Jefferson County, NY Pioneers


JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK


PIONEER PLINY MORGAN FAMILY


1. PLINY MORGAN was born 11 February 1770. The original Morgan family came over in 1630 with the same group of ships as Governor Winthrop and helped settle the Massachusets Bay Colony. More family, namely Miles Morgan, came over from Wales/England in 1636 and helped settle Springfield, Massachusetts. There is a statue of Miles Morgan in the center of town.

He died 17 Jan 1862 by falling down his son's cellar stairs. Pliny was in the war of 1812.

He married, I believe, on April 30, 1795
LUCRETIA AUSTIN. She and Pliny came to live with their son, Hiram S. Morgan, in January of 1861. Lucretia died 31 March 1863. The excerpt from Amy Phelps Morgan's diary states:
"Again must I record another death. Mother Morgan died the third of March 1863, aged 90 years, 10 months, and 3 days. Again has sickness visited our family. All have partially recovered, but our aged mother. She had not strength to endure and, in two or three days, sunk peacefully to rest without a struggle or a groan."

Children, MORGAN:

    2    i    HIRAM S. MORGAN

2.  HIRAM S. MORGAN, son of PLINY MORGAN and LUCRETIA AUSTIN, was born 1814 and died in 1870 and is buried in Carthage.

He married in December of 1841
AMY CHURCH PHELPS, daughter of HARVEY PHELPS of Steuben, NY. She was born 24 December 1816 and died in September of 1892. She is buried in Wilna, N.Y. I believe they were living in Wilna when Pliny and Lucretia lived with them. Amy was a prolific writer and wrote many letters to the editor of the paper...one entitled "The Odious Slave Law." She was also active in the Methodist Church, I believe, in Natural ridge...four miles away. It was the closest church to them. She even rose to the title of Assistant Superintendent of the Sabbath School! That's pretty amazing for that time. She recorded this information on June 8, 1863. She records Lincoln's assassination and information about her neighbors in the Civil War. She mentioned that some chewed on red chalk so it looked like they were bleeding so they didn't have to fight that day.

Children, MORGAN:

     3   ii     ELIZABETH MORGAN, b1845, d 26 February 1847, bur in Remsen

     4  iii    CORA AMY MORGAN, b 25 January 1848 in Carthage, d 18 April 1943 in Watertown.

     5   iv    SPAFFORD MORGAN, b September1849, d 16 Nov 1851. She said he died at 1:00 P.M..

     6   v    SAMUEL MORGAN, b June 1853, d 23 October 1859 of scarlet fever

     7   vi    BRISCOE MORGAN, b September 1855, d 1915

4. CORA AMY MORGAN, daughter of HIRAM S. MORGAN and AMY S. PHELPS was born 25 January 1848 in Carthage. She died 18 April 1943 in Watertown.

She married 9 October 1866
HIRAM LEWIS TOWNSEND, son of ELAN DURKEE TOWNSEND and SABRA ANN LEWIS who was born 17 September 1841 and died 16 March 1926. They lived, among other places, in Theresa and they had ten children.

Children, TOWNSEND:

     8  vii    FREDERICK LEWIS TOWNSEND, b 12 January 1868 d 24 January 1950

     9 viii    ALBERT MORGAN TOWNSEND, b 12 August 1869, d 16 April 1931

   10   ix    AMY CORA TOWNSEND, b 10 October 1871

   11   x    HIRAM SPAFFORD TOWNSEND, b 15 July 1873, a photographer in Theresa.

   12   xi    ELIZABETH WHEELER TOWNSEND, b 6 May 1875, d 30 September 1950

   13  xii    SABRA ANN TOWNSEND, b 14 July 1877, d 6 Oct 1981

   14  xiii   ELAM DERGA TOWNSEND, b 24 August 1879, d 19 March 1950s

   15  xiv    JAMES GARFIELD TOWNSEND, b 15 May 1881

   16   xv    BLANCHE ETHEL TOWNSEND, b 29 April 1889, d 1975 (?) m PERLEY CASLER and they were both chiropractors

   17  xvi    JOHN SENECA TOWNSEND, b 6 August 1890

13.     SABRA ANN TOWNSEND, daughter of HIRAM LEWIS TOWNSEND and CORA AMY MORGAN was born 14 July 1877, and died 6 Oct 1981. She was a teacher in a one-room school house. She was 104 yrs. when she died.

She married 14 October 1903
CLARENCE L. FOX, son of EUGENE FOX, was born 1878 and died in 1942. EUGENE FOX was born 5 June 1847 and died 8 July 1930, and was a teacher and postmaster in Orleans. CLARENCE FOX was a fishing guide in Fishers Landing and went by the name of Captain Fox. They had four children.


For further information, contact:
Sherrine Wesley

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