Col Morgan Morgan

Col Morgan Morgan is known as the first white settler in West Virginia.  I’m currently documenting my line from Col Morgan Morgan to myself.   He was born in 1688 and passed away in 1766.  he was thought to be friends with George Washington and had children go on to do historical things also.  His son who was my direct ancestor Zackquill, founded Morgantown besides being a Colonel himself and fighting in the Revolution.

Morgan Morgan arrived in what is now West Virginia in 1731. In January 1734, he, among others, was appointed to the ‘Commission of the Peace’, meaning that he was a magistrate. He probably received a Patent for 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) ‘[i]n the Forks of the Rappahannock River & Westwood of Sherrando River’ on December 12, 1734.[4] The long-standing claim that he was the first permanent resident there is, however, doubtful. In fact, the area now known as Shepherdstown, West Virginia, was probably settled by German-speaking immigrants as early as 1727.[5]

Morgan died at Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, now in West Virginia, and was buried in the Morgan Chapel Graveyard.[6]

Zackquill’s son Uriah (my direct line) is documented in the West Virginians in the Revolution book I’ve found Zackquill listed in.   Uriah was found in Tyler County where John McArdle married Nancy Morgan, but that is where I am finding my stumbling block.  I know Nancy Morgan is the daughter of Uriah Morgan and I have documentation showing her married to John McArdle in Tyler County.  John and Nancy McArdle then moved to Vermilion County Illinois before Nancy passed away (before Uriah’s death).  Nancy’s marriage license shows a Zackwell Morgan – most likely her brother, as a witness, but her father isn’t listed. Because of Nancy passing away before  Uriah, she is not listed in his will.

I am currently looking for the illusive  copy of the book of Col Morgan Morgan descendants that should list Nancy Morgan as Uriah Morgan’s daughter.  The book has been out of print for a while and isn’t available through any source I’ve found.  There are a few others also, but I would need to visit a library (not necessarily close to me) to find them.  I’m hoping someone online has a copy of the pages showing Nancy Morgan’s lineage.

I have everything from John and Nancy McArdle on documented, so I am just missing the one link.    Within the line, all of Nancy’s descendant’s in my direct line have met with deaths in accidents.  I am curious now also what happened to her, as she passed away at a young age.  Her son Uriah was run over by an oxen team while saving his granddaughter.  My great grandfather Elmer died in a fire, taking down his whole house with himself in it.   My grandfather drown at Ellsworth park in Danville Illinois while swimming with family and friends on flag day while my mother was only 3 years old.

It’s starting to look like I may have to take a trip to find the correct book.  I have found a site that has a downloadable scanned copy, but to view it requires entering a credit card to sign up for a free account.  To me this seems a little scary… The ecopy in Worldcat is search only:  Searching in the text shows:

Showing 1 – 1 of 1 Results for nancy AND morgan AND uriah AND john AND mccardle

  • Page 159 – 11 matching terms 

Showing 1 – 1 of 1 Results for nancy AND morgan AND uriah AND john AND mccardle
So I’m fairly certain this book has what I need.  The question is getting a hold of a copy of this page and the front pages with dates and information about the book for documentation.  The nearest copy to me is just over 100 miles away in Louisville and about 80 miles from my mother with no copy available to purchase on Amazon.

DAR?

Yes, My mother and I joined the DAR the other day.  Not only that but we joined the Cameo Society in the DAR.  My mother seems to be enjoying it and I really wish I could make it to the meetings – I joined the same chapter since really I feel more at home there.

What’s interesting is while talking about it, my middle son made a comment that made me realize he has no clue how much I care about my family history (and current family).  I have a super amazing family that has done a lot of things for the country, the family, and themselves.   Personally I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’m a farmer’s daughter that went on to college and not only got a bachelors degree but also a masters!  My mother was a coal miner’s daughter that lost her father at 3 years old.  Her mother (my grandmother) who was not only first generation American, English as a second language, and the only one of 10 kids to go to high school went on to own a bar for a short time and keep my mother and herself fed and housed.  My great grandmother came to the US with three kids by herself through Ellis Island to meet up with my great grandfather and kept having kids until she lost my great grandfather when my grandmother was 3.  She cleaned houses to support them all up until she wasn’t able to anymore and the oldest kids could take over.

On the other side of the family my father lost his mother at 13.  That side of the family has some amazing stories also that go all the way back to the founding of the country!  They even include Rev. John Corbly whose second wife and children were scalped by the Indians by Fort Garard PA.  I’m descended from wife 3 but his story is no less amazing with all the things he went through in his life – from being part of the forming of the first government to forming a section of the Baptist Church.

Personally, I’m pretty proud of the family I come from – I’m not sure the best way to instill in my kids that same feeling.