Benjamin Morgan & Phoebe Settle

1779 Warrant to
Benjamin Morgan

I truly thought I had completed my posts for the Morgan family of Virginia's Northern Neck but I now realize I have much more to share for Benjamin Morgan and Phoebe Settle. Over the last twenty years while searching for the actual facts in regard to who the parents of my ancestor Charles Morgan were I have accumulated a tremendous amount of evidence regarding the lives of Benjamin & Phoebe who I found were not Charles' parents as many online sites propose.  There is a copious amount of misinformation online regarding Benjamin and his brother John Morgan. Based upon findings in the records of Wilkes County, North Carolina, it appears that John Morgan & Martha Settle, Phoebe's sister, have been incorrectly credited as the parents of the children of Benjamin & Phoebe.

There do not appear to be any records in Surry or Wilkes (formed from Surry in 1778) counties, North Carolina of John Morgan, brother of Benjamin. The John Morgan in Surry County records is listed, along with Isaac and Joseph Morgan, on the tax lists as a tithe of Benjamin Morgan in 1775. Previously in 1774 Benjamin Morgan is recorded with a total of four male tithes but the names of the children are not listed however they appear to be the same individuals as those in the 1775 tax list. Capt. Allen's 1779 Wilkes County tax lists record Benjamin, Charles, John and Isaac Morgan. 

In numerous other records for deeds and land warrants these individuals as well as sons-in-laws Henry and James Gambill are recorded as witnesses to transactions of Benjamin Morgan. The 1779 warrant pictured above for Benjamin Morgan lists the chain carriers for that survey as Armistead and Isaac Morgan. Armistead was apparently not yet 16 years of age for he is not recorded on the 1779 tax list.  A Wilkes County deed of 14 Dec 1784 from Benjamin Morgan to William Johnson includes as part of the legal description of the land being conveyed "along a conditional line between Benjamin Morgan and his son Charles". [DB A-1 p504-505]

1784 Wilkes County NC Deed
Benjamin Morgan to William Johnson

Wilkes County's 1784 tax list records Benjamin, Charles, Joseph, John (noted as "in Cumberland"), and Armistead Morgan along with Henry Gambill who had married Charity Morgan in 1778. The following year Henry's brother James Gambill would marry Alice Morgan on 24 Jul 1785.

The myths surrounding this family portray Benjamin's brother John Morgan as having married Phoebe Settle Morgan's sister Martha. Martha Settle could not possibly have been the mother of these children since she could not have married before 1761 as documented in a suit among the heirs of Isaac Settle. As late as 1761 Martha Settle was yet unmarried. In a Fauquier County VA chancery case among the heirs of Isaac Settle, Martha was listed as Martha Settle while her sister Phoebe is listed as the wife of husband Benjamin Morgan. The 1760 chancery case is styled Gerard Wilkinson et al vs. Exe. of Isaac Suttle and available online in the Library of Virginia's Chancery Index. Additionally, John Morgan was married to Alice Cole and is named in the 1757 Culpeper County will of her father John Cole. The will states "I give to each of my sons in law, William Reynolds and John Morgan one cow and calf". John Cole's will also leaves a bequest to a William Morgan and is witnessed by that William Morgan and a Charles Morgan. His widow Susannah Cole died in 1761 and she mentions daughter Alice Morgan in her will. John Morgan also witnessed the will of Benjamin Taylor in February of 1775 in Culpeper County.

Chancery Case among heirs of Isaac Suttle

The prevailing Morgan myths have also credited John with being the Capt. John Morgan of Surry County, North Carolina who served during the Revolution, but that is not correct. Because of the fact that he was living in Surry County during the Revolution it seems to have been assumed that he was a member of the Fauquier County, Virginia Morgan family and brother of Benjamin. Benjamin Morgan and his sons lived in the area of Surry County, which became Wilkes and was located just below the New River. That area is now part of Allegheny County, North Carolina. Capt. John Morgan lived in a completely different area of Surry County, which became Stokes County in 1789 after the end of the Revolution.

John Morgan's wife is recorded in Stokes County deed records as Elizabeth (Betty) in two 1794 deeds where they sold portions of his original Surry County 400 acre land grant. John Morgan was recorded in the 1790 census of Stokes County in a household including himself, his wife, 5 males under 16 and 4 daughters. At the bottom of this post see scan of the Stokes County 1793 tax list for Capt. John Morgan's District which includes John in addition to Valentine Morgan who is believed to be his son. His wife Elizabeth died before 1800 for there is no wife listed on the 1800 census with John and three of his children. Capt.John Morgan died in Stokes County, North Carolina in 1819. He never migrated to Tennessee and was not killed by indians there. His estate was recorded in June Court of 1819 when an administrator was appointed. The Stokes County estate file has very little biographical information and the only child named was Elizabeth McAnnally with a notation that his other children were not living in the area. Nothing has been found in the records of Surry and Wilkes Counties that would support the belief that John Morgan and Martha Ann Settle married and were living there during the time Benjamin and these Morgan children were.

1795 Will of Jeremiah Morgan
Will Book 1, pg 2

The earliest records of the Cumberland Settlements of Middle Tennessee such as Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee written in 1858 and Early Times in Middle Tennessee written by John Carr in 1857 simply state - "They (the indians) killed old Mr. Morgan, the father of Esquire John Morgan, who owned the fort near that place...They killed Captain Charles Morgan and old Mr. Gibson, near where Gen. Hall now lived...They killed Armsted Morgan, a brother of Captain Charles Morgan, and a fine-humored, well-disposed young man, while he was guiding through from "South-west Point" Captain Handly and a company of men for the protection of the Cumberland settlements." It is only in much later publications written more than 100 years after these events that "old Mr. Morgan" begins to be identified as John Morgan.

Benjamin Morgan is documented as being present in Sumner County by 1787 for that year he was listed as a delinquent taxpayer along with Armistead Morgan who had also been killed that year. The only John Morgan listed in these Cumberland Settlement census records is John Morgan, the son-in-law of Maj. Hall. In December of 1804 a public sale was advertised for 320 acres on Bledsoe's Creek which belonged to Benjamin Morgan. The property was taken to satisfy a judgment obtained by Winchester and Cage. Evidence from the historical, primary records reveal that Benjamin Morgan was the "old Mr. Morgan" who was killed by indians in 1787.

After Benjamin's death, Phoebe Settle Morgan remained in the area of Logan and Simpson Counties of Kentucky. Her youngest daughter Mary Morgan was widowed when her first husband, her cousin Jeremiah, son of Simon Morgan of Fauquier County, Virginia, died in July of 1795. When Jeremiah died, he and Mary were also living in Logan County, Kentucky. His will of the 17th of June 1795 which included Phoebe as one of the witnesses left his plantation in Logan County to his widow Mary. Daughter Phoebe also lived in that area of Logan County where she married Leonard West in 1798. In August Court of 1803, Phoebe is recorded with a land entry for 100 acres on Red River. The last known record mentioning Phoebe Settle Morgan was on the 20th of October in 1809 when a deed from William Stewart to Leonard West includes "Phoebe Morgan's boundary line" in the legal description of the tract. [DB:B P:607]

Phoebe Morgan
Logan KY Land Entry - August 1803

Over the past century, the story of this Morgan family has been distorted to include a soldier of the American Revolution, Capt. John Morgan of Surry County NC. as an ancestor. This misinformation has been further spread in the book "Tennessee Records: Bible Records and Marriage Bonds" published in 2009. The information as pertains to the later Morgan generations after they settled in Tennessee appears to be accurate but the assertions pertaining to the earliest Morgan settlers and the death of "old Mr. Morgan" have no corresponding historical documentation. Although the book includes in its title "bible records" there seem to be none that pertain to this Morgan family. There are also no Morgan family Bibles found in records at the Tennessee State Library online. Sadly the inaccurate information that has been disseminated regarding this family may prevent any widespread acceptance of the true story of Benjamin Morgan and his wife Phoebe Settle, but I felt I should share what I've learned over the course of these many years which is that there is a preponderance of evidence that Charles, Isaac, Joseph, John, Alice, Charity, Armistead, Phoebe and Mary Morgan were their children.

More documents pertaining to Benjamin & Phoebe Morgan:

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Wilkes County NC Map of Earliest Grants

   

  

Our Immigrant Morgan Ancestor

After many years of researching Morgans in the American colonies to try to find the ancestors of our Morgan 4th great grandfather Charles Morgan, we finally have a documented trail back to Anthony Morgan of Bristol, England. The Morgan name is known to be Welsh in origin and Bristol is just across the Bristol Channel from Cardiff in Wales. Charles Morgan served as a Captain in the militia forces of South Carolina during the American Revolution. Before his death in 1832, he filed a pension request on that service and it is that document that set me off on the path to finding his family and their origins.

Harbor in Bristol, England

Anthony Morgan arrived in Old Rappahannock County along with a Charles Morgan who is described as "of the city of Bristol, mariner" in a 1678 power of attorney. That POA is recorded in Old Rappahannock County [DB6 p203-205].

In 1668 Anthony Morgan apprenticed himself to Mrs. Sarah Walker of Rappahannock County for a term of seven (7) years [DB 4 p97]. This would suggest that Anthony was around 18 years old at the time which would make his date of birth around 1650.

By 1679 Anthony is recorded in the land records of Old Rappahannock which include the mention of his wife, Elizabeth. Throughout the 1680's christenings recorded in the North Farnham Parish Register document the birth of most of his children: Charles christened 28 December 1680, Bridgett christened 14 September 1682, Anny christened 14 March 1684 and Anthony christened 20 November 1686. Son Robert Morgan does not appear in the parish register but is recorded along with Anthony II as a stepson and legatee in the 1703 will of John Ware to whom their mother Elizabeth was married after the death of Anthony Morgan I circa 1688.

In July 1711 Anthony Morgan II married Ann Duncan but by February of 1728/29, he was bound by the Richmond County Court for abusing his wife Ann and living in adultery with Sarah Ann Simonds. [Richmond County Trials 1710-54:113,145]. In 1740, he sold the mill referred to in Richmond County records as "Morgans Mill" and the adjoining land to Capt. Willoughby Newton [DB9 p667-669]. Anthony Morgan II was deceased by the 5th of March 1748 when his son Anthony Morgan III, described as "of Prince William County", filed an inventory in Richmond County as administrator of his estate. On that same date, Anthony III, as administrator, also filed an inventory of the estate of William Morgan, presumably his brother.

Sale of Morgan's Mill to
Capt. Willoughby Newton

The first extant Order Book of Prince William County 1752-1753, p. 188 dated 24 July 1753, cites a suit brought by Willoughby Newton against Anthony Morgan, executor of Anthony Morgan. In 1755 in Prince William County, Anthony Morgan was appointed constable in the room of Lazarus Taylor [OB 1754-1755 p221]. His residence in that area is further supported by the index of the only extant ledger of Daniel Payne's Dumfries Stores. That ledger which covers the years 1758 to 1763 documents that Anthony Morgan was living in the Prince William County area throughout those years. The online assertions that the children of Anthony and Mary Morgan were all born in Brunswick County is proven completely false by the records of Prince William and Fauquier counties. Son Charles, in his 1832 Revolutionary War pension statement provides his date of birth as 1757 and the place of that birth as Fauquier, Virginia. Until the extant ledger from Daniel Payne's Dumfries Store was discovered there seemed to be no way to document Charles' statements but that is no longer the case.

Fauquier County was formed in 1759 from Prince William County. A Bill of Sale dated 26 August 1763 from Anthony Morgan described as "of Fauquier County" to Bennett Price further documents the statement made by Charles Morgan in his RW pension application and coincides with the dates from the Dumfries Store ledger.

After Anthony Morgan and family left the Prince William/Fauquier area of Virginia, they are next documented in Surry County, North Carolina. The 1771 tax list of Surry County lists Anthony Morgan, Samuel Morgan and Anthony Morgan, Jr. Again in 1772 Anthony and Samuel Morgan are recorded as taxpayers in Surry County, but Anthony Morgan, Jr. was absent from the tax list that year. He has not been found in any further records and may have died around this time. It's curious that about this same time Anthony's cousin Benjamin Morgan with his family also migrated to Surry County and are found there in the 1774 tax records. The RW pension affidavit of son Charles Morgan establishes that Anthony's family was living in the area of York County, South Carolina by 1775 when Charles was recruited in the Revolutionary forces there.

1478 Map of Bristol City

In February of 1787, Anthony and his wife Mary Morgan conveyed several tracts of land on Broad River to William McBrayer. After these transactions both are believed to have died by around 1795 but there are no probate records available. Without probate records, their children have been identified by an abundance of inferential data in census and land records of that area. Their children were Samuel, married Elizabeth MNU, and Anthony Jr. both born before 1750 since they were listed as adults in tax records of 1771. Charles Morgan born 1757 married Lurena Arendell, John Morgan, born about 1759 also married an Elizabeth whose maiden name is unknown, Nancy "Nannie" Morgan born about 1760 who married John Sarratt, Margaret Morgan about 1762 unmarried in 1786, William Morgan born about 1763 married Elizabeth Arendell, Elizabeth Morgan born about 1765 married John Hugh Quinn and Peter Morgan born about 1769 married Noal Daffron.

After the death of Anthony and Mary Morgan, the descendants of many of their children, primarily John and Peter remained in the York/Spartanburg area while Charles, William and several of the sons of Samuel migrated to Kentucky after 1800. Now their descendants are spread throughout the country.

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Other posts on the blog about this Morgan Family -
The Charles Morgan Hall Family
Hall Ancestor - Charles Morgan
Morgan Family Myths
Identifying Our Morgan DNA
Finally Found - our Morgan Family Ancestor
More About Anthony Morgan III

More About Anthony Morgan III

There is no supporting documentation for the majority of the genealogical information found online about Anthony Morgan. For that reason I was reluctant to accept the theory that he was the father of our ancestor Charles Morgan who died in Warrick County, Indiana in 1832 primarily because he stated in his Revolutionary War pension statement that he was born in 1757 in Fauquier County, Virginia. There is no question that Charles Morgan (1680-1766) of Fauquier County, Virginia and Anthony Morgan (1686-1749) along with their siblings, Bridgett and Ann were the children of Anthony Morgan and his wife Elizabeth of Old Rappahannock County because their births are recorded in the North Farnham Parish Register. Brother Robert Morgan although not recorded in the births of Old Rappahannock was named, along with Anthony, as a step-son of John Ware in his 1703 Westmoreland County, Virginia will. From that point on with the exception of Charles Morgan whose life and family is well documented in the records of Fauquier County, the family history becomes fragmented and murky.

1679 POA by
Anthony & Elizabeth Morgan

The other principal theory of Charles Morgan of Warrick, Indiana was that he was the son of Benjamin Morgan and Phoebe Settle of Fauquier. Benjamin was the documented son of Charles Morgan (born 1680), but in depth research of Benjamin's family after they relocated to Wilkes County, North Carolina around 1775 and before migrating to Tennessee where Benjamin died, proved that our Charles Morgan could not have been Benjamin's son. Apparently all of the children of Benjamin and Phoebe Settle Morgan had been incorrectly attributed to his brother John Morgan and Phoebe's sister Martha Settle. There are no records that John Morgan married Martha Settle in Fauquier or elsewhere and deed records of Wilkes County establish that Benjamin's son Charles was living in Wilkes County in 1784. Charles Morgan (born 1757) was living in South Carolina from around 1775 according to his RW pension statements so he could not have been the Charles Morgan of Wilkes County. Likewise the only John Morgan found in Wilkes County was a younger John, who would also have been the child of Benjamin and Phoebe Morgan. A Capt. John Morgan referred to in various undocumented Morgan theories was actually living in Surry County during the Revolution in the portion that later became Stokes County. That John Morgan has no known connection to the Morgans of Fauquier County. See blog post Morgan Family Myths with research details and citations.

Once the theory of Benjamin Morgan as Charles' (born 1757) parent had been investigated and proved false, thorough research of Anthony Morgan was the only avenue to pursue. Anthony Morgan II remained in the Rappahannock area and is named as a step-son along with his brother Robert in the 1703 will of John Ware of Westmoreland County whom his widowed mother Elizabeth had married after his father's death. In Richmond County on the first of July 1711, Anthony married Ann Duncan. Autosomal DNA of numerous descendants of Charles Morgan of Warrick County, Indiana has high cM matches to Duncan family members. See the post Identifying our Morgan DNA in this blog which further establishes the connection to Anthony Morgan's family.

In February of 1721, Anthony bought 250 acres in Westmoreland County which he sold to Willoughby Newton on 15 July 1728. In that deed, Anthony Morgan is described as "of Richmond County". In January of 1727, Anthony had purchased 100 acres bounded by the Marshy Swamp in Richmond County from James Thomas. From that point he appears to be located solely in Richmond County. In 1740, Anthony sold the mill, referred to in other documents as "Morgan's Mill", along with forty acres to Willoughby Newton [DB9 p667-669]. It was in Richmond County that he died sometime before the 5th of March 1749 when his estate was inventoried [WB5 p598].

1740 Deed by Anthony Morgan II

Anthony Morgan III appears first as the administrator of the estate of Anthony Morgan II in Richmond County in 1749. On January 30th, 1750, he sold to William McClanahan the 80 acres of land in Richmond County described as the land where Anthony Morgan deceased formerly lived adjoining the mill. In that 1750 deed Anthony Morgan is described as "of Prince William County" and his wife, Mary, signed a release of her dower rights. Countless Ancestry trees and websites espouse a theory that Anthony Morgan III married a Mary Wilson in Brunswick County, Virginia and that their children were born there but primary sources are never provided. Obviously from the evidence found in Richmond County, Anthony had married his wife Mary (for whom there is no documentation of a surname) in one of the counties in Virginia's Northern Neck where Anthony is recorded during this period of time. As documented in another recent blog post Finally Found - our Morgan Family Ancestor, the Dumfries Store ledger proved that Anthony Morgan was a resident of Prince William and Fauquier (formed from Prince William in 1759) counties at least through 1763. At last there was some evidence that the third Anthony Morgan had actually been living in Fauquier at the time our Charles Morgan said he was born there.

Before leaving Fauquier County, Anthony Morgan executed a Bill of Sale to Bennett Price on behalf of Andrew Cochran Esqr. in payment of a debt. Anthony deeded two slaves, a bay mare, several head of cattle and two feather beds to Cochran in payment of the eighty Pound debt on 28th of March, 1763 [DB2 p71]. This was apparently prior to Anthony and his family leaving that area of northern Virginia for he is next found on the tax lists of Surry County, North Carolina in 1771 along with Samuel Morgan and Anthony Morgan, Jr. Again in 1772, Anthony Morgan and Samuel were listed on the tax lists of Surry County but Anthony, Jr. was not. After 1772, Anthony and family apparently moved on to South Carolina where by Charles Morgan's account in his RW pension statement, he was living in 1775. Maybe at a future time, Anthony Morgan will be found living for a few years in some Virginia county along the great wagon road through Virginia's Shenandoah Valley on his way to Surry County, North Carolina.

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Other posts on the blog about this Morgan Family -
Morgan Family Myths
Identifying Our Morgan DNA
Finally Found - our Morgan Family Ancestor

Finally found - our Morgan Family Ancestor

There is a copious amount of undocumented, inaccurate information floating about the internet regarding our ancestor Charles Morgan. After many years of searching Virginia's Northern Neck for some tidbit of documentation to identify the father of this ancestor who stated in his 1832 Revolutionary War pension application that he was born in Fauquier County, Virginia in 1757, I think I've finally found something of consequence.

The Benjamin Morgan and Phoebe Settle lineage which I spent years investigating proved to be incorrect. I shared the details of that research in a blog post five years ago. Benjamin Morgan was the son of Charles Morgan, born 1680 to Anthony Morgan and his wife Elizabeth. Charles' birth is recorded on the 28th of September, 1680 in Farnham Parish, Rappahannock, Virginia. Deed records in Wilkes County, North Carolina proved Benjamin's son Charles to have been incorrectly attributed to his brother John Morgan and couldn't have been our Charles.

The other most frequent theory found in countless sites on the internet is that he was the son of Anthony Morgan and Mary Wilson of Brunswick County, Virginia born 1764. Charles own words in his pension statement disprove Brunswick County as a place of birth and 1764 as a date. Anthony, born circa 1720 to 1730, was the son of Anthony Morgan, brother of Charles Morgan above, and Ann Duncan of Westmoreland County, Virginia. Like Charles, Anthony's birth is recorded in Farnham Parish, Rappahannock, Virginia on the 20th of November, 1686. Over the years I've frequently searched but could find no record of an Anthony Morgan living in Fauquier County, until recently when I happened upon the index of customers recorded in the Dumfries Store Ledgers of Prince William County.

Index of Customers at Daniel Payne's Dumfries' Store

Fauquier County was established on May 1, 1759, from Prince William County which fits exactly the time of our Charles Morgan's birth. At the time he was born it would have technically been Prince William County. The excerpt at right from the index of Daniel Payne's Dumfries Stores Ledger documents that Anthony Morgan was living in the Prince William County area from at least 1758 to around 1763. These records of Anthony Morgan's residence in Prince William County finally make it feasible that he could have been Charles' father. This family connection also coincides with an abundance of fairly large autosomal DNA matches on chromosome 4 to other descendants of Charles Morgan as well as to members of the Duncan family.

Much research of this family is still yet to be done. In reviewing all the sites which list Anthony Morgan as marrying a Mary Wilson in Brunswick County, Virginia and most of his children having been born there, none of them cite any sources. The only Morgan I have been able to find historical records for in Brunswick County is a Robert Morgan 1726 through 1745. It is highly likely that Robert may be another of the children of Anthony and Elizabeth Morgan of Westmoreland County. The widow Elizabeth Morgan married John Ware after Anthony Morgan's death and Robert Morgan was listed along with his brother Anthony as sons-in-law (stepsons) in John Ware's 1704 will.

One of the primary online sites proffering Anthony Morgan's marriage to Mary Wilson and living in Brunswick County, Virginia is the SARRETT/SARRATT/SURRATT Families of America where I found the following citation - "In 1755, Anthony MORGAN III was appointed constable in the room of Lazarus Taylor." This cites the source as Ibid., O.B., 1754-1755, p 221 but makes no reference to the county where this is recorded. Research of Lazarus Taylor in northern Virginia indicates that he was a resident of Northumberland County who settled in 1744/45 on Marrs Run on land believed to be located in Hamilton Parish, Prince William County, which later became part of the newly formed county of Fauquier. If Anthony's appointment as constable was in the Fauquier area, it is further repudiation of the theory suggesting Anthony was living in Brunswick County during this period.

Another potentially significant find is an Anthony Morgan recorded in the tax lists of Surry County, North Carolina in 1771 and 1772 along with an Anthony Morgan, Jr. and Samuel Morgan in 1771. Anthony's cousin Benjamin Morgan, son of Charles of Fauquier County, migrated to neighboring Wilkes County, North Carolina around that same time. This may suggest that Anthony left the Fauquier area at the same time as his cousin, settling in North Carolina briefly as he migrated to South Carolina.

Our Morgan mysteries are definitely not resolved yet, but I believe that Anthony Morgan's listing in Daniel Payne's Dumfries ledger is a huge step toward finding Charles Morgan's lineage and ultimately our immigrant ancestor.

Identifying Our Morgan DNA

The search for the origins of our ancestor Charles Morgan who died in Warrick County, Indiana in 1832 has been ongoing for many years. The internet is full of theories of supposed family lineages none of which are verifiable. After participating in an autosomal DNA project several years ago, one of my primary goals has been to identify the location of our Morgan DNA by chromosome and segment. Until recently I had found no matches that appeared to descend from our Charles Morgan but several weeks ago, I found two descendants of his son Anthony who match my DNA and that of my two first cousins from this lineage on Chromosome 4. Once these Morgan descendants were identified, an entire block of matches that had previously been complete mysteries became probable candidates as descendants from either the Morgan family or an allied maternal lineage. This listing shows matches to myself and my cousins with the segments and size of the match as well as a notation of any known ancestral lines.

In a statement given when applying for a Revolutionary War pension, Charles Morgan stated that he was born 1757 in Fauquier County, Virginia and was living in York County, South Carolina by 1775 when first called into service. One of the most common theories is that Charles Morgan who died in Warrick County, Indiana was the son of Benjamin Morgan and Phoebe Settle of Fauquier County, Virginia who migrated to Wilkes County, North Carolina around 1770 and eventually to Tennessee where they died. A thorough search of the records of Wilkes County has produced proof that Benjamin's son Charles was still living in Wilkes County, North Carolina in 1780 when he married Ann Hall on the 21st of January 1780. This Charles Morgan has been identified in countless websites and family pedigrees as the son of Benjamin's brother John Morgan and Martha Settle, however, the deed records of Wilkes prove that to be incorrect. A 1784 deed from Benjamin Morgan to William Johnson for 300 acres includes as part of the legal description of the land that Benjamin Morgan was selling the phrase "along a line between Benjamin Morgan and his son Charles" (Deed Book A-1, p. 504). Various sources had identified all of the younger Morgan individuals in Wilkes County as children of John Morgan and Martha Settle, but there is no record that John Morgan ever lived in that county. The Capt. John Morgan who served in the Revolution from Surry County, North Carolina was a completely different person and never migrated to Tennessee, dying in Stokes County, North Carolina (formed from Surry). See a previous post regarding documented information for Benjamin and John Morgan along with errors in the online family pedigrees for the Morgan family in Sumner County, Tennessee.

Another of the primary theories of Charles' lineage identifies him as a son of Anthony Morgan of Brunswick County, Virginia who was a grandson of the earliest known ancestor of this family, Anthony Morgan of Glamorgan, Wales, who died in Old Rappahannock County, Virginia in 1688. The elder Anthony Morgan's son Charles was the father of Benjamin Morgan and his son Anthony the father of Anthony Morgan of Brunswick County. Numerous sites list Anthony Morgan's son Charles' date of birth as 1764 in Brunswick County which definitely disagrees with our Charles Morgan's stated date and place of birth. I have been unable to find any primary source to document a connection to Anthony Morgan. The theory appears to have been based upon proximity in York, South Carolina and the fact that Charles named a son Anthony.

In reviewing any lineages that could be found for the individuals who are matches on this segment of Chromosome 4, besides the two who descend from Charles Morgan's son Anthony, one appears to descend from Anthony Morgan of Brunswick County, Virginia and four are from Duncan families which may be related to the family of Ann Dunkin or Duncan, wife of Anthony Morgan (II) and mother of Anthony Morgan of Brunswick, Virginia. It has been suggested that Charles Morgan, born 1680, married an Ann Duncan but no reliable sources have been located for that assumption.

I am in hopes that more matches on this segment of Chromosome 4 will be forthcoming and can eventually definitely identify Charles' family. If you're reading this post, are a descendant of this Morgan family and have participated in an autosomal DNA project, drop me a note in the comments. And if you've uploaded your raw DNA data from Ancestry, 23andMe or FtDNA to GEDMatch where we can compare matches that would be excellent.

Morgan Family Myths

When no documentation can be found in the historical records that verify the family histories, legends and online pedigrees of a family, I always find that troubling. As with so many other family lines, the truth of our Morgan ancestors is obscured with numerous stories and tall tales but there seems to be no historical record to support much of it. There is fairly reliable information on the majority of the children of Charles Morgan of Prince William and Fauquier Counties in Virginia, but much of the data online regarding sons Benjamin and John is suspicious. The fact that a dozen children were attributed to John Morgan and Martha Ann Settle who could not possibly have married until sometime after 1760, and only one possible child to Benjamin and Phoebe Settle Morgan is disconcerting. This has created persistent doubts regarding the accuracy of the history of this family as posted all over the web.

The legends appear to have begun in early 20th century family histories which elude to family bibles and old letters with no further documentation. The details of these bibles, letters and other documents are never available, and no scanned copies of the pages or letters are ever found online with these stories.

From the records of Fauquier County, it appears that Charles Morgan had several grandsons named for him. Charles, the son of Simon Morgan, was a Revolutionary soldier. He moved to Pennsylvania in 1804 where he died in 1808. Charles, the son of William Morgan, another soldier of the Revolution received large land grants in Kentucky. He settled in Fayette County for a time, later moving further west to Muhlenburg County where he died in 1822. Charles Morgan, who was documented as being killed in 1787 by indians during one of the many attacks on the Cumberland settlements of Middle Tennessee, has been believed to be the son of John Morgan and Martha Ann Settle. Finally, our ancestor Charles Morgan, born in Fauquier County in 1757 according to his Revolutionary War pension statement has been believed to be the son of Benjamin Morgan and Phoebe Settle although there is no evidence to support that claim. The two other sons of family patriarch Charles Morgan were Charles, Jr. who named no sons in his Culpeper County will of 1782 and James who left sons but none were named Charles.

William, Simon and Charles Morgan, Jr. all left wills so their descendants are documented. That is not the case for Benjamin Morgan or his brother John. Benjamin is documented as marrying Phoebe Settle in various sources, particularly a chancery case where they were among the plaintiffs in a suit filed against other heirs of Isaac Settle and the executors of his estate. In both a writ and a summons from that case in 1760, Phoebe's sister Martha Ann Settle who is said to have married John Morgan and been the mother of his twelve children, was unmarried and named as Martha Settle in those chancery documents.

By 1775, Benjamin Morgan was described as a resident of the "Province of Carolina" in a deed for 300 acres in Little Fork in Culpeper County. The property adjoined Anthony Strother and several other members of the Strother family who were closely related to the Morgan family. In 1779, Benjamin Morgan, Charles Morgan, John Morgan and Isaac Morgan were listed as taxpayers in Capt. Allen's District of Wilkes County, North Carolina.

There are numerous property transactions recorded in Culpeper County for Charles Morgan, Sr., Charles Morgan, Jr., Benjamin Morgan, William Morgan and John Morgan. Charles Morgan, Sr. is said to have owned land at the great fork of the Rappahannock which lies between Prince William and Culpeper Counties. The 1757 Culpeper County will of John Cole names his son-in-law John Morgan and makes a bequest to William Morgan whose relationship is unstated (Will Book A, p. 144-145). Two of the witnesses of that will were Charles Morgan and William Morgan. When John Cole's wife Susannah wrote her will in September of 1761, she mentioned her daughter Alice Morgan (Will Book A, p. 269-271). There is obviously sufficient documentation that John Morgan was married to Alice Cole until at least 1761.

Although family lore says that John Morgan and his wife Martha Ann Settle were also residents of Surry or Wilkes County which was formed from Surry in 1777, there are no records to support that assertion. John Morgan witnessed the will of Benjamin Taylor in February of 1775 in Culpeper County. The myths surrounding this family have credited John with being the Capt. John Morgan of Surry County who served during the Revolution, but that does not appear to be correct. Capt. John Morgan's wife is recorded as Elizabeth (Betty) in two 1794 deeds where they sold portions of his original Surry County 400 acre land grant and he died in Stokes County, North Carolina (formed from Surry) in 1819. He was not killed by indians in Tennessee. There is nothing found thus far in the records of Wilkes County that would lead one to believe that John Morgan and Martha Ann Settle were living there during the time Benjamin and these Morgan children were.

In searching the records of Wilkes County, North Carolina, it becomes quite clear that Benjamin Morgan was undoubtedly the father of these young Morgan family members. They were all also born before Martha Settle could have married John Morgan which would have to have been after 1761. The only John Morgan in Wilkes County was the sibling of Charles and Isaac Morgan. Charles married Ann Hall in Wilkes County on 21 Jan 1780, Charity married Henry Gambill on 6 Oct 1778 and Alice married James Gambill on 24 Jul 1785. By 1782, Benjamin, and Isaac Morgan are the only Morgans of this family listed as taxpayers in Wilkes County, an unrelated Joseph Morgan was also listed as a taxpayer that year. Charles Morgan along with Benjamin and James Gambill witnessed a Wilkes County deed from Henry Gambill to William Clark on 10 Sep 1784 (Deed Book A-1 p.483). This does not agree with the Morgan legends which state that Charles and John Morgan arrived in the Cumberland Settlements of Tennessee with their father-in-law Major William Hall. In the last transaction by Benjamin Morgan on 2 Nov 1785 which was apparently before leaving North Carolina for Tennessee, he conveyed 140 acres in Wilkes County to James Coddell (sic Caudill). That deed makes reference to improvements to the property made by Henry Gambill and was witnessed by James Gambill (Deed Book A-1, p. 452). And most illuminating of all, a deed from Benjamin Morgan to William Johnson for 300 acres in Wilkes County written 14 December 1784 includes as part of the legal description of the land that Benjamin Morgan was selling, the phrase "along a line between Benjamin Morgan and his son Charles" (Deed Book A-1, p. 504). It should also be noted that the names "Benjamin" and "Phoebe" were used for the children of Isaac Morgan, James Gambill and other descendants.

The earliest records of the Cumberland Settlements of Middle Tennessee such as Ramsey's Annals of Tennessee written in 1858 and Early Times in Middle Tennessee written by John Carr in 1857 simply state - They (the indians) killed old Mr. Morgan, the father of Esquire John Morgan, who owned the fort near that place...They killed Captain Charles Morgan and old Mr. Gibson, near where Gen. Hall now lived...They killed Armsted Morgan, a brother of Captain Charles Morgan, and a fine-humored, well-disposed young man, while he was guiding through from "South-west Point" Captain Handly and a company of men for the protection of the Cumberland settlements. It is only in much later publications written more than 100 years after these events that "old Mr. Morgan" begins to be identified as John Morgan.

Read the entire manuscript of The Annals of Tennessee to the End of the Eighteenth Century  by J. G. M. Ramsey pub. 1853 online.

Benjamin Morgan is documented as being present in Sumner County by 1787 for that year he was listed as a delinquent taxpayer as was Armistead Morgan who had also been killed that year. The only John Morgan listed in these Cumberland Settlement census records is John Morgan, the son-in-law of Maj. Hall. In December of 1804 a public sale was advertised for 320 acres on Bledsoe's Creek which belonged to Benjamin Morgan. The property was taken to satisfy a judgment obtained by Winchester and Cage.

The result of all this research is that I have made no progress in finding the parents of our Charles Morgan who died in Warrick County, Indiana. However, I am now sure that he was not the son of Benjamin and Phoebe Settle Morgan since he had been living in South Carolina since 1775, and not in Wilkes County when the 1784 deed naming Benjamin Morgan's son Charles was written. A clearer picture of Benjamin Morgan is also emerging and the evidence suggests that he was the "old Mr. Morgan" who was killed by indians in 1787 but there are still many questions. If there really are bible records and other early documents in existence, it would be wonderful if they could be shared with other researchers in order to help find the truth of this family. What is the documentation for the marriage of John Morgan to Martha Ann Settle? If John and Martha didn't go to Tennessee, then where? We still need to learn exactly who the parents of the dozen children previously attributed to them were as well as countless other missing details of their lives.

Updates to Morgan family Research

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Finally Found - our Morgan Family Ancestor
Benjamin Morgan & Phoebe Settle

Our Immigrant Morgan Ancestor

More About Anthony Morgan III

Hall Ancestor - Charles Morgan

Charles Morgan, grandfather of David Hall and Charles Morgan Hall of Ballard County, is the subject of much speculation and conflicting internet theories. The most factual information available about him comes from the 1832 statement given in Warrick County, Indiana when he filed for a Revolutionary War pension. In that document, he states that he was born around 1757 in Fauquier County, Virginia.

The Charles Morgan who died in Warrick County, Indiana is presumed to be the son of Benjamin Morgan and Phoebe Settle of Fauquier. Benjamin was one of the six sons of Charles Morgan born 28 Sep 1680 in Rappahannock, Virginia. Each of Charles Morgan's six sons named a son Charles. Most of these grandsons are documented and have been correctly identified with their respective parent. Our ancestor Charles Morgan is believed to be the son of Benjamin but there is no documentation to support that. Actually there is currently no documentation that identifies any of the children of Benjamin and Phoebe Settle Morgan.

Much of the conflicting information on the internet originates from the SARRETT/SARRATT/SURRATT Families of America website which would have us believe that this Charles Morgan was the son born circa 1764 in Brunswick County, Virginia to an Anthony Morgan and Mary Wilson. Note that there is no Anthony Morgan recorded in tax lists and other records of Fauquier County. This information does not agree with Charles Morgan's own statements given in his 1832 pension statement and does not appear to have any basis other than proximity due to both individuals living in the area of York County, South Carolina. There were several Charles Morgans in the area around York County and no documentation that deferentiates between them.

Charles Morgan's pension application states that he was residing in York County, South Carolina in 1775 when he volunteered to serve in a militia company. His first service for about three months was in the command of a company of which he was Lieutenant, after which he received a Captain's commission from the Governor of South Carolina. He recalled that he served for three years without intermission. Most of his service was in the command of General Lacy, under whom he had entered the service. He remembered being involved in several skirmishes and a battle of Createn Springs.

He remained in South Carolina for about twenty years after the Revolution, then moved to Kentucky around 1800. There were other members of the Morgan family of Fauquier County, Virginia living in the Logan County area of Kentucky including widowed Phoebe Settle Morgan but that may have no bearing on his choice of the location when settling in Kentucky. He is found in deed records of Logan County in the early years of the 19th century and it is there that his daughter Polly married Archibald Lovelace in 1802. By 1810, he was recorded in Butler County in the census of that year. In neighboring Ohio County, his daughter Susannah married David Hall in 1812 and in Butler County in 1819, daughter Edith Ann "Edy" Morgan married Adam Hall.

It was these daughters and their husbands who came to the Jackson Purchase soon after it was opened for settlement and are all found there by the 1830 census as well as David and Adam's brother James who had married Betsy Lovelace. Charles Morgan's wife, Lorena Arnold, the mother of his older children died in Kentucky about 1816. He married again to Nancy Dixon in 1817 and before his death, he married a third time in 1830 in Warrick County to Mrs. Nancy Camp. He died sometime not long after giving his pension statement on the 18th of September 1832 in Warrick County, Indiana.

This is a lineage that may benefit greatly from the new autosomal DNA projects. It may finally be possible to connect our Charles Morgan to the family of Charles Morgan of Rappahannock or prove that he descended from another of the many Morgan families of colonial America. Autosomal DNA testing could also provide further clues to maternal lines.

The Charles Morgan Hall Family

Charles Morgan Hall, the son of Adam Hall and Edith Ann Morgan, married Mary Elizabeth Wingo, the daughter of Jerman J. Wingo and Ann Beadles so I am related to that family through two different lines. My grandfather referred to them as being his "double cousins".

Charles M. Hall's grandfather was Charles Morgan who served as a militia Captain in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War. His other grandfather, William Hall was also reportedly a soldier of the Revolution but since the name William Hall is far too common in revolutionary records, no one has confirmed his service to date. Charles Morgan applied for a RW pension in 1832 in Warrick County, Indiana but died soon after his statement was given. Thankfully he did make that application before his death because there is information contained in it that would never have been available otherwise. That will probably be material for another post.



Charles' father Adam Hall was a keel and flat boatsman on the Mississippi River, trading in pork and salt, but after steamboats came into existence, in 1837 he quit boating and purchased 366 acres of land just across the Mississippi River in Missouri. He resided there on his farm at Cape Girardeau till his death in January of 1849.

As a young man, Charles Morgan Hall had also piloted flat boats down the river to New Orleans. After Adam Hall's death, he brought his mother and the younger children back to Kentucky where he had the care of the family. In 1856, he married Mary Elizabeth Wingo, a young widow, who had previously been married to a William Hall who was said to be of no relation. C. M. and Mary Elizabeth Hall raised their eight children not far from Blandville in Ballard County, Kentucky.

According to information published in 1885 by Battle, Perrin & Kniffen in Volume I of Kentucky: A History of the State, C. M. Hall was a leading farmer and fine stock breeder. Charles Morgan Hall died on the 28th of January 1895 and Mary Elizabeth Wingo Hall died on the 10th of November 1911.



(Thanks to Charles M. Hall descendant, Jay, for the wonderful photo above.)