John Dorian Morgan (abt. 1648 - abt. 1733)

Born about 1648 in Wales

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Smith) Morgan — married about 1675 in Henrico, Virginia

Descendants

Died about 1733 at about age 85 in Virginia

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jordan Lyles [send private message] and Ralph Morgan [send private message]

Biography

John Morgan was a Virginia colonist.

No more info is currently available for John Morgan. Can you add to his biography?

John Morgan's ancestry is speculative. He possibly was born about 1648 in South Wales,^[1] the son of Sir Edward Morgan and Anna Petronella Von Polnitz. (This is in question.)

- John Morgan came to Colonial Virginia in the 1680's. He and his wife lived for a short while in Middlesex County, Virginia.

- After the birth of their son John in 1705 (their first child), John and his wife moved to St. Ann Parish in Essex County, where they lived until John's death.

- John Morgan had a 354 acre a farming estate on Occypacia Creek in Essex County.

- John passed away in Essex County, Colonial Virginia in 1733. ^[2] (Essex County is a county located in the Middle Peninsula in the U.S. state of Virginia; the peninsula is bordered by the Rappahannock River on the north and King and Queen County on the south.)

Children

Children of John Dorian Morgan and Hannah (Smith) Morgan were: ^[3]

- John Dorian Morgan, Jr B: 1680 D: 1733

- William Morgan B: 1682 D: Deceased

- Simon Morgan B: 1685 D: 1756

Research Notes

"Genealogical problem:

It is believed by a number of researchers and suggested in the book, "Morgan" by Emma Morgan Hinson, that John Dorian Morgan may have left Jamaica, and eventually settled in Virginia, becoming the parent of John Morgan (the elder) of Middlesex/Essex County, Virginia. To date, I, nor many other researchers, have found any evidence to support this assertion, and a few have said that the book does not supply documentation for the claim. I have been unable to secure a copy of the book for myself to read, so I must rely on the report, and copies of pages, sent by others. Both public copies that I have found are in non-circulating collections.

1. I have not found, nor heard of, any documentation of the fact that John Dorian Morgan ever left Jamaica. In fact, all of the Jamaican records, or records about Jamaica, that I have researched to date have failed to mention him by the name John Dorian Morgan at all. Working under the assumption that he did arrive in Jamaica with the rest of the family, we have to accept the possibility that he may have remained there. Suggestive to that fact are the following items found in the parish records:

a. St. Andrew's parish, Jamaica baptisms:

10 Dec 1665 Elizabeth, daughter of John Morgan (unknown) 13 July 1669 Anne, daughter of John Morgan (bu. 05 Dec 1673?) 04 Jan 1671 Martin, son of John Morgan (bu. 11 Jun 1677?)

b. St. Andrew's Parish, Jamaica burial records:

27 June 1673 John Morgan

c. "Caribbeana vol. 1-3" "Names of persons whose wills are registered in Jamaica previous to 1700" "Liber 2 (commencing 1672) John Morgan (wills recorded between 1672 and 1682)

(Note: There are a number of other John Morgans cited in the parish records of St. Andrew's, but for the scope of this discussion, I have limited it to these entries. I am focusing on the parishes of St. Andrew and St. Catherine because it appears this is where the bulk of the family settled.)

The above information, in itself, proves absolutely nothing, and this person could be a totally unrelated John Morgan. What is does show, however, is that there was a John Morgan, of at least comparable age, having children in the same approximate time as Anna Petronella Morgan Byndloss (first child of record, Anna Maria Byndloss - 01 Sep 1670) and Joanna Wilhelmina Morgan Archbould (first child of record - Morgan Archbould - 10 Dec 1672). The birth year of 1648 for John Dorian Morgan is an estimate. If born in 1648, and the above individual was he, then he would have been at least 16 at the age of the first child of record. His birth year could have been even earlier. The parish records do not reflect a burial for Elizabeth, but do reflect burial for Martin, the only one of record to that point, and possibly also Anne. (After viewing the parish records, it is evident that there was a high rate of mortality for children during this time period.) The date of 1673, and ! the recording of a will for a John Morgan after 1672 suggest that the above burial was probably for an adult. The record is silent for any activity by a John Morgan, until 1681 and the marriage of a John Morgan to Christian Clarke.

2. Henry Morgan, in his will, signed 17 Jun 1688, and through that of his wife, Mary Elizabeth, devised that his property in Jamaica would remain in the hands of a male blood heir of the Morgan line, not through his own direct line, since he died without issue, but through a collateral line, that of which was his wife's, which in reality he was related to by blood, himself. Curiously, the succession went through two females*** ( Anna Petronella Morgan Byndloss, Joanna Wilhelmina Morgan Archbould ), not through his two male brother-in-laws, Charles and John Dorian Morgan, with the condition of inheritance that those heirs of the Byndloss and Archbould lines would append the surname Morgan to their own. Charles is said in one record to have died ca. 1687 without children, so that would leave John Dorian. True, if John Dorian Morgan had left Jamaica and resettled in America, then perhaps Henry Morgan chose heirs that lived in Jamaica to ensure that the property would remain! in the ownership of a Morgan, and not be sold. Perhaps he disliked John, but equally true could be the possibility that John Dorian Morgan had predeceased his cousin, and is, for that reason, not mentioned in his will.

** One source summarizes the succession of inheritance as follows:

1. Mary Elizabeth Morgan, his wife, during her lifetime 2. Charles Byndloss 3. Polnitz Byndloss 4. Henry Archbould 5. the sons of Anne Maria Byndloss (daughter of Anna Petronella Morgan Byndloss) 6. the sons of Catherine Maria Byndloss " 7. the sons of Mary Elizabeth Byndloss "

What would I personally consider to be documented proof supporting the assertion that John Dorian Morgan may have left Jamaica and resettled in America? Any number of these would definitely help in the process:

1. Sir Edward Morgan's will and/or estate settlement for his interest in the estate at Llanrhymny (Wales) and/or his Jamaican property holdings to show that John Dorian was still alive at the time of Edward's death in 1665.

2. Correspondence from individuals in the triangle of Wales/England, America (nice if it were Virginia, but...) and Jamaica mentioning John Dorian Morgan in some way, or at least mentioning enough detail that you could identify a "John Morgan" to be one and the same.

3. A family bible, dating to at least before 1800 (the earlier, the better), which contains a pedigree for a known Morgan in the lineage in Virginia/North Carolina. I say this because the earliest written genealogy would perhaps be closer to the truth, and far less susceptible to "family legend".

4. An importation certificate in the Virginia land patents, or ship passenger manifest, which shows a number of individuals known to have resided in Jamaica, immigrating together into the Virginia Colony and including a John Morgan among the list of passengers.

As a person, I would love nothing more than for this lineage to be true, because of the colorful nature of this branch of the Morgan family. As a researcher, I am in awe over the amount of documentation that exists for the ancestral roots of the Morgan family of Glamorgan, Wales. Unfortunately, until some documentation arises somewhere which can logically identify John Dorian Morgan to be the father of John Morgan, of Essex County, Virginia, it will continue to be just a story for me.

Shirley"^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Jordan Lyles, May 6, 2013
2. ↑ Entered by Jordan Lyles, May 6, 2013
3. ↑ https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LHDL-LRJ/john-dorian-morgan-sr-1648-1733
4. ↑ Quoting Letter by Shirley in Part