My grandmother was a MORTON. She always said she was descended from the Morton that signed the Declaration of Independence, but I have not found the link.
The Morton family as we know it came from VA according to census information. This consisted of two brothers and two sisters and their husbands.
Born |
Died |
Married |
|
| Jarrod (Gerard) | Sept. 12, 1796 | Apr. 7, 1836 IN | 1) Oct. 9, 1822 Mary "Polly" Mayse 2) Oct. 15, 1823 Sarah Anderson |
| Nancy | 1799 VA | aft. 1860 IN | Oct. 15, 1823 Archibald Hughes |
| Elizabeth | 1802 VA | aft. 1860 IN | Oct. 12, 1816 Emariah Hughes |
| Richard | Nov. 15, 1808 VA | Nov. 16, 1877 IN | Mar. 22, 1837 OH Mary Acton |
My ancestor, Richard Osborne Morton, born November 15, 1808, came with his brothers and sisters from Botetourt County, Virginia to Indiana in the 1830s, stopping off in Preble County OH for a couple years in between. There appears to have been a large contingent of former Botetourt County people living in Preble County, OH, among them the Acton family. There, in Eaton, Richard married Mary Acton on March 22, 1837. They had nine children. I am descended from their eldest son. Richard then married Anna Happle Roe, a widow in 1857 and raised at least three Row children.
Child |
Born |
Died |
Married |
| John Acton | Sept. 16, 1838 IN | May 19, 1924 OH | 1) Sept. 20, 1860 IN Martha Jane Snyder 2)Apr. 9, 1874 OH Elizabeth Keller |
| Jarrod Dayton | Mar. 10, 1842 IN | Apr. 15, 1864 (Civil War) | |
| Mary Ellen | Apr. 6, 1844 IN | Apr 12, 1876 | Mar. 19, 1870 IN John Deel |
| Sarah Ann | Feb. 24, 1846 IN | Feb. 15, 1934 | Dec. 31, 1865 IN Levi Griffith |
| Alma | 1848 | before 1850 | |
| Phillip | Nov. 16, 1850 | Nov. 22, 1850 | |
| George Anderson II | Jan 16, 1851 IN | Oct. 15, 1929 IN | 1) Nov. 2, 1872 Roseanna Happle 2)Nov. 24, 1878 Mary Eliz. Hines 3)Jan 17, 1893 Ema L. Hines |
| Martha Elizabeth (Lib) | Aug 12, 1854 IN | Feb. 4, 1912 IL | June 11, 1874 IN
Benamin Pillars Brewbaker |
| Emmaline | 1859 | 1862 |
I've spent the last year researching all the Mortons of Virginia, as the census says Richard was born in Virginia. I've accumulated quite a database, but have not found the particular family. My cousin-in-law Mildred Morton, published a book on our Mortons, "The Morton Clan," from their arrival in Indiana up to about 1989. A copy is in the Allen County IN Public Library.
Richard's son, John Acton Morton, was born September 16, 1838 in Allen County IN. He married first Martha Jane Snyder who died at the age of 30 and is buried in Bethel cemetery near Poe, IN. John and Martha had five children. In the process of seeking out good farm land, John visited Champaign County OH, where his banker, Reuben Keller, introduced him to his sister, Elizabeth. John and Elizabeth Keller were married in 1874 and had three daughters. Their daughter Iva Columbia Morton was my grandmother.
Iva Columbia Morton was born March 9, 1882 in Poe IN. Her family eventually moved to Logan County OH where she met and married Herschel Zemery Idle. . These were my grandparents. See my Idle page.
