John F. Morris

1820 - 1891

• Born	1820	Ceres, Allegany Co., New York
  Gender	Male
  Died	2 Jan 1891	Leavenworth, Kansas
  Buried	4 Jan 1891	Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, Fort Leavenworth, Leavenworth Co., Kansas
  Person ID	I6667	Johnson Hindin Tree
  Last Modified	15 Oct 2012

  
  

  Family	Rebecca Elizabeth ASHCOM,   b. 1830, Ligonier, Pennsylvania ,   d. 3 Jan 1897, Valparaiso, Porter Co., Indiana
  Married	Abt 1847	Herminie, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania
  Divorced	Abt 1871
  Children	1. Joseph Dexter Morris,   b. 14 Apr 1848, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania ,   d. 26 Oct 1924, Kirkland, De Kalb Co., Illinois   2. James Thomas Morris,   b. 1852, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 1 Oct 1897, Logansport, Cass Co., Indiana   3. Reuben Brinker Morris,   b. 15 Jul 1854, Ligonier, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 15 Apr 1926, Minneapolis, Hennepin Co., Minnesota   4. Charles Pelton Morris,   b. 1857, Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania ,   d. 22 Jul 1910, Malta, Phillips Co., Montana   5. Mary Elizabeth Morris,   b. Aug 1859, Valparaiso, Porter Co., Indiana ,   d. 20 May 1922, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Co., Oklahoma
  Family ID	F2731	Group Sheet

  
  

• Notes

  According to Rich Goms (richardandann@netzero.com), John and Rebecca were married in 1846 in Pennsylvania. John's brother, Rev. Samuel Dexter Morris (also of Mckean Co., PA), and his family were living in Derry Twp. and preached at the local Baptist churches in Westmoreland, Allegheny and Jefferson Counties in the 1840's. In fact he was a pastor at the Little Sewickly Baptist Church in Herminie (now Mars Hill Baptist Church in Irwin) in 1846 and 1848. Their christening, marriage and death records were destroyed in a fire in the 1950's. John's brother is where the "Dexter" in Joseph Dexter "J.D." Morris, Rebecca's oldest child, comes from. The marriage and christenings of at least the first two children may have occurred in his churches. John F. and Samuel's father, John Morris, died in 1852 and Samuel had to return to McKean County. John and Rebecca arrived in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1859. John was one of the first to enlist in the Union Army on Apr 18, 1861 in the 15th Regiment, Indiana Infantry Volunteers, Co. C, as a Private at Camp Tippicanoe in Lafayette, IN. He was mustered in on Jun 14, 1861. He was discharged in Silver Springs, TN on Nov 16, 1862. He re-enlisted on Jul 3, 1863 in Co. H, 199th Regmt (7th Indiana Cavalry), Indiana Volunteers as a sergeant. Gen'l George A. Custer was their commander for a time (refer to the book, 7th Indiana Cavalry in the Valparaiso Public Library). He was mustered in on 5 Sep 1863. He was discharged at Washington USA General Hospital at Memphis, TN on Jul 27, 1865. He was in the battles of Okalona, Guntown (Brice's Cross Roads), Osage, and Big Blue. Returning home from the war, according to the local newspaper, their were few jobs for returning vets, and a great reinlistment program. He had suffered a hernia during his infantry stint, so he reinlisted in the cavalry. He was a house carpenter (joiner), so this was probably a relief to him. During this time, Rebecca had been living at home and working as a nurse. Reuben, Charles and Mary were still living at home. Mary Elizabeth Morris, was only six when the war ended. A large contingent of Union soldiers was stationed at Valparaiso for a time according to a monument and park at the edge of town. John returned home and lived with Rebecca for five years, until she divorced him in 1870 (unknown reason - no divorce record, only a 1871 land record that shows her divorced the previous year). He returned home with physical problems from disease and malnutrition that eventually killed him. His 1882 pension application stated that he had been in Chicago, Ohio, Kansas and Indiana since the war. He was probably traveling to find construction work, so these physical problems apparently did not slow him down much. Rebecca remarried in 1876 in Valparaiso, and John in 1877 in Kansas, so the divorce probably had nothing to do with a transfer of affection, and probably nothing to do with his physical ailments, although the testimonies of people in Kansas show that he was not well, and was struggling as a house carpenter. Maybe he came back form the war with emotional problems. In 1880, John, although married and having two children in Kansas, was living with his family just north of Valparaiso in Hobart. The 1882 pension record shows him still living there. When Carrie M. Pelton came to visit her aunt in 1885, he may have still been living there, and Rebecca was living with her husband in Valparaiso. All her children were married, having moved away, but some as close as Chicago. John Morris died of heart disease at the age of 72 on Friday evening, 2 Jan 1891, at Mrs. Butts boarding home in South Leavenworth, Kansas. He had resided at the "National Home for disabled Volunteer Soldiers" since 24 Sep 1887, and was in and out of the "Home" and "barracks" until 1891 for several medical problems. Although he had been dropped from the Brennan Post No. 280, G.A.R. at the home for being absent without leave for eighteen months, "This post took charge of the remains and the burial took pl ace at the Soldier's Home with all military honors." It is interesting that J.D. Morris of Illinois and Carrie M. Pelton of Kentucky both arrived in Valparaiso on the same day to visit Rebecca.