Holbrook line: Samuel Morris 1670-1745

Oh dear.  I have been guilty of perpetuating an error in my blog posts, I fear.  That of course is one reason I write these blog posts, to prove to my own satisfaction that I have the correct ancestry for each of the people I write about.  Now I find that I must strike names from my tree, and go back to update a few of my earlier posts.  At least through this line, we are not connected to the Mayo or the John Graves lines.  So those posts are now "alternate facts", but I will leave the posts up, just adding an update, so that if someone else is researching those lines, they might be helped.

Now, let's turn to Samuel Morris.  He was born in March, 1670, in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Edward and Grace Bett Morris.  He lived there with his parents and seven siblings, until his father moved to Woodstock, Connecticut in 1685.  His father was a man of considerable wealth and standing in both towns, so when his father died in 1689, Samuel inherited some lands, even though he was "only" a fourth son.  The narrative gets a little confusing here, as Woodstock was originally known as "New Roxbury" and some of the records are not clear as to which Roxbury is being discussed.   

It does appear that Samuel returned to Roxbury, or possibly had stayed there, and married Mehitable Mayo, daughter of John and Hannah Graves Mayo in 1694. Samuel inherited some of his father's land there and so it makes sense that he would have returned to the scene of his youth and lived there.  He was made a freeman there in 1691.  Samuel and Mehitable had at least seven children together, and she died February 8, 1703.  That makes it impossible for her to be the mother of Abigail Morris, who was born April 2, 1707.  Samuel had married Dorotha or Dorothy Martin, the widow Howe, in Marlboro of Middlesex County, Massachusetts on May 15, 1706.  Dorothy had six children, Samuel had seven, and then had two children together, Abigail and Elizabeth, before disappearing from Marlboro records.  All I know about Dorothy Martin Howe Morris right now is that her father was Thomas Martin, and he died in 1701. (Another ancestor to explore!)

We know that Samuel purchased lands in Marlboro before his second marriage, and we know that he purchased 1500 acres of land in 1714 from Governor Joseph Dudley, for 500 pounds English money.  This was on the east line of the Town of Woodstock.  On the same day, Samuel and Dorothy gave a deed of the old homestead in Roxbury to Colonel William Dudley for 500 pounds current money.  This is when the Morris's finally removed to Connecticut.  Samuel built a house with "fortifications".  We're not told exactly what this meant, but generally it would mean one that had thick walls, and thin slits from which guns could be fired without exposing oneself to the "enemy".  Situations with some of the native Americans were still tense, although the Nipmuck tribe which lived nearby seems to have been friendly.  As far as we know, the fortifications were never needed.

Samuel was a highly respected man in Woodstock, but I must say he seems to have also been a grumpy old man in his later years.  He felt that he was being double taxed as far as church rates go, being forced to pay for the meeting house, minister's salary, etc. in more than one town at a time, because he was assigned to a parish that was not of his liking.  He claimed great difficulty in traveling the five miles to Thompson, citing swamps, mountains, and a river he had to cross to reach the meeting house he was forced to support financially.  This complaint stayed in the court and on town records for several years, until eventually he was given half rates for the church he did not wish to attend.  His grumbling may not have stopped, but the annual discussions did.  It's believed he attended church at a location much closer to his home, in his later years, one that he could reach without difficulty. 

Samuel built and maintained at least three bridges in the area, over a river and two streams on his 1500 acres.  He also kept up a road on his property, and other than the church dispute, seems to have been a good neighbor.

Dorothy died July 28, 1742, and Samuel died January 9, 1745.  Sadly, we are missing all probate records for Samuel, so we don't know whether he acquired additional land other than the 1500 acres, or what value his inventory showed.  The records are thought to have been destroyed in a fire, but it's always possible that they will show up somewhere.  We are left with records of a man who had enough wealth to build a fortified house, to build and maintain bridges, and to raise at least nine children.  He was also a man who was willing to start over, in Roxbury and then Marlboro and then near Woodstock.  His official death location is Thompson, Connecticut, because town limits expanded.  As far as is known, he didn't leave those 1500 acres.

The line of descent is:

Samuel Morris-Dorothy Martin
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin=Mary
Mary Perrin-David Fay
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some corrections to make!