The Morton Family
The Morton family consisted of William Morton and his
wife, Nancy, their son, John V., and two daughters. They arrived on their
league across from future
William Morton drowned in the flood of 1833.
Mr. Wharton on page 20 declared an oldest son, John,
who is John V. Morton. He will become the first sheriff of
On July 7, 1824, William Morton obtained a Mexican Land Grant of 1 1/2 Leagues of Land on the east bank or the Brazos River and a Labor of Land [177.1 acres] directly across the river on the high west bank. Built on the Labor, the Morton home was a log cabin. William Morton lived here with his family until his untimely death in 1833, when he drowned in a flood of the Brazos River. By early 1836, the estate of William Morton had been partitioned, and the family was living on the Morton League east of the river. During the Texas Revolution, on February 21, 1836, Mrs Nancy Morton, the widow of William Morton, sold the Morton Labor on the west bank of the Brazos River to Robert Eden Handy and William Lusk. On November 8, 1837, the earliest sales of lots in the City of Richmond were made. The first purchaser was Mrs Mary Huff, a daughter of William and Nancy Morton; her purchase was Lot #12, Block #96 for the purchase price 'unknown' and deed record 'C-64'. She purchased the first lot sold in the City of Richmond on land that once belonged to her dad. Research has not revealed why she selected lot #12 for her home. If she wanted to, she could have watched the river traffic from her front porch. This location was on a high bluff of the river, she did not have to concern herself with flooding. Lot #12 remained in the Huff family until 1876 when the heirs sold it for $65.00 to Poebe Newell "together with the hereitaments and appurtenances". After sixty years the old house must have been in bad shape because Phoebe borrowed $125.00 from Alex Kerr for the purpose of putting up a new dwelling. Phoebe Newell was a former slave and was referred to as a "freed woman of color".
The other unnamed daughter is said to have married
Stephen Richardson. I have not found any other reference to the surname
Wharton on page 129 says that “Samuel Glascock’s wife, Elizabeth, was the daughter of John V. Morton. Her mother, the wife of John V. Morton, was a daughter of Daniel Shipman” I can not find much that is accurate in this statement. John is the son of William an original 300. Daniel and Elizabeth Shipman were brother and sister and their parents were Moses Shipman and Mary Shipman an original 300 couple.
John V. Morton married Elizabeth Shipman. John’s
sister, Louisa Ann Perry, lived no more that two miles from Moses and Mary
Shipman and family. I don’t think he traveled far to find a wife. John and
Elizabeth had three children, Marry Ann, Louisa Jane and John S. John V. Morton was the first sheriff killed
while in office. None of his children survived.
Louisa Ann Perry died before 1849. Nancy Morton,
according to Wharton, is still living across from
Nancy Morton lived with her husband, William, on the future site of Richmond from 1824 until he drowned in 1833. The Texas Revolution had just begun in 1833 so before the Runaway Scrape in 1836 records indicate Nancy sold the property on the west side of the Brazos River and moved to the east side of the river. Nancy's daughter, Louisa Ann, married Daniel Perry in 1833 and they resided at Duke. The Runaway Scrape was in March and April of 1836 with the home of Eli and Sarah Fenn being destroyed by Santa Anna on the Morton League. Nancy's home on the Morton League probably was destroyed too. Eli and Sarah lived with Moses and Mary Shipman at Duke after the Runaway Scrape until they could build on the Fitzgerald League. Nancy and her son, John V. probably moved to Duke and lived with Nancy's daughter, Louisa Ann. This would have be in late April of 1836 and in December of 1836 John V. married Moses and Mary Shipman's daughter, Elizabeth. Remember that the Fenn's were living at the Shipmans. All the members of the Morton and Fenn families are living at Duke close to the Shipmans except Mary Morton Huff. Mary purchased the first lot in the new Richmond and lived out her life on her dad's land grant. Nancy would have four grandchildren by Daniel and Louisa Ann, and three grandchildren by John V.[These are also Moses and Mary Shipmans grandchildren. Moses Shipman died in 1837. Grandmother Nancy was needed at Duke, especially after 1843 when John V. was killed and Louisa Ann died.
The only Morton to survive Duke was Daniel and Louisa
Ann’s daughter, Laura Ann Perry.
Written by
John Walker 2008