Doctor Franklin Morrison (1858 - 1928)

Born 16 Aug 1858 in Marion, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth Elander (Jackson) Morrison — married before 1880 in Tennessee

Descendants

Died 18 Jul 1928 at age 69 in Jasper, Marion, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

Doctor "Doc" Franklin Morrison was born around 1858 in Tennessee to Joseph S. Morrison and Mary Ann Jackson. By 1860 the Morrisons moved to Miller County, Missouri, where his father worked as a farmer. ^[1] His father was an outlaw and was killed by law enforcement in April 1865. His mother buried the body behind their house and walked with her four children back to Whitwell, Tennessee. They supposedly started with one horse, but it was either stolen or died in transit, forcing them to make the journey on foot. The entire trip took three months, and Doc's mother died about two months after they arrived (possibly from the physical and mental strain of the travel). ^[2]

Two of his brothers, John and George, went to live with their grandfather, James Jackson, while Doc and Jim were reared by their uncle, George Jackson, who owned a substantial amount of land near Victoria. Doc ended marrying his first cousin, Elizabeth Jackson, purportedly to gain access to his uncles estate. Doc felt entitled to a share of the estate because he had been reared by his uncle. Despite this initial motive, their relationship supposedly flourished over the years. ^[2]

The situation, however, was ill received by Elizabeth's eldest brother, Patrick Henry, who felt entitled to all of his father's estate, the distribution of which George himself decided by drawing numbers from a hat that matched lots of land with his names of his heirs. Each lot consisted of 52 acres and was ranked from 1 (best) to 7 (worst) in terms of quality. Doc and Elizabeth were drawn first, enraging Patrick and prompting an ongoing feud that included shooting incidents and brawls. At some point Pat was accused of cutting Doc's fences and letting the hogs into his wheat field, prompting an altercation in Whitwell. Doc confronted Pat by calling him a thief. Pat returned fire by labeling Doc a liar, prompting Doc to strike him in the mouth. Both men were fined $5 for disturbing the peace. ^[2]

When Doc fell ill many years later, Pat returned and made an offer to purchase his share. Doc told him that the land would "rot and burn in Hell" before it would be sold to him. A few months went by before a Holloway woman came by and offered a good price that was accepted. The next day Doc learned that Pat had sent her over to purchase it for him, but the deal was legal and he was left without recourse. ^[2]

In addition to working his land, Doc was a miner and served as one of the local leaders of the Whitwell mines. At one point there was some trouble at the mines, prompting a planned visit from law enforcement. The miners had a meeting the night before and appointed two men to kill the sheriff, who happened to be Doc's brother, Jim. Dock was present at the meeting but didn't say a word. The next morning the two men who were appointed the job were found dead between the meting hall and Belles Row at the foot of the mountain where Doc lived. There was never confirmation of what happened to the men, but "everybody had a pretty good idea that Dock and [his old Indian side kick] put the stopper on them." ^[2]

In December 1897 Doc reportedly returned to Marion County from Arkansas with his daughter, Rittie, who had fallen ill with malaria. ^[3]

He died in 1928 from pellagra. He is buried at Pryor Cemetery #1 in Marion County, Tennessee. ^[4]

Spouse: Elizabeth Elender Jackson Children: Jesse L Morrison Henry Lawrence Morrison Rittie Ardella Slatton

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1860," database with images, FamilySearch Household of Josiah Morrison, Missouri > Miller > Saline Township > image 6 of 34; from "1860 U.S. Federal Census - Population," database, Fold3.com (http://www.fold3.com : n.d.); citing NARA microfilm publication M653 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Ancestor of the Month post on Ancestrally Challenged Forum by Gerrie on 19 December 2007, accessed online at http://ancestrallychallenged.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=999 on 01 October 2021.
3. ↑ Victoria, Sequachee Valley News, Sequachee, Tennessee, 23 December 1897, page 4, accessed online at https://www.newspapers.com/image/174611301/ on 25 February 2024.
4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #152273259

Source Information

Original data: Find A Grave. Find A Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi.

• "Tennessee Deaths and Burials, 1874–1955." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.