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Doctor Franklin Morris is a somewhat mysterious figure in that so much of his early years are not yet clear to us. Doctor Morris, who always gives Bedford County Virginia as his birthplace, was married first to Sarah "Sallie" or "Sally" Shoan, also of Bedford.
Sarah died on 4 January 1862 of a "female complaint," and was living at "Head of Mill Creek [Kanawha County]." She was only 44. Strangely, Doctor Franklin, who was the informant, listed her parents as "Not Known," although he gave her birthplace as Bedford.
Within a month of Sallie's passing, Doctor Morris wed 16-year-old America James, a neighbor and possibly care-giver for the ailing Sallie. He was thirty-one years her senior and a widower with grown children from his marriage to Sallie.
It's uncertain as to when D. F. and Sarah (also known as Sally) arrived in Kanawha County, West Virginia (nee' Virginia). Amanda Morris, eldest daughter of Doctor and Sallie, gives her birthplace as Bedford on her marriage record of October 1854, and she was 16 at the time; apparently they were still in Bedford as late as Amanda's birth in 1838 (this is verified by Doctor Morris's appearance on the 1840 Census in Bedford, Virginia.) The marriage of Amanda and Reuben took place at the "Franklin Morris Residence" - probably the farm on Mill Creek, Kanawha County, WV.
At some point later in life, Dr. Morris and family left the farm on Mill Creek and moved to the new capital city of Charleston, WV, which was also in Kanawha. Doctor Morris died in the the city of Charleston on 2 June 1898. America, along with several of her children and a grandchild, show up on the 1900 Census in Charleston.
United States Census 1840[1] Bedford, Virginia, Southern District.
"Note: No slaves. Doctor Morris lists his occupation as "miner."
United States Census, 1850[2] Kanawha county, Virginia, United States
United States Census, 1870, Kanawha, West Virginia, United States[3]
United States Census, 1880 Elk, Kanawha, West Virginia, United States[4]
A Nancy Morriss appears in the 1840 U. S. Census in Bedford, Virginia.[5] She is the principle, aged between 40-50, and has two others in the household; a male and a female, both aged 15-20.
Doctor F Morris mentioned in the record of Doctor F Morris and Sarah Shaon
Name Doctor F Morris
Spouse's Name Sarah Shaon
Event Date 31 Dec 1835 Event Place Bedford, Virginia
Citing this Record "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRCK-L4V : 11 February 2018), Doctor F Morris and Sarah Shaon, 31 Dec 1835; citing Bedford, Virginia, reference pg 50; FHL microfilm 30,591. No image available Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940 Indexing Project (Batch) Number M86847-8 System Origin Virginia-EASy GS Film number 30591 Reference ID pg 50
Sally Morris Possible sister to Doctor F. Conjecture. mentioned in the record of Joseph B. Burroughs and Sally Morris Name Joseph B. Burroughs Birth Date 1806 Birthplace Amhurst, Va. Age 50
Spouse's Name Sally Morris Spouse's Birth Date 1814 Spouse's Birthplace Bedford, Va. Spouse's Age 42 Event Date 02 Sep 1856 Event Place Franklin County, Virginia Spouse's Father's Name Joseph Spouse's Mother's Name Nancy Morris Marital Status Single Spouse's Marital Status Single Citing this Record "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XRQX-HCD : 11 February 2018), Joseph B. Burroughs and Sally Morris, 02 Sep 1856; citing Franklin County, Virginia, reference ; FHL microfilm 31,523. No image available Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940
Sallie Morris (formerly Shoan)
Event Date 04 Jan 1862
Event Place Head of Mill Creek, Kanawha, West Virginia
Gender Female Age (Expanded) 44 years 3 months
Birth Date 1818 Birthplace Bedford Co., Va
Marital Status Married Spouse's Name D. Morris Affiliate Repository Type County Records Citing this Record "West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NMLR-FF9 : 10 March 2018), Sallie Morris, 04 Jan 1862; citing Head of Mill Creek, Kanawha, West Virginia, County Records, v 1 p 33, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 460,366. The image is viewable at wvculture.org. By clicking here you will be leaving FamilySearch.org. (fees and other terms may apply) West Virginia Deaths, 1804-1999 GS Film number 460366 Digital Folder Number 4226827 Image Number 41 Reference ID v 1 p 33
In the WV Vital Records website, Doctor Franklin is given as "D. F. Morris." He's given as 85 years of age, a farmer, parents not know. The informant is his daughter Mary Legg.
[Note: Mary (Morris) Legg's Record of Death in 1940 includes some very interesting, new information. Mary was widowed to her husband John Legg [son of Henry and Margart (Harper) Legg] only a year or less. Oddly, the Informant was given to be "Administrator," an unusual case in our family. The "Administrator" gives Doctor Morris's birthplace to be Lynchburg, Va., which is (as of 1815) in Campbell County, Va., and not Bedford County. Just as surprising is her mother's "maiden name:" America Vienna James! My best guess at the moment is that Mary Legg found herself in some type of health-care facility, and that the "Administrator/Informant" was a care-giver there. I believe that Mary was closer to her mother and father than some of the other children, and generally provided more accurate and complete information than exists on other records.]
1A Doctor Franklin Morris (c.1815) m. (1) Sallie/Sarah LNU 2 i. Richard J. Morris 1837 ii. Amanda Jane Morris 1841 m. Reuben Proctor iii Alexander H. Morris c.1842 m. Mary E. Phillips 1B Doctor Franklin Morris m. (1862) (2) America James 2 i. Charles F.Morris c.1861 m. Louise Stoffel 2 ii. Samuel Franklin Morris 1863 m. Mary Elizabeth Acree 2 iii. Benjamin Slack Morris 1866 m. Marriah/Maria/Myrrah/Marah/ Frances/Francis/Frannie (sp?) Blackshire 1873 2 iv. Sally Mary Morris c.1868 2 v. Roxy J. Morris c.1873 m. Cassius C. Haller 2 vi. Emma Morris 1878 (Feb) 2. viii. Ethel 1883
Registry of License Returned, marriage of DF and America. [2]
Register of Kanawha County Court, 1854, p. 3 line 104 (type-written transcription) Marriage, Reuben Proctor to Amanda Morris. [3]
Register of Deaths, 1898, Upper District, Pg. 178 Line 6. "D. F. Morris." [4]
Death Certificate, Mary Legg, Kanawha Co., WV., Feb. 1940. [5]
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