Person:James Morrow (7)

Facts and Events
Name James Morrow
Gender Male
Birth? 1743 Orange, North Carolina, United States
Marriage to Elizabeth Unknown
Death? 1826 Rutherford, North Carolina, United States
Burial? Rutherford, North Carolina, United StatesMorrow Family Cemetery

Will lost in a fire. Son James filed papers in court (Rutherford Co. NC) to that effect. There is also a paper filed by James, Sr., giving his sons James and Jesse power of attorney to retrieve a slave or money for a slave.

His wife can be confirmed as Elizabeth. Family tradition states her surname as Baxter. The presence of Baxter families living around the Morrow family in the Flat River area of Orange Co. NC and Rutherford Co. NC during the period make this plausible; however, at this date there is no documentary evidence that can confirm the 'Baxter' connection.

The bio of his grandson Rev. Orson Holland Morrow says his father Jesse Morrow (son of this James Morrow 1743-1826) left Orange County when he (Jesse) was 10 or 12 years old (about 1786). Jesse went to Rutherford Co. NC and married there in 1799 and appears in the 1800 census in that county. The bio further indicates that Jesse Morrow left Rutherford County in 1808 and moved to Kentucky. His father stayed behind and was living in Rutherford County in 1810 (with one other female over age 45). Deed transactions and church records confirm this family migration recollection... Orange Co. NC to Rutherford Co. NC ca 1788.

Many of his descendants remained (and still live) in Rutherford Co. NC. Others fanned out into KY, TN and MO in the early 19th century.

  • Often listed as James Guiles or Gillis Morrow, possibly based on a story by DF Morrow. However, no documents exist showing a middle name. There was a James Gillis Morrow in the time period, named after the captain of the ship carrying his family from Ireland when he was born. He had an entirely different set of children and DNA shows he was unrelated.


DNA Results

Descendants of James through two of his children have joined the DNA project. They match 37/37 markers with several other lines from North Carolina in the mid 18th Century. Researchers have named this group the Flat River Morrows.

 MorrowDNA - Group 2 (NC)  ~ Tested Line ~ Early Ancestor: James b. 1743 (This Man) ~ Flat River
  Matches: William 1750-1828 ~ Willam d. 1815 Person Co, NC
~ John M. b. 1760 of Ripley Co, MO ~ John b. 1823 Lawrence Co, TN
Tested sons: James b. 1773, William b. 1768, and George b. 1783 (info
References
  1.   Morrow DNA Project.