The Robertson Morris Family

Robertson Morris, one of the early pioneer farmers of Morris Township, is a native of Floyd County, Ky., where he was born in 1807.

His parents, Daniel and Mary (Crosswright) Morris, were natives of Henry and Albemarle Counties, respectively, but when young went to Kentucky, where they were married and where they resided until about 1828, when they removed to Schuyler County, Ill., the father dying there about 1833.

He was of Irish ancestry, and farming was his occupation. The mother was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in Jefferson County, Ill., about 1839.

Our subject was reared under the parental roof in the wilds of Kentucky, without any educational advantages, and removed to Illinois with his parents, where he was married in 1833 to Miss Susannah, daughter of John and Mary Johnson, formerly of Floyd County, Ky., where Mrs. Morris was born in 1814.

To this couple nine children have been born of whom five sons and two daughters are now living, viz: James, Elizabeth (wife of Samuel Baker), William, Mary (wife of James Conner, of Adair County), John, Alfred and Charles.

All of these, save one, live within a few miles of the place where they were reared. In 1835 Mr. Morris removed to Henry County, Iowa, where he lived until 1840, when he moved to Linn County, Mo., and the year following located ten miles southeast of Milan, in Morris Township, this township received its name in honor of our subject.

Mr. Morris now owns a farm of 400 acres at this place, but at one time possessed over 1,000 acres, but being of a generous disposition and wishing to do well by his children, he has given away several hundred acres that the might have a good start in life.

Having spent his early life in the wilds of Kentucky, where game was plenty, our subject became an expert sportsman, and being also of a roving disposition, passed a good deal of time chasing deer, turkeys, and other wild animals.

When he first came to this country his intention was to abide here but a short time and then remove to the wild west (Oregon), but unforeseen circumstances compelled him to abandon this idea and he concluded to settle permanently in Sullivan County.

Although beginning life with no capital, his course through life has been such, that now he is one of the well-to-do and influential farmers of Morris Township, and although not an educated man himself, he is always interested in educational projects, and his children have received all the advantages offered in that region for instruction.

Mr. Morris is one of the very earliest settlers of Sullivan County, his nearest neighbor at the time of his settlement here being twenty miles distant on the east. The present site of Milan was then the nearest settlement in that direction and directly north he had no neighbors in the county.

Mr. Morris has battled against all the hardships and privations that pioneer and frontier life are heir to, but has kept pace with the advancement and improvement of the country, up to the present, and though his honesty, kindness, and generous hospitality has won the esteem of the entire community.

He has been a Democrat all his life, and cast his first presidential vote for Jackson. Mrs. Morris is a member of the Christian Church.

See also the Morris Family Photos.

The above article was broken into paragraphs by site coordinator for easier on-line reading. Date submission was originally written is unknown.