John Morris (abt. 1652 - bef. 1681)

Husband of Damaris (Page) White — married 24 Apr 1676 (to 30 Jun 1680) in Pasquotank, Pasquotank, North Carolina

Descendants

Died before 10 Sep 1681 before about age 29 in Pasquotank, Carolina

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Note This profile is under revision by the Quakers Project. It may be merged provided only the data on this profile is retained. Any suggestions, changes, or concerns should be placed in the Comments section below the profile at this time. Thank you. T Stanton 30 Oct 2022

Biography

John was a Friend (Quaker)

The birth of John Morris is estimated as about 1652 however both the date and place of birth, and his origins are unknown. It may be seen that he is the son of a Charles Morris of Jamestown, a person whose existence is not documented in Jamestown. There is a single reference in Winslow's History of Perquimans which reads, "Charles Moris [sic] whose name is the first to appear on the records of Perq Co N.C. attended a Mo Meeting at Arnold White’s house 24 4 mo 1679. He was probably the father of John.”^[1] Winslow appears to be citing the "Little River Quaker Reg" which would be an alternate name for Symons Creek and Pasquotank monthly meeting. Hinshaw states the men's meeting minutes are not extant pre-1698 and the women's are not extant pre-1677 (QuakerMeetings.com states the meeting began 1677). The entry does not appear to be found in the women's minutes and is not found in Hinshaw's Encyclopedia.

He married Demaris Page about 1676. The marriage is found in the index of the Symons Creek Monthly Meeting minutes, Pasquotank, North Carolina but it does not appear the actual document is extant.^[2] The earliest men's minutes date to 1698 and the earliest women's minutes to 4th month 1677.^[3]

In 1680, John Morris, signed a petition to the King [Charles II] as suffering from the riots in the Culpepper rebellion. (The text of the document is appended to this profile at the right.) A Thomas Morris and a William Morris served on juries between 1680 and 1690. A Perigrin Morris and Richard Morris also lived in the area. In 1696 Thomas Speight was granted land for the importation of John Morres [sic], Elizabeth, John Jr, Elizabeth, William and Mare.^[4] This land grant reflected transport which had taken place many years prior. While this land grant is often used to establish that these names are the children of John Morris, except in the case of a son John no other evidence has come to light to conclusively show these are his children, and, it must be noted this headright grant is made some sixteen years following his death.

The date of death of John Morris is unknown but would be between the date he signed the petition to Charles II and the remarriage of his widow Damaris to Henry White on 10 Sep 1681.^[5]

Children

Note: under construction

• John - b 31 Mar 1680^[6]

Research Notes

The following is said to be taken from "The Morris Family," by Laela J Linder which cannot be found and is not listed in WorldCat.^[7] However, there are inconsistencies with known documentation which are noted rather than removing the text from the profile.

The earliest record of a Morris in North Carolina is the record of a Charles Morris who attended a Quaker meeting [in Pasquotank] in 1679. Notes: the record of Charles Moris is mentioned by Ellen Winslow but is not eleswhere recorded nor can the original source be located. There is no reason to believe Winslow did not see such a record but absent locating it, its accuracy cannot be determined.

It is my guess that John Morris came to North Carolina early, between 1660 and 1670, with his wife Elizabeth and sons John Jr and William and Mare. Note: it has been surmised based on the headright quoted further below that these are the offspring of this John Morris, however, there is presently no documentation of a William or Mare that could be his offspring.

Thomas, Charles, Peregrin and Richard may have been his sons. [sic = Charles Morris came to North Carolina with his son John born 1652 in Virginia; this son married Demaris Page/Shaddock]^[8] Note: there is presently nothing which indicates John had sons named Thomas, Charles, Peregrin or Richard. There is also nothing which indicates the mentioned Charles was the father of John or a Thomas, Charles, Peregrin or Richard. In the case of Winslow's notation of Charles as the earliest Moris she encountered, she assumed he was "probably" the father of John.

We think that John married, Demaris [Damaris] Page, daughter of Isaac Page and Demaris his wife (widow of Unknown Shattuck). [Sic: Damaris Page's mother's maiden name was Damaris Shattuck, hence the confusion; John Morris was Damaris Page's first husband.]^[9] John must have died around 1680, for in 7/10/1681 [Quaker dates = 10 Sept 1681], Demaris (Page) Morris married Henry White.

The other Morris men found in North Carolina [at this time] were probable founders of other Morris families found in early North Carolina, but ours is the only one that belonged to the Quaker faith. Note: it is not established as fact that all Quaker Morris families in Perquimans/Pasquotank at this time are the same family.

Our Quaker family history starts in Perquimans and Pasquotank Counties, North Carolina. However, the roots go back even further. These counties were originally settled by people who come from many different areas.

Some were from the island of Barbados, either looking for more religious freedom, or better economic conditions. Since the laws of primogeniture were in effect, stating that estates were left to the eldest son, other sons had to strike out for greener pastures on their own.

Some were from New England (Charles, Nicholson, Symonds). Many were members of Reverend John Cotton's church in Boston, who got involved with Ann Hutchinson and the Antinomian controversy, and moved to Rhode Island for more religious freedom. Rodger Williams was not too happy to have them in Rhode Island so he got them a land grant in North Carolina in 1663 and "helped" them move. Most of those families settled in Perquimans county.

Many were Virginians. Some were planters who brought with them their indentured servants. The planters were granted land for importing people to the colony, and their indentured servants were granted land when they had served out their periods of indenture.

"Some were rascals and runaway servants. Included in this group was Edward Teach (Blackbeard), the pirate." [He used Bath, North Carolina as a base until hanged by British authorities in 1718]

Between 1675 and 1680, both George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, and William Edmundson, the great Quaker minister visited North Carolina and converted many of the people. The Church of England was the established church, however, there were no formal meetings of the Church of England until around 1705. Early births and deaths and marriages were recorded in the Berkley Parish Register. Later Quakers did not record births and deaths in public records.

The period between 1700 and 1750 found the people moving further and further from the coast, and the younger sons who could not inherit looked for new land.

About 1735, Thomas Chackley and other Quaker ministers began preaching against slavery and by 1775, all slaves belonging to Quakers had been freed. However, they found that many of their freed slaves were being recaptured, shipped to the West Indies, and resold. This, plus the fact that they found it difficult to compete economically without slaves, led to the mass migration out of North Carolina and into Ohio and later into Indiana between 1775 and 1830.^[10] [Note: The Quakers had not freed all slaves by 1775. The historical context is too lengthy for discussion here. ~ T Stanton]

Sources

1. ↑ Winslow, Ellen Goode, History of Perquimans, Edwards & Broughton, Raleigh, 1931, p 386
2. ↑ Hege Friends Historical Library, Guilford College, Greensboro, North Carolina. Symons Creek.
3. ↑ Hinshaw, Wm Wade, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, p 91, introduction to Pasquotank Meeeting
4. ↑ Colonial and State Records of North Carolina
5. ↑ Hinshaw, North Carolina Quaker Abstracts, Perquimans Monthly Meeting, Volume 1, Page 78. This citation places the marriage at Little River in the home of Henry Prows
6. ↑ Hinshaw, William Wade, et al., compilers. Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy. I:104
7. ↑ by Laela J. Linder, 1981, located in Family Histories section of the Parke County, Indiana Library. Pp 5-7. [Note: the work cited does not appear to be available anywhere else. No copies are shown in WorldCat as of 30 Oct 2022]
8. ↑ See profile Page-3616; research by Chet Snow, 6-6-2014. Note: Page-3616 no longer a valid ID.
9. ↑ Note added by Chet Snow, 6-6-2014
10. ↑ http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=rmlsmith&id=I6088 - added by Chet Snow, 6-6-2014. Note: This rootsweb page contains information which is known to be conjecture or absent documentation.

Acknowledgements