Gunsmith, Samuel Morrison of Milton is my direct ancestor.
Samuel of Tazewell Co is his son. Samuel Sr d. 30 May 1844 in Milton and
is found there in the 1820, 1830 & 1840 census. I have been unable to
find him in 1810. Nancy, who married in 1834 in Lewisburg to Noah S
Prentiss is my link forward. She was the fourth child.
Both her 1880 & 1900 census state that her father was born in
Pennsylvania, but her death certificate says Vermont. It also states
that her mother was Hannah Ainsworth, born in Pennsylvania. Other
Morrison researchers do not seem to be aware of her.
The first child, John was born in 1809. It is difficult to infer when
Samuel came to Pennsylvania, as he may have had an earlier New England
wife and met Hannah down here. In fact, I have found four wives, perhaps
five. Researching this guy has been difficult.
I hope this small bit of information is of some help. If you need more,
I will do my best to find it. And, to answer the usual question. I do
not own a Morrison rifle. You would be surprised how often that question
comes up. Or, maybe not.
Tom Young <teyoung3@verizon.net>
Danville, Pennsylvania
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My reply to Tom:
Tom,
Gunmaking was a tradition in New England, so Sr. could well have had his start there. My Worden ancestors were from New England and we have family records of one of my "cousins" courting a young lady from just north of Gettysburg. Considering transportation and communications of the time we think this impractical. Apparently our ancestors didn't. Thus, migration from one area to another was much less of a deal for them than we sometimes believe.
Historical records would seem to indicate that Morrison and Joe Long were associated with each other. There is conjecture as to the degree and exact nature of the relationship, but there unquestionably was one. Joe Long may well have influenced Morrison, though the same might be conjectured in reverse.
In any case not strange at all that Morrison moved to and began to construct firearms now considered uniquely Upper Susquehanna. And now more clear as to why Illinois Morrison rifles always seemed to me to be so much the same, yet a bit different. Now I wonder if Jr. wasn't the Illinois maker?
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Tom:
I would say yes.
Samuel Sr died in Milton in 1844 at the age of 59. He was already dead
when his son, Samuel Jr (referred to in his death notice, as "formerly
of Milton") died in 1850 in Pekin at the age of 32.
The obvious conclusion is that Sr never left Pennsylvania, although this
is not strictly proven. Analysis of Sr's 1840 census record appears to
indicate that Jr had not yet gone to Illinois.
Exactly why Jr went west around 1841 is unclear.
Question. Where and from whom did Sr learn his trade? Do we know of any
gunsmiths named Morrison in Vermont? Since my interest is in genealogy,
I am still looking for Samuel Sr's ancestry.
