRIS died on the family farm in Civil District 9 and he was buried thereon, on a small ridge and others of his family had apparently been buried there previously, their graves marked with fieldstones. To reach the location of this graveyard, from Highway 22 at Parkers Cross Roads turn east onto Wildersville Road, drive over it three miles east, through Wildersville, to Yuma Road; turn north on this road and drive north/northeast 3.5 miles to Morris Cemetery Road (now known as Sandy Hollow Road); turn east on this road and drive .4 mile to a wooded ridge on the north side of the road; walk about 100 feet along the ridge to the Morris family burial ground just beyond which is a large clearing covered in vinca, marking a black cemetery, now abandoned.

Perhaps in seeking a healthier location, PIETY MORRIS and her family soon moved to a 225 acre farm in Civil District 18 several miles southeast of Wildersville. Their residence, ostensibly a log dwelling, stood on sandstone rocks that would have been hauled from further east to their homeplace on Sulphur Fork, a tributary of Cub Creek. The family garden was sited near the house along with outhouses and orchard(s). Just to the north was a small wooded ridge, really a lovely landscape. A spring bubbled up from the earth just to the east of the house from which the Morrises got their water supply.

PIETY MORRIS continued to live on this farm until her death. In the 1865 federal direct tax of the county, her land, 225 acres, were listed in Civil District 18 (page 524). After her death in 1877 the disposition of her real property was handled in Chancery Court. The seventh volume of the minutes of that court reveal that on March 30, 1881 the Court accepted the sale of the Morris land as follows (pages 272-274):

A son-in-law, RICHARD WILLIAMS, bought two tracts, 106 acres that HENRY MORRIS had purchased from JOHN HILL and a 50 acre tract. JOHN C. JOHNSON, a neighbor, bought a 52 acre tract which included and excluded the MORRIS family graveyard (3/4 of an acre) and a 19 acre tract that HENRY MORRIS had purchased from ELISHA HILL. These tracts had been laid out separately in the Morris farm and surveyed by JOHN H. DAY, county surveyor, bearing the date of November 19, 1878.

The $810 in the estate sales were distributed, $232.03 to a son, FELIX W. MORRIS; $74.36 to RICHARD WILLIAMS, guardian of GECOVIA WILLIAMS, a Morris grandson; $57.66 to a daughter, AMANDA P. DODD; $16.70 to JOHN C. JOHNSON, guardian of STANLEY DODD's children; $128.15 in legal fees; amounts due from Morris estate for reasons not stated, $43.25 to estate of WILLIAMSON KING and $57.66 to RICHARD WILLIAMS as assignee of a Mrs. GRIGGS. These disbursements were accepted by the Court on April 1, 1881. (Chancery Minute Book 7, pages 305-307)

 

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In Henderson County Guardian Record, 1861-1892, pages 296, 365, AMANDA DODD's children's names are given as ALBERT, JENNIE and ROBERT DODD.

In settling PIETY MORRIS' estate, STEPHEN HOLLOWELL allowed disbursements of $207.23 each to AMANDA P. DODD, FELIX W. MORRIS and GECOVIA WILLIAMS. (Henderson County Administrators Settlement Record, 1867-1881, page 406)

FELIX W. MORRIS was a son of HENRY MORRIS in his second set of children. In the former's family Bible, owned by ARNETT HENDRIX (1906-1994) who lived near Holladay, Tennessee, was a family register and contained HENRY MORRIS' family record as well as those of his son and this son's wife's MAXWELL connections. HENDRIX sent a transcript of this registry to ANN VALNER CUNNINGHAM of Lavina, Tennessee, July 23, 1984 which she has shared with the present writer and the readers of this account. It read:

HENRY MORRIS born May 18, 1805; died October 3, 1851
Married CHINY G. FOUSTER [Foster], January 28, 1830. She was born May 18, 1810 [sharing the same month and day of birth as her husband]
Their children:
JOHN B. MORRIS, born Dec. 1, 1830; died July 8, 1880
BENJAMIN F. MORRIS, born May 11, 1832; died October 9, 1879
MARTHA J. MORRIS, born Sept. 14, 1835; died Aug. 20, 1840
MARY A. F. L. MORRIS, born Feb. 11, 1837; died Nov. 16, 1903; married LUNDS GRIGGS
WILLIAM H. MORRIS, born Jan. 22, 1839; died Aug. 22, 1840

HENRY MORRIS married second to PIETY COZORT, December 29, 1841
Their children:
AMANDA T. MORRIS, born Oct. 5, 1842; died January 5, 1918
SEVONA M. MORRIS, born June 16, 1844; died Oct. 18, 1864
ROBERT HILL MORRIS, born May 23, 1846; died Aug. 20, 1856
FELIX W. MORRIS, born April 23, 1848; died Apr. 26, 1912
ELIZABETH G. MORRIS, born Aug. 17, 1850; died Oct. 15, 1873

PIETY COZORT MORRIS born. July 11, 1815; died August 11, 1877

Marriage of FELIX W. MORRIS, Henderson County, Tenn. to
ELISA A. MAXWELL of Henderson County, Tenn. 24th Feb. 1870 at the residence [of her parents]
Their children:
1. JOSIE A. MORRIS, March 26, 1871-March 9, 1940; married WILLIAM H. COBLE, July 12, 1897
2. ROBERT BELA MORRIS, August 31, 1873-June 22, 1940; married RETTA KING
3. CALLIE FRANCIS MORRIS, Aug. 20, 1875-July 24, 1927; married E. E. JORDAN
4. DELLA ELIZABETH MORRIS, Aug. 6, 1878-Dec. 6, 1948; married HARVEY SKYLER JORDAN
5. MARY EVA MORRIS, April 8, 1880-March 15, 1965; married THOMAS ALBERT HENDRIX, July 1904 [parents of ARNETT HENDRIX, last known owner of the old MORRIS Bible ]
6. JAMES FULTON MORRIS, Sept. 3, 1884-July 27, 1968; married VIRGINIA RUTH BAILEY, April 7, 1918

AMANDA MORRIS married STANLEY DODD
SEVONA MORRIS married HENRY BOWMAN
FELIX MORRIS married ELISA A. MAXWELL
ELIZABETH MORRIS married RICHARD WILLIAMS

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FELIX W. MORRIS and his family lived in various locations in southern Carroll County and extreme north Henderson County. His official military record shows that he enlisted at the age of fifteen years, April 24, 1863 in Lexington in C Company, 7 Tennessee U.S. Cavalry; captured at Union City in March 1864 and later paroled late in 1864; mustered out of service early in August 1865.

 

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The youngest child off HENRY and PIETY (Cozort) MORRIS was Elizabeth whose dates are given on her tombstone as August 17, 1850-October 15, 1873. She was married to Richard Williams, May 10, 1871 and they had a surviving child whose name was GECOVIA WILLIAMS whose tombstone in the family graveyard gives his birthdate as November 15, 1874 but this is manifestly incorrect as his mother died October 15, 1873 and the 1900 U.S. Census, Civil District 18, Henderson County, page 324-B, renders his birthdate as October 1873, suggesting that his mother had died in childbirth. He died March 16, 1908 leaving his widow, FRANCES and their son, GLENIA WILLIAMS, born in October 1898. His father, RICHARD WILLIAMS, made his final guardian report to the court early in March 1895. (Henderson County Guardian-Administrators Settlements, 1887-1898, pages 316-317) For the $636.20 which had accumulated in GECOVIA's account he bought from his father 125 acres on Cub Creek and a fifth interest in his grandfather, C. C. WILLIAMS' 150 acre tract, October 15, 1894. (Henderson County Deed Book 24, page 382; registered February 12, 1906) GECOVIA WILLIAMS left 265 acres at his death which was held together as late as 1933 by his widow (tax record of 1933).

In Weston A. Goodspeed, HISTORY OF TENNESSEE (Henderson County), 1887, page 861, is a biographical sketch of RICHARD WILLIAMS, in which his marriage to ELIZABETH, a daughter of HENRY MORRIS, is given, the date thereof as well as her death date:

 

Richard Williams, a well-to-do and highly respected farmer of the Eighteenth District, was born May 5, 1846, in Decatur County, Tenn. He was the second of a family of twelve children born to Kerney C. and Teressa (Taylor) Williams. The father was born in 1816, in Chatham County, N.C. When a youth he immigrated to Decatur County, West Tenn., where he lived at the time of his marriage with Miss Taylor, who was a native of the county, born in 1828; she departed this life September 1. 1877. In 1855 Mr. Williams moved to Carroll County and in 1884 came to Henderson County, locating in the Eighteenth District, where he purchased some valuable property and resided until his death, February 11, 1886. He was married a second time, the result of the union being one child. The subject of this sketch came to this county when about eighteen years of age, and remained with his parents until about twenty-four. May 10, 1871, he married Miss Elizabeth Morris, a native of the county, born in 1851, who bore him one child, Gecovy. Mrs. Williams died October 15, 1873. Mr. Williams then united in marriage, March 4, 1876, with Miss Frances Frizzell, of Decatur County, born in 1854. They have one child living, Charles. Mr. Williams has lived in the district many years. In 1874 he bought 200 acres of good land, where he now resides. He commenced life a poor man, but by his industry and good management, has accumulated considerable property, owning altogether about 400 acres. He is an enterprising and flourishing farmer, a worthy and esteemed citizen. He is a Democrat, casting his first vote for Seymour and Blair. He is also a Mason of good standing, belongs to Lodge No. 509. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are both members of the Missionary Baptist Church.

 

BENJAMIN F. MORRIS (May 11, 1832-October 9, 1879), a child of HENRY and CHINY MORRIS, received a portion of his father's estate in Civil District 9 and he and his wife, NANNIE (who later married W. H. DODD) are buried on the ridge burial ground where their graves are well marked. A tombstone was many years later placed there for HENRY MORRIS (1805-1851).

Very little is known of the first set of HENRY MORRIS' children. His last will and testament was destroyed in the courthouse fire and the deeds of the same period were also destroyed. As they had their portion of their father's estate in the 1850s they were not featured in the settlement of their step-mother's estate much later.

JOHN C. JOHNSON held on to the real property he had bought from the Morris estate. On March 124, 1884 he executed his last will leaving his widow, CEANIE, with a life interest after which his three sons, WILLIAM G., JAMES P. and SIDNEY J. JOHNSON would inherit his land. Soon after his demise, JOHNSON's will was probated on May 6, 1901. (Henderson County Will Book 1895-1932, pages 63-65; County Court Minute Book O, pages 454-455) On September 9, 1915 SIDNEY JOHNSON sold his one-half interest in a tract which included the Morris graveyard in Civil District 18 to his brother, JAMES P. JOHNSON for $1212.50. (IBID.: Deed Book 33, page 60; registered September 10, 1915) JAMES JOHNSON and his wife sold this acreage, 144 acres, including the graveyard, to J. B. HEARINGTON for $700 on December 9, 1916. (IBID.: Deed Book 35, page 62; registered August 6, 1917) Years later, J. B. HEARINGTON and his wife sold 132 acres (being minus 12 acres out of the 144 acres having been sold

 

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off the tract) to ROBERT ANTHONY LEWIS and his wife, ADELAIDE (Lindsey) LEWIS, for $15,000, on February 26, 1970. (IBID.: Deed Book 96, page 667; registered February 26, 1970). The Lewises moved onto this property and live there yet, carefully maintaining the old Morris graveyard.

On the wooded ridge just north of' the Morris homeplace on Sulphur Fork, PIETY MORRIS and her son, ROBERT H. and other family members are buried. FELIX MORRIS placed a tombstone there in memory off his father. To reach the site of the Morris graveyard . . . From the Natchez Trace Park headquarters several miles east of Wildersville, drive about three miles on Parsons Road to Christian Chapel Road; over the latter road drive about two miles southeast to Stafford Mill Road; over this latter road drive less than a mile to #550 mailbox, turning into the driveway off the residence of ROBERT A. and ADELAIDE LEWIS. The graveyard is about a mile southeast off the residence.

On the previously mentioned ridge near the old Morris homeplace:

 

HENRY MORRIS Born May 18, 1805 Died Oct. 3, 1851 Aged 46 yrs. 14 ms. 15 das.

 

PIETY Daughter of R & C COZART Born July 11, 1815 Died Aug. 11, 1877 Aged 62 yrs. 1 mo.

 

R. H. MORRIS
Son of
H & P
Morris
Born
May 23, 1846
Died
Aug. 26, 1856

REFER TO CHANCERY BOOK 8, PAGES 236-238, JOSIA MITCHELL and OTHERS v BABE MORGAN

Other works by Jonathan K. T. Smith can be found at the Madison County Records Repository at TNGenWeb.