Morrow Descendants of Peter Gilliam

The Morrow Descendants of Peter Gilliam
Last updated June 19, 2023. Feel free to comment, or contact MorrowDNA to discuss.

Two of Peter Gilliam’s daughters married Morrows, and the ensuing overlap of names and their propensity to name their children “Peter Gilliam” has caused a great deal of confusion. Based on review of land records, the following is a chronology of the two families.

Peter Gilliam and Ann Heard

Peter Gilliam m. Ann Heard and died in the first half of 1794, after his will was signed on January 1, and before it was probate was opened on July 15. He lived in Wilkes County, and in the Wilkes Co, GA 1793-94 Tax List Ann Gillum appears with 181.5 acres on Little River in Wilkes County. She is separately listed as a guardian for what appears to be “son”, and Patsy Gillum is listed next. All three have 2 slaves, and none have 21+ males in the household. Nearby is Ewing Morrow.

Ann moves to Morgan County before 1817, when she is listed there on the tax list and makes her will. The will names Ewing Morrow as executor, and names, among others, Sally Morrow, her deceased daughter Betsy, and her daughter Nancy Price. The will is submitted for probate in November 1821.

Ewing Morrow m. Sarah Gilliam

Ewing Morrow is first seen when he applies for letters of administration for his father John on 7 Dec. 1790. He was joined by Clayborn and Jacob Maddox, his brothers-in-law. (Greene County Will Book A) Assuming he was at least 21 at the time, he was born in 1769 or before.

Ewing was so-named Ewing because his mother was Margaret Ewing, fact confirmed in the will of her father William that calls her wife of John Morrow.

Ewing drew in the Georgia land lottery in 1827 as a Revolutionary War veteran, but there doesn’t appear to be any other evidence that he formally fought in the Revolution.

Ewing was married to Peter Gilliam’s daughter Sarah before about 1795, based on when their children began to get married.

Land records

Ewing first appears in a tax list in Wilkes County in 1793 with 266 acres and 4 slaves. On November 16 of that year, he sold 385 acres in Greene Co, GA to Alexander Stewart. This land is described as the original grant of Andrew Baxter in 1787, which means it is part of the same tract that John Morrow purchased in 1789 (Green County Deeds, Book A, p. 358). The land is described as adjoining Elizabeth Bell, the name of his sister (based on his mother’s will). He and Sarah witnessed a deed in 1798 in Greensboro, Greene Co, GA. In 1801, he was still enumerated in Wilkes County, with 310 acres on Stephen’s Creek.

In December 1807 Ewing Morrow “of Greene County” purchased 202.5 acres on Sugar Creek known as 4 Baldwin 278 from William Brown for $1000. [Morgan Deed Book A] This land is in (what was that week becoming) Morgan County. He later acquired a neighboring parcel of 202.5 acres and is enumerated with this same parcel in the tax records until 1824, at which point he disappears.

Other Records

Per the Georgia Official Register, Ewing was a member of the General Assembly from Morgan County in 1812. Online sources say he was a member from Greene County in 1803, but that can’t be confirmed by the Register.

The 1822 Morgan Tax List shows Ewing Morrow as Executor for Ann and Charles Gillum, no land, 2 slaves. Both Ann and Charles died in late 2021.

Newspaper snippets from the time include the marriage of his daughter Margaret, “dau. of Ewing Morrow, Esc” to Zachariah Cox. Ewing was issued letters of administration following Zachariah’s death on 16 Nov 1820. (Georgia Intestate Records)

The 1820 Morgan County census record for Ewing (there are no 1790-1810 records for the area) shows Ewing Morrow 2m 10-16, 2m 18-26, 1m 45+, 1f 45+ (Capt. Peter Y. Morrow’s p. 96). One of the younger sons is presumably James, and one of the 18-26 is likely Peter, as he is listed next to Ewing in the tax digests with no land. But John E. is separately enumerated in 1820, so there are 2 “extra” young men on the record.

Death

Ewing does not appear in any records after the 1827 land lottery, and does not appear in the 1826 tax list, nor does Sarah appear in his stead, or anyone else. James M. Morrow, Joseph Morrow, and James C. Reed were named as administrators in estate of Ewing Morrow of Morgan Co, GA, 4 Mar 1833. On 15 Mar 1834, a deed is recorded from James M. Morrow, Adm Ewing Morrow dec'd (Morgan Co), transferring to Thomas J. Bugg the land that Ewing drew in the 1827 land lottery. There do not appear to be extant tax lists between 1832 and 1838, but that does not explain why he does not appear between 1824 and 1832.

There is a receipt in John E. Morrow’s probate file [image 250 at the link] by which James M. Morrow received $239 from the administrator “which was due for part of my legacy from the Estate of Ewing Morrow Dc’d.” Why this is dated a year before the Letters of Administration is a mystery; perhaps as they were all brothers the January 1 date was fiction. There is no distribution from Ewing’s estate to John in the file, which was open from 1829-1845.

Are there two Ewings?

A common tree circulating online, including previously associated with the Morrow DNA project based on participant research, gives Ewing, son of John m. Margaret Ewing, another son Ewing, who is in turn father of John E. born 1797. There are two key errors that appear to be the basis of this.

• Belief that Ewing died in 1791. In what is apparently a misreading of John Morrow’s death record, various trees claim that Ewing died in 1791 and John was the administrator of the estate. This necessarily meant that the Ewing later found in Wilkes and Morgan County was a different man. But no primary evidence of this is ever provided.
• The Ewing Family in America and Ray’s Tennessee Cousins (likely one copying from the other) claim there is an estate record showing that Ewing’s children are Peter Gilliam, Ewing, and Joseph. This record also states that Peter Gilliam m. Amey Heard and they settled in Knox Co, TN, both of which are also wrong.

In order to make this work and fit two Ewings in between John, born in the 1720s, and John E., son of Ewing, born in 1797, the first Ewing was allegedly born about 1756 and the second about 1775. But based on the 1793 tax record, which under this theory must be the younger Ewing, younger Ewing would need to be born by about 1772, and his father by about 1752--it's possible, but it's a tight fit with the timeline of the extended family (and that's from someone who hasn't looked at those records closely). It also does have to be the junior Ewing married to Sarah Gilliam (because her husband is the one receiving a share from Peter Gilliam's estate in 1800), which contradicts the alleged "source" in the first place. There don't seem to be actual primary records or deeds demonstrating any of this, in an area where significant records exist as otherwise described here. That doesn't mean there aren't significant unindexed records yet that will change things, but, at best, it's possible that there's a Ewing in between Ewing m. Sarah and John and Margaret; all of the children here are children of this couple.

Ewing T.’s Estate Record

Ewing T. Morrow was the son of John E. Morrow, who died when he was a boy. Peter G. Morrow administered John's estate for Ewing's benefit until he came of age, but Ewing T. died shortly after turning 21. Because Ewing died childless, his estate was distributed among his first cousins. Based on the reference to Ewing in Margaret’s marriage record, we know these are all children of Ewing. The entries in red are from Ewing T's estate record (image 79 at the link). The information in brackets comes from receipts that follow the distribution list.

Children of Margaret Morrow Cox Alford

• Albert C. Cox - 1240
• Margaret Alford - 2480 [for Margaret and May Alford, orphans of Erastmus]

Children of James M. Morrow

• James M. Morrow [guardian] $4960 on behalf of his children Thomas Ewing, Lucy Antoinette, Edward Gilliam, and Sarah Elizabeth. He is living in Claiborne, LA as of 1847.

Children of Polly Morrow Kennon

• Morris Springfield - 1240 [received for wife Frances A. Kennon]
• George W. Cobb - 1240 [for wife Sarah Kennon]
• George W. Cobb [guardian] - 2480 [for Julia and Richard Kennon, children of Charles]

Children of Peter G. Morrow

• Peter G. Morrow [guardian] $2480 [for children James William and Sarah Jane, minors]

Mary Tompkins Morrow’s siblings

• Nicholas Topmkins
  • Nicholas Tompkins [guardian] - 1240 [for daughter Catherine]
  • B. O. Thompson - 1240 [for wife Sarah Tompkins]
  • Lucius H. Featherton - 1240 [for wife Maria]
  • Benj. H. Wrighte - 1240 [for wife Emily Tompkins]
  • Administrators share - 2480 (Giles S. and Irby Scott for Mary Thompkins Scott)

• John Tompkins [guardian] - 6200 [children unnamed]

Children of Ewing and Sarah

• Mary “Polly” Morrow, b. bef abt 1795. m. Charles Kennon 7 Oct 1811 in Morgan County. (Georgia Marriages and Wills Book A). He died before 1850, when Mary is living alone with her son Richard in Harris County, Georgia. Richard eventually becomes a lawyer and mayor of Fort Gaines, Georgia, and Mary lives with him until at least 1870.
• John E. Morrow, b. 14 Jan. 1797, d. 3 Aug 1929 (per his tombstone). He m. Mary Tompkins, b. 21 Jun 1806, d. 31 Aug 1825. They had one child, Ewing T., who died childless at the age of 22 (whose distribution is described above). John’s estate included cash and slaves that grew to $32,000 by the time Ewing’s estate was distributed (over $1m in current dollars).
• Peter Gilliam Morrow, b. about 1800, d. 27 Apr 1881, Columbia County, Georgia (per this 1883 article and a death announcement in the local paper). m1 Julia Ann Smith 21 Mar 1827 in Morgan County. Julie died 30 Sept 1857 and is buried in Madison. m2 Lucy Welborn, widow of Dr. Lewis, 6 Dec 1858 in Walton Co, GA. (The article confirms that the Columbia County judge was the man who married Lucy Welborn Lewis in Walton County, GA, and the marriage occurred just over a year after Julia died.) The 1850 census record confirms that the man married to Julia is the brother of John, because the 1850 census record for Peter and Julia lists their son as James W., who inherited under Ewing T.’s will as his first cousin. This couple owned significant property and slaves after the late 1820s until the Civil War, at which time they moved to Columbia County.
  • The family composition and slaveholdings distinguish them from the family of Peter G. Morrow and Mary Wood, who were married slightly earlier, also in Morgan County. This Peter was evidently a little older, leading to him being called Peter G. “Sr.” in taxes lists. They had two daughters before 1830 and owned 125 acres in Walton County, but no slaves. The family moved to Pike County, Alabama before 1840.
  • Peter’s son James survived and had issue – this is the ONLY candidate for YDNA testing to confirm this line back to John m. Margaret Ewing.
• Margaret Ewing Morrow, b. Oct 1802 Greene Co, GA, d. 9 Apr 1870 Heard Co, GA (per her tombstone and obituary at Find A Grave). She m1. 11 Nov 1817, in Morgan Co, GA, Dr. Zachariah Cox. He died in 1820 after they had one child, Albert. She m2 2 Oct 1826 in Morgan Co, Sterling Finnie, a significant landowner in the county. He died in 1831, and his estate was administered by Peter G. Morrow. She m3 25 Sep 1833 in Morgan Co, to Erastmus C. Alford. He died in 1841.
• [Unproven] Joseph Morrow, b. about 1807 (to fit in the space between Margaret and James, and at least 18 in 1827). Joseph is listed on the traditional family record listed above, and while that record is largely fictional, it supports placement of the second Morgan County Joseph here. A Joseph Morrow pulled in the 1827 Georgia Land Lottery along with James M. This Joseph died by 1843, when Peter G. Morrow claimed that lot as one of the heirs of “Joseph Morrow of Morgan County, dec’d.” (The Joseph Morrow who left land and census records in Morgan County between 1808 and 1832 moved to Heard County by 1840.) A young Joseph fits as one of the otherwise unaccounted-for males in Ewing’s 1820 census record. Finally, James M. Morrow and Joseph Morrow claimed administration of two estates on March 4, 1833—Ewing and Joseph Jr. This establishes that there are two Joseph’s, one younger than the other, and since Joseph m. Elizabeth had a son Joseph (Joseph Ewing, otherwise accounted for), “Joseph Jr.” is not him or his son. Some trees (including prior edits on WeRelate) call this the Joseph Morrow who married Matilda Hamner in 1808, but if he were the son of Ewing, (a) he would be significantly older than Mary in order to have married by 1808; and (b) he would need to have existed for 20+ years without leaving children or any other records, despite being the oldest son of a relatively wealthy man. In light of that, it makes more sense that he was a younger son as yet unmarried at the time of his death.
• James M. Morrow, b. about 1809. All of Ewing’s children were at least 10 in 1820, and if, as appears likely, he was the James M. Morrow who drew in the land lottery in 1827 in Lee County, he was slightly older (bachelors required to be 18 to draw). On 19 Sep 1833 in Walton County, he married Elizabeth Kennon, b. about 1816 in Georgia. Based on the births of their children in the 1850 census, they moved to Louisiana between 1835 and 1838. In 1847, James filed affidavits from Claiborne Parish related to the distribution of Ewing T’s estate, naming all of his children’s full names, along with Mary, his youngest born just after Ewing died. The family sued to get her a share of the estate, and although they prevailed on appeal, there is no record of her distribution in the estate file. In 1850, he is listed as a “planter” with $18,000 worth of real estate but just 5 slaves, of which 2 are adult women, and 3 are children. By 1860, he has 58 slaves (25 adults, 23 under 15) and an overseer in his household (potentially related to the fact that her parents, who owned 45 slaves in 1840, both passed away before 1860). 3 of James’ sons enlisted in the Confederate Army in the 8th Louisiana Infantry, known as the “Minden Blues.” There is no further record of James M., his wife, or his oldest son Thomas after the war. DAR profiles by great grandchildren indicate he died about 1865.

Joseph Morrow and Elizabeth Gilliam

Elizabeth—Betsy—is identified through her parents’ wills. Peter Gilliam’s 1794 will names a share to Joseph Morrow and Ann Gilliam names her deceased daughter Betsy Morrow. As Ewing’s wife was still live in 1820, that leaves Betsy as Joseph’s wife, although no marriage record for either survives.

Joseph was likely born about 1770 based on (1) he is listed with no “poll” (i.e., no males in the household between 21 and 60) in 1832 but he was counted as a poll in 1830; (2) he was married by 1794; and (3) his wife was over 45 in 1820. Uncorroborated online reports indicate his tombstone says he was born in 1769, died 1866.

Joseph m2 Ruth Black, widow of Andrew Brown, on 20 December 1812 in Morgan County. We know it’s the same Joseph based on his guardianship of her children combined with the land records for the man from Wilkes County.

Is Joseph related to Ewing?

Joseph and Ewing, though they married sisters, are likely not brothers or cousins, based on that fact that a clear line from Joseph has tested YDNA, and it does not match lines well documented back to the brothers of Ewing’s father John. Moreover, Joseph first appears in Wilkes County in the early 1790s, while Ewing appears alongside his father in Greene County at that same time, and no Joseph is named in those records. But YDNA testing on Ewing line would be helpful to confirm.

Land Records

Joseph first appears in Wilkes Co, GA in the 1792 tax list with 350 acres Lick Creek and one slave. He still owns at least one of these tracts through 1818 when he appears in the Morgan County tax lists, which helps confirm it is the same man through time. In January 1808, he acquires Lot #143 in Morgan County, and is listed with that property for several years, along with 4 slaves.

In December 1817, Joseph took guardianship of Frances and Joseph Brown, orphans of Andrew Brown, and sons of his wife by then, Ruth Black Brown. Andrew had drawn a 202.5 acre tract on Jacks River in the 1807 Georgia Land Lottery. Joseph directly acquires this tract and holds it through at least 1832. In short, all of the Joseph Morrow Wilkes and Morgan tax list entries over nearly 30 years by all appearances relate to one man. (See also Joseph's profile for a full list.)

Other records

Per the Georgia Official Register], Joseph was a member of the General Assembly from Morgan County in 1822.

The 1820 record for Joseph Morrow in Morgan County does not appear to have him in it: Joseph Morrow 2m u10, 1m 10-16, 1m 18-26; 1f 16-26, 1f 45+; 13 slaves (Capt Farrow’s Dist, p. 116). But based on the land records above, we know Joseph was alive, and he had about 14 slaves on his Morgan County property, so it seems likely that this was an enumeration error.

In 1830, the household is still in Morgan County, enumerated as 1m 20-30, 1m 50-60, 1f 50-60; 5 slaves (Dist. 281, p. 285). This is consistent with Joseph E. still at home, and Ruth’s sons out on their own.

In 1840, Joseph and Ruth are in Heard Co, GA (two adults 60-70 and 10 slaves) and are enumerated there in 1850, both age 80. He does not appear on either the slave or agricultural schedule that year, and presumably his son had taken over those assets. The Heard County courthouse burned in 1894, so no records exist from that time to identify land transfers or probate.

Untangling Josephs

There are three Joseph records from Morgan County that can’t clearly be assigned to this Joseph. Two are likely the son of Ewing, described above, but the third is unknown and may well apply to this Joseph.

• Joseph Morrow m. Matilda Hamner, 28 Nov 1808 in Morgan County. There is no Hamner in Morgan County at the time, no primary records referencing her, and not even any online tree or research purporting to place her anywhere. No 1810 census can tell us how old this couple is. Every land record relating to Joseph Morrow in Morgan County is accounted for (see above). That leaves four possibilities, only two of which seem plausible:
  • First marriage, for the childless son of Ewing and Sarah Gilliam (as Joseph’s son Joseph is otherwise accounted for). However, the evidence supporting placement of that Joseph as a son of Ewing is more consistent with a younger man, both because a man married in 1808 would be at least 5-10 years older than Ewing’s other children and because it would be markedly odd for the oldest son of this otherwise quite well-off family to leave no records at all for over 20 years after marriage.
  • First marriage, the son of Ewing “Senior” in trees that also list a son named Ewing and thus make Ewing Sr. old enough to have a son born in the 1780s. This possibility is discussed and rejected above as otherwise lacking in evidence.
  • Second marriage, for this Joseph m. Elizabeth Gilliam, before he married Ruth Brown. There’s no record of when Elizabeth died, so it’s possible she died a few years earlier than generally assumed. Also, Joseph is noted to be one of the very first settlers of Morgan County in 1808, and this marriage record occurred right at that time. One potential flaw in this reasoning is that it would make Richard W. Morrow a son of Matilda, even though he named a kid Gilliam—but so did Joseph E. Morrow, and he wasn’t related to Peter Gilliam either.
  • Totally unrelated. There was at least one other unrelated Morrow running around Morgan County in the early 19th century—Robert Morrow m. Ann Hurley, who is the right age to be Joseph’s father and his other children didn’t leave very many records either.
• Joseph Morrow in the 1827 lottery: Joseph Morrow drew lot 18-29 in the 1827 Land Lottery in Lee County, and then Peter G, “one of the heirs of Joseph Morrow dec’d of Morgan County,” claimed lot 18-29 of Lee, now Marion County. App’t of Warren J. Hill of Walton Co. as atty. 29 May 1843. (That record is awfully specific to make up, although I can’t find any evidence of it in deed records online.)
• (and, grouping these together because they likely are related) Joseph Morrow Jr's estate record: James M. Morrow, Joseph Morrow, and James C. Reed obtained letters of administration for both Ewing Morrow and Joseph Morrow, Jr. on the same day, 4 Mar 1833.
  • Since Joseph m. Elizabeth Gilliam is alive well past 1843, he is clearly not the deceased Joseph “Jr.”. Given the family connection, it's plausible that he is the elder Joseph, helping his nephew James administer the estate of James’ father and brother.
  • Thus the most likely possibility is that Joseph who drew this land was a childless, unmarried son of Ewing, and that his brother Peter G. was an heir on that basis. Joseph drew land on the same day as James M., who would be his closest brother under this theory. A young man, potentially still under 21, who drew his first land in 1827 is a more plausible candidate for leaving no records between 1827 and 1833 than a man who had been married 20+ years. Finally, there’s the 1820 census record above showing additional young men in the household.
  • Note also that because Joseph m. Elizabeth was clearly alive well past 1843, this record led to Peter G. being placed as the son of Joseph and Matilda—even though both Peter G’s in the area were born a decade or more before the 1808 marriage, and the Peter G. still in the state in 1843 is, as shown above, the son of Ewing.

Children of Joseph and Elizabeth

• Peter Gilliam Morrow, b. about 1795, d. probably summer 1860 (after the mortality schedule closed June 1, but before his wife was enumerated alone on August 7). He m1 Mary Wood 26 Jan 1824 in Morgan Co, GA. Given that two daughters of Peter Gilliam settled in Morgan County, and here were two Peter G. Morrow’s there by 1825, it’s reasonable to assume that each is a grandson of Peter Gilliam. The one who married Julia Smith is separately accounted for, above. This Peter was slightly older, had three daughters before 1830, and owned 125 acres in Walton County enumerated as 2 Walton 95 in the tax lists. His family moved to Pike County, Alabama before 1840, and in 1850 they are found there, aged 54 and 52, with younger daughters Susan, 23 and Mary, 21. Peter’s 1860 estate record, opened in September, names his heirs as his wife Mary, daughters, Susan Jones and Frances Bean, and the children of his deceased daughter Nancy Townsend.
• Margaret “Peggy” Elizabeth Morrow, b. abt 1797, d. 1 Jun 1884, Coweta Co, GA (per a newspaper clipping that can be found on Ancestry). She m1 24 Dec 1816 in Morgan Co, GA, Thomas Young Brown, son of Andrew Brown and Ruth Black (i.e., her step-brother). Thomas died in 1836 in Heard County. Margaret lived with her sons Christopher and Andrew through her death in 1884. They named children Elizabeth Gilliam and Joseph Morrow Brown.
• (likely) John T. Morrow, b. 22 Jul 1801, d. 19 Jun 1852 in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana (per his tombstone). John m1 Lucy Ann Bonner, 23 Sep 1833, in Walton Co, GA. John T. was closely associated with James M., son of Ewing. They appear together as business partners in the 1831 tax list, and both moved to Claiborne County at about the same time and lived in the same area. Since John T. had children before 1845, so he could not have been a sibling of James M. (all of whom were named in Ewing T’s estate record), so placing him as a cousin makes more sense. John T. also named his first two sons Joseph and Gilliam, strong evidence he belongs in this family.
• Sarah “Sally Tally” Morrow, b. 6 Apr 1803 , d. 22 Jul 1869 (per unsourced internet trees), m. Young Wood, 23 Dec 1824 Morgan Co, GA. He remarried Jane Grimes in 1870 in Heard County. “Sally Tally Morrow daughter of Betsy Morrow” was named in Ann Heard Gilliam’s 1817 will.
• (likely) Richard W. Morrow, b. about 1809, d. after 1880 in Henry Co, GA. m. Caroline Crow 26 Jan 1832 in Walton, GA. There is no direct evidence connecting Richard to this family, but the circumstantial evidence includes his presence in Walton County in the early 1830s, including on the same page of the 1831 and 1834 tax lists as the Peter G. listed as his brother here, and naming his oldest son Peter and second son Joseph. As with John, he had children before 1845, so he cannot be a son of Ewing. Richard was enumerated as 54 years, 10 months in the 1864 Georgia post-war census (but month of enumeration unknown) and consistently gives his age dating to 1809/1810, but nothing exact appears to survive. He died sometime after he appeared in the 1880 Henry County census as a widower. Note that if the 1808 marriage record does belong to this man’s father, then his mother would likely be Matilda Hamner.

Children of Joseph and Ruth

• Joseph Ewing Morrow, b. 18 Mar 1814 in Morgan Co, GA, died 16 Jan 1865 in Heard Co, GA (allegedly per his tombstone, but there is no photo). He married Eliza Jane Walker, 20 Jan 1833 in Morgan County (per Georgia Marriages 1808-1967). (There is a version of this record indexed as “Ewing Morrow” m. “Jane Walker”, but most say Joseph, clarifying it’s the same couple.) She was born about 1815 and died in 1890 at her son William’s house. They farmed 150 acres in Heard County before the War, producing corn, cotton and sweet potatoes. After Joseph died, Eliza went to live with her son James in Brooks County in southern Georgia. Joseph and Eliza had a son Peter Gilliam b. 1842, much younger and presumably named after his uncle (since Joseph E. was not a descendant of Peter Gilliam). Descendants of two sons of Joseph have tested YDNA; they match each other, but they do not match the Virginia like to which Ewing likely belongs.