Ebenezer & Agnes Morse Family

Copyright © 2001-2018, Colleen Norman and Debbie McArdle. All rights reserved. 

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The Ebenezer Morse family genealogy has been researched by many, many of their descendants. This paper represents facts, supported by endnotes, collected over decades of research by Larry Briggs, Colleen Norman, Debbie McArdle, Betty Dill & others. 

The name Morse has been spelled in the documents that are referenced as Morse, Morss, Mors, Moss, Morris, and Morriss.  We use these surnames interchangeably.

Ebenezer and Agnes (Spiller) Morse Family

Copyright © 2001-2018, Colleen Norman and Debbie McArdle. All rights reserved.

Updated May 15, 2018

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The Ebenezer Morse family genealogy has been researched by many, many of their descendants. This paper represents facts collected over decades of research by Larry Briggs, Debbie McArdle, Betty Dill, Colleen Norman & others.  The name Morse has been spelled in the documents that are referenced as Morse, Morss, Mors, Moss, Morris, and Morriss.  We use these surnames interchangeably.

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Debbie McArdle, 6705 Connecticut Trail, Crystal Lake,IL 60012-3125  

    JJMCARD@comcast.net

The Beginnings

Ebenezer Morse was also known as Eb Morse.  His middle initial has been reported to be “B.”, but we believe this was incorrectly transcribed from his gravestone which reads “EB MORSE”.  Because his stone was hand-chiseled, spelling EB rather than EBENEZER saved time and allowed the use of a smaller stone.

At this time there is no evidence that Ebenezer Morse was born overseas.  Circumstantial evidence suggests he was born about 1736[i] in either Maryland or the Northern Neck of Virginia.  There was an adult Ebenezer Morse in Stafford County, Virginia as early as 1733.[ii]   

Ebenezer’s wife, Agness, appears to have been born in Prince William County, VA probably about 1743.   We believe her maiden name was Spiller [iii] and that she was the daughter of William (b~1725)[iv] and Lucy Spiller (possibly a Scurlock)[v].   William (b~1725) Spiller’s family first appeared in Virginia records in 1707 when his grandparents, William (b~1685) and Mary (possibly Mason) Spiller, leased land from William Brent.[vi]  “Our” William (b~1725)[vii] is the son of Warrington Spiller (b~1707), son of William (b~1685).  In 1770 “our” William (b~1725) and his wife, Lucy, deeded property in Prince William County that he had inherited from his grandfather, William (b~1685).  At that time he and Lucy were living in Orange County, NC.[viii]  One of Ebenezer’s and Agness’ daughters was named Lucy.  William Spiller (b~1725) apparently died before the 1790 Census because when the 96 District, Spartanburg County, SC Census was taken, his widow, Lucy Spellers (as transcribed) appears in the Morse /  Wofford / Bucy / Pennington neighborhood with 3 girls, 2 minor males, and 1 male over 16.[ix]

Possibilities for Ebenezer’s Father

There are currently up to four candidates for the father of “our” Ebenezer (Three Ebenezers and one Obediah Morse).  Statements #1 & #2 may apply to one individual, thereby narrowing the field to three candidates:

1)      In Stafford County, VA, 1733, there was an Ebenezer Moss who was paid from Simon Pearson’s estate for “smiths work”.[x]   This Eb's wife was Deborah Moss, named executrix of his will,  23 May 1757, Prince William County, VA.[xi]  This appears to be the Ebenezer whose case was abated in 1756, Prince William County, VA because he, the plaintiff, had died.[xii]

2)   In Fairfax County, VA, 1744, (Formed from Prince William, 1742) John    Bronough had died.  In 1750 Henry Reardon filed an accounting for Bronough’s estate for paying “Ebenezar Moss 100 pds tobacco” and charging back “By my  wife’s thirds of Ebenezar Moss’s debt”.[xiii]  John Bronough was married to Mrs. George (Ann) Mason's sister.[xiv]

3)  Circa 1750 Charles Ewell and John Ballendine established iron furnaces on the Occoquan River.[xv]  (See Ebenezer's 1752 suit against William Ballandine.[xvi] ) In Prince William County, VA, 1752, an Ebenezer and an Obediah Moss were added to Mr. Wickliff’s list of tithables.[xvii][xviii]  This suggests they were new to the community, being added to the required list of draftable workforce available to the government.  Levies of taxes were often based on that number.  Tithables   were free men and slaves (men and women) over age 16.  The establishment of the furnace on the Occoquan created a source for materials necessary to the blacksmith's trade and was likely the reason for Ebenezer's move.  An Ebenezer Morse had married a Sarah Fox in 1735, Prince George County, MD.[xix]  In 1753,  Prince William County, VA, an Ebenezer and Sarah Moss were involved in litigation with John Foley, plaintiff.[xx] [xxi] [xxii]   (See 1761 transaction, Ebenezer  & Agness Morse w/James Fowley, Jr.'s account at Daniel Payne's store[xxiii])  By    1759 it appears this Ebenezer had died in Prince William County, VA, with  Sarah Cocker as executrix, presumably remarried.[xxiv]  (See #4 for comments on   this Obediah.)

4)   In Prince William County, VA, 1757, an “Obed Moss” appraised the estate of  Richard Hazilrigg.[xxv] 

y-DNA testing of individuals from Ebenezer Morse’s line match descendents of William Morse’s (born 1614 England, Died Newberry, Massachusetts 1683), as well as descendents of William Morse's brother, Anthony Morse.  We are currently (May, 2018) in communication with the Morse Society to see what evidence they might now have to link Ebenezer to either William or Anthony's line.. 

Because the y-DNA of our Ebenezer matches that of brothers William and Anthony Morse, it indicates they share a common ancestor either in New Englandor in the British Isles.  It is interesting to note this William Morse is related to an Obadiah and Ebenezer Morse in Portsmouth, N.H.(as late as 1712) and they are gunsmiths, “mending touch holes of the Great Guns” and “casting bullets”.  They drop out of site in New Hampshire.  In 1723, 11 years later, an Ebenezer Morse is recorded in Marylandas "Touch holding the Great Guns”.  The preponderance of evidence (the gunsmith/blacksmith trade, the use of the names Ebenezer & Obadiah throughout the generations, and now matching yDNA)  suggests a direct link between the Maryland line and the earlier New Hampshire/Massachusetts line, but that will be another chapter in our research.

Ebenezer and Agness

The first documentation we have of what we believe to be “our” Ebenezer and Agness is in 1761 on the ledger of Daniel Payne’s Store in Dumfries, Prince William County, VA.[xxvi]  Ebenezer and Agness had both received money and/or goods from the store that were debited to the account of James Fowley, Jr., overseer for Miss Frances Ballendine.  It appears to have been common practice in those days to pay for day labor by allowing laborers to charge money or goods to their employer’s account in Payne’s Store.  Agness was credited for ¼ pound allspice onJune 22, 1761 and Ebenezer was credited with 3.68 sterling on9 August 1762.  It is interesting to note that Ebenezer and Agness named one of their sons John Foley Morse.

By 1770 Ebenezer, his family and Agness’ parents, William and Lucy Spiller, had migrated to Orange County, NC.  There Ebenezer bought land on Ghent Creek, waters of the HycoRiver.[xxvii] (This land now falls into Person County, NC.)  Apparently the sale was never completed, although the sale is cited in succeeding transfers of the land.[xxviii]  In 1770 Joseph Buffington, iron master, had come from Pennsylvania to build NC's first iron furnace, Speedwell Furnace on Troublesome Creek in Monroeton (in present day Rockingham County), about 45 miles west of Ghent Creek where Ebenezer had just purchased land.[xxix]  Ebenezer's timing may have been based on the Speedwell Furnace's opening as he would need iron for his blacksmithing and gunsmithing trade.

Ebenezer and Agness left Orange County, NC sometime after 1770 when they bought the land on Ghent Creek, Hyco River, NC and before 1775 when Ebenezer signed as witness to a deed in Spartanburg County, SC.[xxx]   Once again, it would seem Joseph Buffington of Speedwell Furnace on Troublesome Creek in NC may have had an influence on Ebenezer's move to SC.  In 1772 Buffington sold his NC iron works.  In 1774 the SC government was offering incentives for the first, second and third iron furnaces that would open in their state.   Buffington seized the opportunity, purchasing land on Lawson's Fork in (now Glendale) Spartanburg County, SC, opening his iron works in 1775. [xxxi]  Is it a coincidence that also in 1775 Ebenezer Morse first appears in Spartanburg County, SC land deeds, and that he purchased land on Two Mile Creek of the Enoree River, just 34 miles south of Buffington's iron works?   In 1776 a William Wofford established SC's second iron furnace adjacent to Buffington's.[xxxii]  Surely this William Wofford is somehow related to the Wofford men who married two of Ebenezer's daughters.

With the opening of the Cherokee lands at the end of the French and Indian War, the first permanent settlers of Spartanburg County, SC began to arrive around 1765-1770.  As a blacksmith / gunsmith, the establishment of the first and second iron furnaces in SC created a unique opportunity for Ebenezer in Spartanburg County.

For their migration, the  coastal Virginia families we are following likely used the Upper Trail along eastern Virginia (through the area now known as Richmond) taking them into Hillsboro, Orange County, NC, slightly north of what is now Greensboro, NC.  From there the pioneers traveled along the trail known as the “Big Road”, an ancient Indian trail running parallel to our modern I-85 from Charlotte to Atlanta.  At the time of this mass migration, the old Indian trail was so well used it was wide enough for two wagons to pass![xxxiii]

Other families from the Northern Neck of Virginia that were also in the Morse  neighborhood in South Carolina were:  Thomas and John Farrow who were cited in Daniel Payne’s grocery; the Foleys, also cited in Daniel Payne’s ledger; Sampson Bobo and his brother, Spencer; the Calverts and the Waters.  Other families with whom Ebenezer had business dealings and/or spousal exchange were the Attaways, Penningtons, Powers, Woffords, Bucys, and Bumpasses.  Ebenezer also had many land deals with the Hendricks family.  Most of these families appear to have migrated fromMarylandthroughVirginiaandNorth CarolinatoSpartanburg County, South Carolina. 

The Children

Agnes and Ebenezer had 12 children that lived to adulthood that have been documented.  It is also believed that Mason Morse ofSpartanburg County,SCis one of their oldest children.  Although the evidence is circumstantial at this time, he is included in this list, making a total of 13 children.  In the 1790 census Mason and Ebenezer were the only Morss families in Spartanburg County,SC.  Mason Morse was closely associated with Ebenezer and his other children, especially the ones inLaurens County,SC.

In the 1790 Spartanburg 96 District, SC Census, Ebenezer and Agness had 5 males older than 16 at home, 2 males younger than 16, and 2 young females.[xxxiv]   Six children were already married and in their own homes:  Mason and Joanah Morse,[xxxv] John and Sarah Pennington,[xxxvi] Benjamin Wofford Jr. and his wife,[xxxvii] Benjamin and Lucy Bucy,[xxxviii] Nathaniel and Nancy Power, and Travis Morse and his wife.[xxxix]  The two females at home with Ebenezer and Agness were probably Eunice and Fanny, who would have been about 10 and 11 years.  John F. and Jarrot were probably the two males under 16.  The ages of the children are unproved.  We have put them in order of what we believe to be oldest to youngest and in most cases have “best guessed” their years of birth based on census records from 1790 to 1860.

Our list of the children and their approximate years of birth are:

Mason, born about 1762 (circumstantial)

Sarah, born about 1764

Unidentified Daughter, born about 1766, who married Benjamin Wofford, Jr.

Travis, born about 1767

Lucy, born about 1768

Obediah, born about 1769

Nancy, born about 1770

James L., born14 February 1771

William, born about 1772*

John Foley, born about 1773

Jarrott, born about 1778

Fanny, born about 1779

Eunice, born24 December 1780

*In legal documents listing the names of Ebenezer’s sons, John F. is listed before William.

Mason Morse  (circumstantial)       

Mason Morse married Joanah Overby, daughter of Meshack Overby.[xl] [xli]  At the time of the 1790 Laurens County, SC Census Mason was about 28 years old and may have been recently married since he and Joanah had no children.[xlii]  They are on the 1800 census in Lancaster District, SC with three children[xliii] but only two children are named in Meshack Overby’s will written in 1801 and proved in 1816.  Although Overby divided his estate among his other children, he gave his daughter, Joanah Moss, 10 shillings and gave her part of  the estate to her children, Elihue and Mason.[xliv]

Mason had a land grant in the northern part of Spartanburg Co. on Abner’s Creek.[xlv]  In 1795 he was a witness in a court case against Benjamin Wofford, and was paid for “27 days attendance and 200 miles in coming to court, as he lives without this county”.[xlvi]  They were likely already in Lancaster County, SC where they appeared on the 1800 census.[xlvii]  

In 1802 we find Mason for one year only on the Warren County, Kentucky Tax List.[xlviii]  By November, 1803 Mason moved closer to his family when “Mayson Moss of Laurens District” purchased 100 acres of land on Cain Creek.[xlix]  When Mason sold land in 1807, Joanah signed her dower rights away.[l]  Mason was apparently close to Travis in Laurens County, several times signing as witness with Travis on legal documents.  About 1807 or 1808, Mason “found” a horse, wagon and harness and was taken to court[li]  A Mason Morse who may have been Mason’s son appeared in the 1820 Census of Laurens County, SC,[lii] bought land in Weakley County, TN in 1829,[liii] and is found on the 1832 Weakley County, TN tax list.[liv]  He died there is 1847.[lv]  Lucy Morse Bucy lived in that county during that same time.[lvi]

Sarah  (Morse) Pennington

Sarah, or Sally, Morse was about 26 at the time of the 1790 Spartanburg 96 District, SC Census.  At that time she was already married to John Pennington and had 5 children; 1 son and 4 daughters.[lvii]  In the 1800 census for the same county there are still 5 children enumerated.[lviii]  Sally and John married about 1778 and their children were:  Naomi Pennington who married John E. Stone; Sarah Pennington who married William D. Stewart; Cassandra Pennington who married Henry W. Stone; Jacob Pennington who married Pamela or Permelia Mitchusson; and Malinda Pennington.[lix]

Sally signed the deed for the sale of some of their land in Spartanburg County, SCin 1806[lx] and apparently she, John, and their children migrated to Kentucky with the main group of Morses about 1807.  In 1808, she, John and their son, Jacob, witnessed a deed in Livingston County, KY for her brother, William Morse, of Warren County, KY who was purchasing 200 acres on Donalson Fork (now in Caldwell County, KY).[lxi]  Sarah died after 4 September 1812 [lxii] and before 27 April 1817 when her husband, John, married Ruth Greer in Caldwell County, KY.[lxiii] [lxiv]  John died about 1827 in Caldwell County, KY.[lxv]

Because Sally died before her father, Ebenezer wrote his will in such a way that only his children who survived him would share in his estate.  Four of his children, Sarah, Nancy, the Wofford wife, and Mason Morse, died before Ebenezer and were not mentioned in the will.  John Pennington sued Ebenezer’s heirs on behalf of his children and the children of Nancy and the Wofford wife. [lxvi]

Mrs. Benjamin Wofford, Jr.

The greatest mystery next to “Who are Ebenezer’s parents?” is “What is the name of the Morse daughter who married Benjamin Wofford, Jr.?”.  Benjamin, Jr. and his wife were in Laurens County, SCin the 1790 census.[lxvii]  They had one young male and two young females in their household.  Benjamin Wofford, Jr. was a brother to William Wofford who married Fanny Morse. 

Benjamin, Jr.’s and William’s father was Benjamin Wofford, Sr.  (There were several Benjamin Woffords in South Carolinaat the time, and they are difficult to sort.  We have not ascertained if he is the same Benjamin Wofford Sr. who was a well-known South Carolina Loyalist, fighting on the side of Englandduring the Revolutionary War.[lxviii] [lxix]  This Loyalist was a very interesting fellow, seemingly able to make money under any conditions.  After petitioning the House of Representatives in South Carolina[lxx] to return home after the war, he found that many people, who had been neighbors and friends before the war, were unwilling to forgive and forget events that occurred during the war.[lxxi]  Life for him, as for most Tories, was not pleasant in their home communities and many migrated west to escape their reputations.)   

“Our” Benjamin Wofford Sr. and his sons and their families moved to Kentuckybefore 1800 and were in Trammel’s Creek, Warren County, KY in 1801.[lxxii]  The Wofford group, including Benjamin Sr., Benjamin Jr., William and Fanny (Morse), and Joseph Wofford, had all been living in Warren County, KY about seven years[lxxiii] when Ebenezer and the main body of the Morse migrants stopped for a brief time in 1808.[lxxiv]  Benjamin Wofford Sr. found himself in legal trouble in Warren County in 1805 when a judgment for $1000[lxxv] was awarded Jason Isbell against Benjamin Sr. It appears in an effort to save his property, he deeded 10 black slaves to three of his sons:  Benjamin Jr., William, and Joseph Wofford.[lxxvi]  He then moved to Madison County, Alabama before 1809[lxxvii] where land was just opening up for settlement.  Their land was on the waters of the Flint River.   His sons, Benjamin Jr. and Joseph, joined him there.  Benjamin Bucy and probably his wife, Lucy, were also there in 1809.[lxxviii]   Benjamin Wofford Jr. stayed on in Alabama after Benjamin Sr. died in 1815.  Our Benjamin Wofford Jr. may have been married at least three times.  The first was definitely to Ebenezer and Agness Morse’s unidentified daughter who had died before Ebenezer in 1818, and before the 1820 Pennington lawsuit.[lxxix]  He probably married a second time during the period 1818 to 1830 to a woman named Sarah who signed deeds with him in Madison County, AL.  He may have married a third time in 1830 to Elizabeth M. Pate Davis Coyle (the widow of Daniel Davis and Michael Coyle)[lxxx] but we are unable to prove that all three of these marriages represent one Benjamin Wofford.  Our Benjamin Wofford, Jr. may have been  born11 October 1772 and may have died20 March 1854 inTippah County, Mississippi, according to at least one source.

Travis Morse

Travis was born about 1760 to 1770 and was probably between the ages of 20 and 30 in the 1790 Laurens County, SCCensus.[lxxxi]  He and his wife, whose name is unknown, had 1 male and 5 females in their household at that time.  She may have been the daughter of Henry Meredith who sold, in May of 1789,  land on the Enoree River in Laurens County  to Travis for just 10 shillings.[lxxxii] The land was located on the south side of the Enoree River, Laurens County, SC.  John Farrow, John Morse, and Hammond Morris witnessed the deed.   By the 1800 census of Laurens County they listed only 1 boy and 2 girls less than 10 years in their household.[lxxxiii]  In the 1810 census of Laurens County, Travis and his wife were enumerated with 2 males and 3 females.  By 1820, it appears that his wife had died and the oldest woman in his household was a young female 10 to 16, who may have been a daughter or a new wife.  In the 1830 Caldwell County, KY Census there appears to be a son or daughter and their family living with him.  His known children, who all married in Caldwell County, Kentucky, were:  Ebenezer who married Paulina B. Morse 21 February 1829;[lxxxiv] Lavinia Morse who married Robert Patterson 7 March 1816;[lxxxv] Eleanor Morse who married Elias Calvert, bond given 21 September 1815;[lxxxvi] and Henrietta Morse who married James Hiram B. Pearce, bond given 8 October 1834.[lxxxvii]

In Spartanburg County, SC he was made a constable in December 1788, but was charged with taking unlawful fees.  Ebenezer was his surety and Travis settled the case by returning the money and paying court costs.[lxxxviii]

Travis did not go to Kentucky when most of his relatives did.  He did not appear on the tax list in Caldwell County, KY until 1814, about seven years after the largest group of Morses came west.  In August, 1814, he was appointed by the Caldwell County Court to survey a 3-mile portion of road from the Christian County Courthouse to the Saline Lick.  This 3-mile section included the road adjoining his land and John Pennington’s land.[lxxxix]

Travis died about 1838 in Caldwell County, Kentucky.  We have not yet learned the location of his grave.

Lucy (Morse) Bucy

In 1790 Lucy was living in Spartanburg County, SC with her husband, Benjamin Bucy, and three children.[xc]  She was about 22.  They had 1 son and 6 daughters,[xci] one of whom died before Benjamin wrote his will in 1822:  Nancy Bucy who married Henry Wheeler 23 July 1821[xcii]; Francis “Fanny” Bucy who married Jonathan Moore Gilbert 8 October 1821;[xciii] Sally Bucy who married Levi Crow; Zillah Bucy who married Green Bethel; Edward T. Bucy who married Martha Burton;[xciv] Lucy Bucy who married 1) John Kirkwood, 2 February 1820,[xcv] and 2) John Billingsly; and a daughter who married a Lamberson.[xcvi]  Most of these marriages occurred in Livingston County, KY.

Benjamin and Lucy lived near her brothers and sisters in Spartanburg County, SC.  One land transaction that is particularly intriguing involved 675 acres of land that appears to have been granted to Benjamin Bucy after having passed through several owners.  He sold the land to Benjamin Wofford for five pounds sterling.  The next day Benjamin Wofford sold the same land to Daniel McKie for 500 pounds.[xcvii]  We don’t know if this was Benjamin Jr. or Benjamin Sr.  however, it appears that one of the early owners had been Benjamin Senior.  A possible explanation might be that Benjamin Wofford was in danger of having the land taken from him and that the land was put in Benjamin Bucy’s name for safe keeping.  Then after a period of time the land was transferred back to Benjamin Wofford who sold it the next day to Daniel McKie.   Witnesses were:  Mason Morse, William Wofford, and John Pennington. 

Ben and Lucy apparently followed the Woffords to Madison County, AL and he is on the census list there for 1809.[xcviii]  He and Lucy left Alabama and settled in Livingston County, KY when the William Woffords and Augustine Bumpasses were there.  Benjamin was on the tax list for Livingston County, KY from 1817 to 1820.  After 1820 the Bucys moved to Carroll County, TN where Benjamin died in 1825.[xcix]  In October, 1825 his heirs were involved in a lawsuit over land he owned in Livingston County, KY.[c]  By this time, their name was being spelled Busey.

Lucy and her family moved to Weakley County, TN by 1826 where son, Edward Busey, entered 200 acres of land,[ci]  and where they appear on the 1829 and 1831 Weakley County, TN tax lists.[cii] Lucy died there after 12 October 1839[ciii] but before the 1^st day of March, 1841, leaving no will.[civ]

Obediah Morse

Obediah was born about 1769 and was about 21 years old in 1790.  The name of Obediah’s first wife is unknown.   In the 1800 census of  Spartanburg County, SC he and his wife had two girls.[cv]  His first wife appears to have died before 25 July 1811 when Obediah married Susannah Stone, daughter of John Stone,[cvi] in Caldwell County, KY.[cvii]  Based on census analysis Obediah appears to have had ten children:  Sarah who remained home with her family all her life; Permelia who married Joseph Cooke on 21 December 1816; Richard C.; an unidentified daughter born 1804-1810; Nathaniel M. who married 1) Elizabeth Unknown, and 2) Paulina B. Morse, daughter of James L. Morse; Ebenezer; Samuel F. who married Frances Unknown; an unidentified daughter born 1810-1815; Marcus D; David; and Thomas L.[cviii] 

In August, 1801 Obediah bought 50 acres of land on the EnoreeRiver, Spartanburg County, SC from Shadrack Waldrop.[cix]  This is of interest because newly married young people were often helped by their family to get their first land and this may be a clue to Obediah’s first wife’s maiden name.    In 1802 he bought land from Ebenezer and Agness Morse.  Obediah and his family moved to Kentucky with the main Morse migration group about 1807.  Obediah and his family moved from Caldwell County, KY to Stewart County, TN before 1820.[cx] He may also have lived for a brief time in Henry County, TN  in 1824 where he was involved in many court cases, one being a State Warrant on a charge of murder.  He was found not guilty.  Several other cases involved trespass.[cxi]  The trouble in Henry County, TN may be why, in 1824, he had returned to Kentucky where he was on the Graves County, KY tax list for that year.[cxii]  The last appearance of his name on this tax list was in 1826.  In 1827 his wife, Susannah, appeared on the tax list with the same taxable items that had been credited to Obediah in 1826.

Nancy (Morse) Power

Nancy married Nathaniel Power in South Carolina.[cxiii]  His parents are unknown although he had several land transfers with Holloway Power of Spartanburg and Laurens Counties.  Nancy appears to have died there prior to 1800.  In 1797 Nathaniel sold property in Spartanburg County, SC that was signed by his wife, Nancy.[cxiv]  In 1800 Nathaniel sold land and his wife was listed as Unicey, daughter of William Miles.[cxv]  Nathaniel bought land in Madison County, AL in 1809,[cxvi] the same year that Benjamin Wofford Sr. and his sons, Benjamin Jr., and Joseph, and Benjamin Bucy were there.  However, Nathanial was still in Laurens County in 1810.[cxvii]  In 1814, 1815, and 1816 he bought more land inAlabama and apparently moved to Madison County, AL about that time.

James L. Morse

James L. Morse’s wife was named Polly as evidenced by relinquishment of her dower rights in 1808.[cxviii]  Her last name is unknown.  He was not married to Emily Harrison in Spartanburg County, SC as has been erroneously reported in family histories and on the internet throughout the years.  (Emily Harrison was married to a James Moss and lived in Spartanburg County with him for many years after “our” James and his wife, Polly, moved to Caldwell County, KY.[cxix]  The relationship, if any, between the two James Moss/Morse is unknown.)  James L. Morse and Polly had 8 children:  Precious Morse who married Samuel Asher; Sarah Morse who married Robartus Love on 7 September 1815;[cxx] Jefferson G. Morse  who married Elizabeth McChesney 30 April 1846;[cxxi] Polly W. Morse who married Allen Pearce on 8 September 1825;[cxxii] Paulina B. Morse who married 1) Ebenezer Morse, son of Travis, on 21 February 1829;[cxxiii] and 2) John Gray on 12 May 1846,[cxxiv] and 3) Nathaniel M. Morse, son of Obediah; and Elvira D. Morse who married James Bumpass, son of Augustine and Eunice Bumpass, 16 March 1830;[cxxv] and Vashti Morse who married Brooks Perkins, son of Adams Perkins,[cxxvi]  on 2 July 1812;[cxxvii] and Ebenezer  Morse.

In 1812 James was made a constable in Caldwell County, Kentucky.  Ebenezer Morse signed the bond.[cxxviii]

Loose papers stored in the Circuit Clerk’s Office storage room in the Caldwell County, KY Courthouse reveal details of an interesting lawsuit involving James L. Morse and Spencer Calvert.  The case was tried in November 1823 and was about gossip that had been spread by Spencer Calvert about James L. Morse and Mrs. Esther Love Kuykendall, a widow in the community and the mother-in-law of one of James’ daughters.  James and Mrs. Kuykendall had been observed standing on the ground beside their horses on the side of the road on the evening after Ebenezer Morse’s estate sale that had taken place in 1818.  Many of the Morse clan gave depositions about what they had heard, when they heard it, and from whom they heard it.[cxxix]

Spencer Calvert said that he was present at a gathering where he heard Mrs. Kuykendall talking in a degrading way about some other women, or woman.  Spencer said he told Mrs. Kuykendall that there could be lies or evil reports spoken of her as well as other women.  Calvert was the defendant in the suit and was to pay all legal costs of the suit together with reasonable compensation to Morse’s lawyer for bringing the suit and to give up his author or the person from whom he heard it said that Morse and Mrs. Kuykendall were off their horses on the side of the road coming from the sale of E. Morse, deceased. 

James L. Morse died in Caldwell County, KY in 1841 and is buried next to Polly in the Morse Cemetery located on Ebenezer’s farm (formerly called Craig Cemetery or Alex Wilson Cemetery).

William Morse

William Morse married Goley Attaway, daughter of Elisha Attaway, probably in South Carolina about 1795.  She died in 1836[cxxx] and he married Mrs. Susannah Borders, the first time on 10 November 1839[cxxxi] and the second time 19 February 1859.[cxxxii]   He and Goley had 13 children who were named in William’s will:  Mason F. Morse who married Frances Guess, daughter of Joseph Guess, marriage date and place unknown;[cxxxiii] Fanny Morse who married John Thompson Calvert on 7 September 1820;[cxxxiv] Matilda Morse; Melinda Morse who married George Guess, son of John C. Guess, on 4  November 1822;[cxxxv] Nicey Morse who married Alexander Lowery on 11 January 1825;[cxxxvi] John Morse;  Pennington Morse who married Frances Guess, daughter of John C. Guess, on 11 February 1823;[cxxxvii] Travis Morse who married Elizabeth Cooksey on 9 November 1843;[cxxxviii] Precious Morse who married Alexander McDowell; Nancy Morse; Starling T. Morse who married Helen Lowery on 22 March 1832;[cxxxix] Jacob Morse who married Samantha Stone on 1 July 1834;[cxl] and Elizabeth Morse who married Jesse Cooksey on 29 August 1843.[cxli]

William and Susannah were parents of William Greenberry Clay Morse who married Lou Ellen Blackburn on25 January 1867. 

William and his brother-in-law, John Attaway, were part of the first group to go into Kentucky from South Carolina to stake their claim. Both entered land in 1803 but apparently John did not complete the process.   They were living in Warren County, KY where the Woffords were living.  William apparently went back to South Carolina to guide the larger group to Kentucky, including his parents.  He signed deeds in 1807 in South Carolina[cxlii] and in 1808 in Kentucky.[cxliii]   In 1808 William Morse “of Warren County, Kentucky” purchased 200 acres on Donalson Fork (now in Caldwell County, Ky).  His sister, Sally Pennington, her husband, John and their son, Jacob, witnessed this deed for William.[cxliv]

In May, 1814 William was appointed constable for Caldwell County.  Obediah Morse & John Durley signed his bond.[cxlv] [cxlvi]

On 25 May 1824 William charged his brother-in-law, William Wofford, with assault and battery.  Two days later Wofford assaulted him again and took from him a leather bag marked with a “WM” on the side.  The bag contained 100 Spanish milled dollars.[cxlvii]

William wrote his will in 1851.  His estate was to be equally divided among his children less any money he had already paid them during his lifetime.  The land was left to his youngest son, W. G. C. Morse.[cxlviii]  His will was proved 2 January 1861.[cxlix]  One of the debts of the estate was for items bought in J. H. Calvert’s stores. Many of the charges were for fabric and sewing supplies, indicating, perhaps, that someone in the family worked as a seamstress.  On the day he died, charges were made for a bottle of brandy and a bottle of wine.[cl]

William’s tombstone reads,  “William Morse, Born 1772, Died Jan. 2, 1861”.[cli]   Goley’s tombstone reads, “Goley Morse, died Nov. 30, 1836: Aged 61Y.”[clii]  He and Goley are buried off Brown Hill Road (also known as Obrion Road) about 2 miles west of Farmersville, KY. 

John Foley Morse

John Foley[cliii] Morse, Sr. was married to Jane “Jincy” Farrow in SC.  She is the daughter of John Farrow based on an 1814 deed, ". . . since their marriage give a Negro girl, ‘natural’ mill, a bed and furniture and bedstead, sorrel horse, saddle, bridle and  all other small articles John has let them have since their marriage".[cliv]  This relationship is also proven in John Farrow’s 1841 will written in Laurens District, SC. and the subsequent renunciation of it by his children.[clv] John F. Morse and Jane, or Jincy, did not migrate to Kentucky until about 1815.  There has been much confusion about who John F.’s wife was because there was another John Moss,[clvi] son of James and Stacey Moss of Greenville County, South Carolina,[clvii] who married Frances Dillingham in 1809 in Livingston County, KY[clviii] and lived in Caldwell County, KY until 1820.  Both of the Johns were on the Caldwell County 1817 Tax List;[clix] John F. Morse, and not John Moss, was on the Caldwell County 1818 Tax List;[clx]; with no data available for taxes there in 1819.   On the 1820 Caldwell County Tax List,[clxi] our John F. Morse has 374 acres and 14 slaves.  The other John has no land and no slaves and that is the last year he is on the Caldwell County Tax List, evidently having left the county shortly thereafter.  There is ample evidence in Spartanburg and Laurens County, SC records that show that John F. Morse and his wife, Jincy, remained in South Carolina until October of 1815.[clxii]  On 28 November 1815 he signed a document coming into Caldwell County that the slaves he brought with him were for his use and were not for sale.[clxiii] [clxiv]

In November, 1819 John F. and Jane Morse joined, and may have helped form, the Donaldson Baptist Church at Farmersville, KY.[clxv]

John and Jincy had nine children:  Mary Morse who married Spencer M. Calvert, 15 October 1819;[clxvi] Nancy Love Morse who married Jefferson G. Morse, son of James L. Morse; John Foley Morse, Jr. who married Jane E. Fryer, 11 October 1832;[clxvii] James D. Morse who married Catherine Holman, 3 August 1832 (we have found NO evidence his middle name was Dillingham); Ebenezer Morse who married Mary Jane McChesney, 2 November 1843;[clxviii] Rebecca B. Morse who married Jesse Williams (who was hung for mistreatment of a slave), 2 January 1834;[clxix] Jefferson G. Morse, Jr.  who married Melissa Elmira Nichols, 2 November 1848;[clxx] William Mansfield Morse who married Rosanna Carolyn McNeely, 12 December 1850;[clxxi] and Jane K. Morse who married John Holeman, 26 October 1848.[clxxii]

In his will written in 1851 he left his estate of money and slaves to all his children.  He requested that his personal property be sold to the highest bidder among his heirs and not be sold out of the family.[clxxiii]  He was about 80 when he died.  He and Jincy are buried in the Morse/Blackburn Cemetery near Rufus and Shady Grove Road.[clxxiv]  His stone reads, “John F. Morse, Sr., 1773 – Jan. 1853” and her stone reads, “Jincy Morse, Consort of John F. Morse, Sr., Age 65, Died May 25, 1851”.[clxxv]

Jarrott Morse

Jarrott was the youngest son of Ebenezer and Agnes.   His wife was named Elza; her parents are unknown.  Jarrott and Elza had 7 children:  William G. L. Morse who married 1) Anna Guess 3 January 1829,[clxxvi] and 2) Mary Phanney Lewis 15 February 1881;[clxxvii]   Ebenezer S. Morse who married 1) Delila Ann Hobby, 7 November 1831,[clxxviii] and 2) Nancy C. Crow, 3 October 1847;[clxxix] James W. Morse who married Elizabeth Hobby, 29 November 1836;[clxxx] Parrisidda Morse who married William George, 30 November 1836;[clxxxi] Jarrott M. Morse who married Amanda Jane Garner, 17 January 1859;[clxxxii] Elza Catherine Morse who married Franklin Wadlington, 17 April 1851;[clxxxiii] and Nicy Lucretia Morse who married John P. Morse,  9 June 1846.[clxxxiv]

Jarrott was given the family farm by Ebenezer and Agness but they were to have use of it during their lifetime.  This land is partially owned today by Frank Morse of Princeton,KY and contains the cemetery where Ebenezer and Agness and several of their descendants are buried. 

Fannie (Morse) Wofford

Fannie Morse married William Wofford, son of Benjamin Wofford, Sr., before 25 August 1798.  [clxxxv] [clxxxvi]  Their children were:  Jarrott M. Wofford who married Minney Higgins, 20 October 1815; Nicey Wofford who married Phillip Davis, bond made 23 March 1819;[clxxxvii] William L. Wofford who married Betsy Bumpass, daughter of Edward F. Bumpass, 10 January 1821,[clxxxviii]  (William L. Wofford was shot by Henry Shouse, a member of the Ford Ferry Gang, and died of his wounds on 7 November 1832);[clxxxix] Lucinda Wofford who married John Salyer, 31 August 1820;[cxc] Nancy Wofford who married George H. Young, 3 November 1821;[cxci] and Polly L. Wofford who married Nathan Smith, bond 23 March 1830.[cxcii]

William was still in Spartanburg 3 March 1800[cxciii] [cxciv] and by 15 June 1801 his father, Benjamin, was in Warren County, KY.[cxcv]  The 1809 Madison County, (Mississippi Territory) AL census lists Benjamin Wofford Sr., Benjamin Wofford Jr., and Joseph Wofford as well as in-law, Benjamin Bucy.[cxcvi] William Wofford is not listed.  In 1820 and 1830 William Wofford appears on the Caldwell County, KY Census, and for the 1850 Census William and Fannie Wofford were enumerated in San Augustine County, TX.[cxcvii]

Eunice (Morse) Bumpass

Eunice married Augustine Bumpass in SC about 1797.  Their children were:  Edward F. Bumpass; Mary E. Bumpass; James M. Bumpass who married Elvira D. Morse, 16 March 1830,[cxcviii] daughter of James L. Morse; Ezekiel Green Lafayette Bumpass who married Julia Carson; and William Bumpass who married Sally Stromat, 24 December 1819[cxcix].

In 1802 Augustine Bumpass bought 74 acres from Benjamin Bucy in Spartanburg County, SC on the south side of Two Mile Creek.[cc]  The land adjoined Ebenezer Morse’s land.  In 1807 the Bumpasses and most of the Morse family sold out in SC in preparation for the migration.  In the 1810 Census for Caldwell County, KY he and Eunice were enumerated with 1 female and 3 males.[cci]  In 1816 he bought about 300 acres in Livingston County, KY.  In 1820 they were on the census in Livingston County with 2 females and 6 males.[ccii]  The Bumpasses were named in a lawsuit in Livingston County, KY, May, 1823 involving the sale of two parcels of their Livingston County land.[cciii]  In 1824 the Bumpasses were in Henry County, TN[cciv] when they sold their land in Livingston County, KY.  1830 - 1840 Augustine and Eunice were living in Henry County, TN.[ccv] [ccvi] By the 1850 census Eunice was 70 years old living alone.[ccvii]  In the 1860 census she was 80 years old and living alone.  Augustine appears to have died between 1840 and 1850.[ccviii]

Ebenezer’s and Agness’ Life

Ebenezer and Agness led an interesting and colorful life in their trek from Prince William County, VA to Orange County NC; on to Spartanburg County, SC; then to Caldwell County, KY.  Ebenezer was a blacksmith[ccix] and gunsmith[ccx] [ccxi] and at various times ran a publick house of entertainment.[ccxii]  This last may account for Agness being charged in 1785 with assault and battery.  She pled guilty and paid her fine. [ccxiii]  Ebenezer also was charged a few times with assault and paid his fines.

During this post-revolutionary period Ebenezer and his neighbors in the community spent a great deal of time in court, suing and being sued, usually for small sums of money.  Interestingly, Ebenezer usually won the cases in which he was involved.[ccxiv]

We know nothing of the religious affiliation of Ebenezer and Agnes in South Carolina, although it is fairly certain that, at least, the women went to church.  There were a few churches in the area where they lived such as the one known as Antiochnear Kilgore.[ccxv]

Ebenezer owned as much as 1200 acres of land in South Carolina.  Much of the land he bought was sold to his children, most of them living near him.  Travis, John F., Nancy Powers and the Attaways lived in Laurens County, just across the Enoree River from his land in Spartanburg County.  Mason had lived in Lancaster County, but joined his family in Laurens County by 1803.

Ebenezer was often in attendance on court days where he was often plaintiff or defendant in a case.  Court days and estate sales accompanied by whisky and opportunities to socialize were probably their main forms of entertainment.  Ebenezer and several of the men in his family bought items at the estate sales of their neighbors in the Spartanburg and Laurens Counties area.  The women usually were not listed as buyers.

The migration of the Morses from Prince William County in VA to Caldwell County in KY took nearly fifty years.  Upon leaving Virginia about 1770 Ebenezer and Agness moved to Orange County, NC where they lived, perhaps waiting for an iron furnace to open in Spartanburg County, SC.  The surnames of Farrow, Foley, Bobo, Calvert, and Spillers are found in both Prince William County, VA and Spartanburg County, SC.   These same families moved from SC to Caldwell County, KY over a 10 to 15 year period from 1800 to about 1815 when John and Jincy Morse finally migrated. Some of the Morses and Spillers entered the 1805 land lottery in Georgia:  Obediah, John, William Morris, and several of Agness Morse’s relatives.  The Spillers apparently stayed in Georgia when the Morses moved on to Kentucky.[ccxvi]

In 1809 Benjamin Wofford, Sr. and his sons and Benjamin Bucy moved from Warren County, KY to Madison County, AL.  The Bucy’s were with the group in AL but returned to KY and the Woffords eventually moved on to MS and then to TX.[ccxvii]

Ebenezer appears to have been settled in SC by 1775 when the Revolutionary War began.  We don’t know the complete story of the role the war played in Ebenezer’s life.  In 1778 Private John Robuck, brother to Col. Benjamin Robuck/Roebuck, served in Captain John Thomas' Company of South Carolina volunteers who primarily patroled Spartanburg County, preventing Torie depredations.  Later he served under General Sumpter, Captain Smith, Captain Edward Michison and Captain George Robuck for various periods until the close of the war, when he then served as Captain for a period of six month because the Tories were "doing much mishief to the inhabitants.  His principal place of head quarters or rendezvous was at the plantation of Ebenezer Moss on a Creek called two mile Creek in Spartanburg County,"  at the end of the war according to his 1844 pension application.[ccxviii]  In addition to providing headquarters for Captain John Robuck's company, there are instances of Ebenezer performing blacksmith[ccxix] and gunsmith[ccxx] service and providing provisions[ccxxi] to Col. Elijah Clark’s Regiment of Patriots in November, 1780.  Ebenezer was paid for these services and supplies after the war was over.[ccxxii]  He was closely associated after the war with Benjamin Wofford, Sr. and his sons.  Abraham Pennington and John Spurgion, the brother-in-law of John Pennington, both fought and died on the side of the English Loyalists.[ccxxiii]   Ebenezer Morse and John Pennington served as administrators for John Spurgion’s  November, 1783 estate.[ccxxiv]

The Battles of Cowpens, King’s Mountain, and Musgrove’s Mill all took place very near Ebenezer’s home place.  When Ebenezer provided provisions for Col. Elijah Clark’s Regiment in November of 1780, it was just one month after Clark’s Patriots fought at King’s Mountain.[ccxxv]  

It has been said that approximately 1/3 of the Americans during the Revolutionary War took the side of the Patriots, 1/3 the side of the Loyalists, and 1/3 remained neutral.  Many of those in the last group may have been opportunists who dealt with and traded with whichever side gave them the best advantage.

In 1809 Ebenezer and Agness first appeared on the Livingston County and Caldwell County, Kentucky Tax Lists.  (Caldwell County was formed from part of Livingston County in 1809.)[ccxxvi]

In 1814 Ebenezer and Agness deeded their land to their youngest son, Jarrott, with the provision that it not take effect until after their death. [ccxxvii] Agness died 14 January 1817 and her tombstone reads, “Agness Morse, Des’d Jan. The 14^th, A.D. 1817”. [ccxxviii]  A deed from Ebenezer recorded in 1818 gave 7 slaves to Obediah and James.[ccxxix] Later court records indicate that Ebenezer had not signed or did not remember signing the deed and these slaves were auctioned off with the rest of his estate after his death. 

Ebenezer wrote his will on 3 June 1818[ccxxx] and died 3 weeks later on 23 June 1818.[ccxxxi]  His will left everything but the land to his children that were named:  Travis, Obediah, James, John, William, Jarrott, Lucy, Fanny, and Eunice.  The first item in his will gave his “mulatto woman, Silvy” her freedom as a testimony of “my sense of her faithful services”.  Ebenezer’s estate consisted of livestock, tools, kitchenware, furniture, food, staples, farming tools, smith tools, pewter ware and 6 slaves.  Two of the slaves, George and Luce, had been exempted from tax in Caldwell County, KY on 6 May 1811 along with Ebenezer due to their age.  They were only valued on the inventory at $50.  Jarrott bought them at the sale for $101.  James, Obediah, and William bought the other 4 slaves. [ccxxxii] Sylva, or Silvy, was apparently emancipated and she chose the value of the livestock that Ebenezer left her, taking cash rather than taking the livestock.[ccxxxiii]

On March 23, 1819,  Augustine Bumpass filed charges that Obadiah Morse has accused him of murdering and poisoning Ebenezer Morse and sued Obadiah for $20,000.[ccxxxiv]

It was only after finding old, loose papers March 15, 2000 (quite literally loose papers stuffed into drawers in the storage room of the Circuit Clerk’s Office) in the courthouse in Caldwell County, KY relating to an 1820 lawsuit by John Pennington against the heirs of the estate that we learned of the three other daughters of Ebenezer and Agness that had not been mentioned in the will.[ccxxxv]  These women (Sarah Pennington, Nancy Power, and Mrs. Benjamin Wofford, Jr.) had all died before Ebenezer and, instead of leaving their share of his estate to their children; their share was left in the estate to be divided among the living heirs.  John Pennington sued to have the will thrown out and the entire estate divided among all the children of Ebenezer and Agness, the share of the deceased children then going to their children.  Pennington’s lawyer tried to prove that Ebenezer was mentally incompetent when he wrote the will three weeks before he died.  The case was dismissed at plaintiff’s cost 30 June 1821[ccxxxvi] after many people had given depositions relating to Ebenezer’s stability of mind.   The estate was then divided as the will stipulated, among his living children.

Ebenezer and Agness were buried in what has been called “Craig Cemetery” or “Alex Wilson Cemetery” which was located on Ebenezer’s original farmland.   A descendant of Ebenezer and Agness, their great-great-great-great-great-great grandson, Frank Morse of Caldwell County, KY, owns and maintains the cemetery.  Frank has cleared the brush and fallen trees, located tombstones that had fallen and become buried, cleaned them and set them upright.   He led a movement among the descendants to get a memorial stone in keeping with the setting that has Ebenezer‘s and Agness’ names and dates of death and the names of the 12 children who have been documented.  The cemetery was the site of a gathering of 50 or more of their descendants who met to dedicate the marker and the cemetery onOctober 14, 2000.

Copyright © 2001-2018, Colleen Norman and Debbie McArdle. All rights reserved.