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'''Leonard Morris''' (1748 – May 17, 1831) was an early American pioneer, soldier, and lawman, who was one of the founders of [[Charleston, West Virginia]] in 1788.,<ref name="Harvard College Library">{{cite book |last1=Graham |first1=Miller |title=History of Kanawha County and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men |date=1885 |publisher=Miller & Graham; Printers and Publishers |location=Charleston |page=5 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3bgUAAAAYAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> and named as a trustee of Charleston when the town was incorporated by the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] in 1794.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=Samuel |title=Statutes at Large of Virginia from October Session 1792 to December Session 1806 |date=1835 |publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia |location=Richmond |page=322 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rV83AQAAMAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> Leonard is the brother of Virginia House Representative [[William Morris (Virginia politician)|William Morris]], [[Henry Morris (soldier)|Henry Morris]], Captain [[John Morris (officer)|John Morris]], and uncle of US Congressman [[Calvary Morris]], and Bishop [[Thomas Asbury Morris]]
'''Leonard Morris''' (1748 – May 17, 1831) was an early American pioneer, soldier, and sheriff, who was one of the founders of [[Charleston, West Virginia]] in 1788.<ref name="Harvard College Library">{{cite book |last1=Graham |first1=Miller |title=History of Kanawha County and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men |date=1885 |publisher=Miller & Graham; Printers and Publishers |location=Charleston |page=5 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3bgUAAAAYAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> Five years later Leonard was named as a trustee of Charleston when the town was incorporated by the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] in 1794, alongside [[Ruben Slaughter]], [[Andrew Donnally Sr]], and [[William Morris (Virginia politician)|William Morris]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=Samuel |title=Statutes at Large of Virginia from October Session 1792 to December Session 1806 |date=1835 |publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia |location=Richmond |page=322 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rV83AQAAMAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>


== Early Life and Family ==
==Appointment to Justice==
Leonard was born in Orange County, Virginia to William Morris Sr and Elizabeth Stapp. In the fall of 1773, the entire Morris family moved to the Kanawha Valley, becoming the first permanent white settlement in the region.


Leonard had sixteen children, six by his first wife Margaret Price - John, Meredith, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Leonard Jr.; and ten children by his second wife Margaret Larkin - Charles, Nancy, Parthenia, Joshua, Hiram, Peter, Andrew, Cynthia, Madison and Dickinson.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laidley |first1=W.S. |title=Genealogies of West Virginia Families from the West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly, 1901-1905 |date=1992 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Co. |location=Baltimore, MD |page=174 |article=The William Morris Family: Pioneers of Kanawha Valley}}</ref>
On October 6, 1789, the Virginia House of Delegates appointed Leonard Morris as Justice of the newly established Kanawha County, and was sworn in as member of the County Court. The first official court appearance in Kanawha County was held in the house of Colonel George Clendenin. On this occasion several of the newly appointed Justices were sworn in as members of the Court including [[Thomas Lewis Jr.]], and [[Daniel Boone]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hale |first1=J.P. |title=West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly |date=1901 |publisher=West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society |location=Charleston, West Virginia |page=13 |edition=1-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_IxAQAAMAAJ |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1876, by George Wesley Atkinson, In the Office of Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.">{{cite book |last1=Atkinson |first1=George W |title=History of Kanawha County from 1789 until Present Time |date=1876 |publisher=The West Virginia Journal |location=Charleston |page=28 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjoTAAAAYAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> In 1794 Morris was named Commissioner for [[Kanawha County]], and in 1798 named Sheriff of Kanawha County.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=Samuel |title=Statutes at Large of Virginia from October Session 1792 to December Session 1806 |date=1835 |publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia |location=Richmond |page=312 |edition=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rV83AQAAMAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Laidley |first1=William S. |title=West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly |date=January 1904 |publisher=West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society |location=Charleston, West Virginia |page=80 |edition=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bI-AAAAYAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>


Leonard's brothers William Morris and Carroll Morris served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Kanawha County; John Morris was a Captain in the County Militia and father of of US Congressman [[Calvary Morris]], and Bishop [[Thomas Asbury Morris]].
==Revolutionary War==


==Lord Dunmore's War==
Leonard Morris fought in the [[Battle of Point Pleasant]] under Colonel [[Andrew Lewis (soldier)]] in [[Lord Dunmore's War]] in 1774.<ref name="Harvard College Library"/> During the Battle of Point Pleasant and through the [[American Revolution]] Leonard commanded [[Fort Morris (Kanawha)|Fort Morris]] (also known as Kelly's Post).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Erna |title=The Tacketts in Kanawha County Virginia |date=March 1969 |publisher=C.L. Ewen |location=Kanawha County |page=4 |edition=1 |url=http://wvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/The_Tacketts_in_Kanawha_County_Virginia.pdf |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> The Morris Fort was already established by 1774 near the mouth of [[Catfish Shoals]] on the [[Kanawha River]] twelve miles away from [[Leonard Morris' Fort]]. Fort Morris was built by Leonard, William, and their father William Sr in 1774; but Leonard thought it would be strategic to have a secondary fort further down the Kanawha River. Both of these forts were established prior to Colonel Lewis and Lord Dunmore's men coming to engage with [[Chief Cornstalk]]. Morris, and five of his brothers joined Colonel Lewis on the march to Point Pleasant and was in the battle on October 10, 1774. Morris was a spy during the American Revolution, tracking hostile Indian movements in Greenbrier and Kanawha along with his brother Captain William Morris and brother-in-law John Jones until the duration of the war. Morris also worked alongside Lt. John Young who was newly commissioned under Captain William Morris's Company as a spy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=John |title=Revolutionary War Pension 1833 of John Young |date=1833 |publisher=Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters |location=Kanawha County |page=2 |edition=1 |url=http://www.revwarapps.org/w7377.pdf |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="National Archives">{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=C. Leon |title=John Jones Revolutionary War Pension 1833 |date=January 15, 1833 |publisher=Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters |location=Kanawha County |page=2 |edition=1 |url=http://www.revwarapps.org/w7920.pdf |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref>

Leonard Morris fought in the [[Battle of Point Pleasant]] under Colonel [[Andrew Lewis (soldier)]] in [[Lord Dunmore's War]] in 1774.<ref name="Harvard College Library" /> During the Battle of Point Pleasant and through the [[American Revolution]] Leonard commanded [[Fort Morris (Kanawha)|Fort Morris]] (also known as Kelly's Post).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Erna |title=The Tacketts in Kanawha County Virginia |date=March 1969 |publisher=C.L. Ewen |location=Kanawha County |page=4 |edition=1 |url=http://wvancestry.com/ReferenceMaterial/Files/The_Tacketts_in_Kanawha_County_Virginia.pdf |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> The Morris Fort was already established by 1774 near the mouth of [[Catfish Shoals]] on the [[Kanawha River]] twelve miles away from [[Leonard Morris' Fort]].

Fort Morris was built by Leonard, William, and their father William Sr in 1774; but Leonard thought it would be strategic to have a secondary fort further down the Kanawha River. Both of these forts were established prior to Colonel Lewis and Dunmore's men coming to engage with [[Chief Cornstalk]]. Morris, and five of his brothers joined Colonel Lewis on the march to Point Pleasant and was in the battle on October 10, 1774.


In 1774 while occupying Fort Morris, Leonard received from the Governor of Virginia, [[Lord Dunmore]], a guard of ten soldiers who remained until the settlers were safe from Indians.<ref name="Manuscript is in: Archives and History Library, Department of Culture and History, Charleston, West Virginia">{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Alfred Nelson |title=Genealogy of the Morris Family with Historical Sketches |date=1941 |publisher=Department of Culture and History, Charleston, West Virginia |location=Salt Lake City, UT |page=157}}</ref> In one of the last raids the Indians kidnapped Sallie, one of Leonard's maids, and though Morris and twenty men followed the Indians as far as Guyandotte they were unable to obtain her release. The war party was of a couple hundred, and their ransom was too great that they could not get Sallie back.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wintz |first1=Julia |title=Charleston Mail |agency=Charleston Mail |issue=April 1, 1934, p.2 |publisher=Charleston Mail |date=April 1, 1934}}</ref>
In 1774 while occupying Fort Morris, Leonard received from the Governor of Virginia, [[Lord Dunmore]], a guard of ten soldiers who remained until the settlers were safe from Indians.<ref name="Manuscript is in: Archives and History Library, Department of Culture and History, Charleston, West Virginia">{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Alfred Nelson |title=Genealogy of the Morris Family with Historical Sketches |date=1941 |publisher=Department of Culture and History, Charleston, West Virginia |location=Salt Lake City, UT |page=157}}</ref> In one of the last raids the Indians kidnapped Sallie, one of Leonard's maids, and though Morris and twenty men followed the Indians as far as Guyandotte they were unable to obtain her release. The war party was of a couple hundred, and their ransom was too great that they could not get Sallie back.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wintz |first1=Julia |title=Charleston Mail |agency=Charleston Mail |issue=April 1, 1934, p.2 |publisher=Charleston Mail |date=April 1, 1934}}</ref>


On August 10, 1789, Leonard Morris and William Morris were listed as having sold, and provided war materials amounting to three-thousand seven hundred and eighty-two rations for Colonel George Clendenin, 26 Privates, 2 Sergeants, one Ensign, one Lieutenant, and one Captain from March to July 1789 in support of the Northwest Indian Wars for the Kanawha County Militia Rangers, later renamed in October 1789 as [[Morris' Company of Rangers]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer, M.D. |first1=Wm P |title=Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts |date=1885 |publisher=Rush U. Derr, Superintendent of Public Printing |location=Richmond |page=14 |edition=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkgOAAAAIAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> Leonard Morris's farm and stock raising was instrumental to the war effort, from May 1791 Leonard's Brother Captain John Morris, Commander of the Morris' Company of Rangers provided Leonard's farm with soldiers until September 30, 1791, protecting the lands from hostile forces. The Ranger company was listed in a March 24, 1792 report to the Governor of Virginia, [[Henry Lee III]] as "having adopted full and effectual measures for the defense of the Western Frontier."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer, M.D. |first1=Wm P |title=Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts |date=1885 |publisher=Rush U. Derr, Superintendent of Public Printing |location=Richmond |page=475 |edition=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkgOAAAAIAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>
From 1775 - 1782, Morris was a scout and Indian spy during the American Revolution, tracking hostile Indian movements in Greenbrier and Kanawha along with his brother-in-law John Jones. Morris also worked alongside Lt. John Young who was newly commissioned under Captain William Morris's Company as a spy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=John |title=Revolutionary War Pension 1833 of John Young |date=1833 |publisher=Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters |location=Kanawha County |page=2 |edition=1 |url=http://www.revwarapps.org/w7377.pdf |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="National Archives">{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=C. Leon |title=John Jones Revolutionary War Pension 1833 |date=January 15, 1833 |publisher=Southern Campaign American Revolution Pension Statements & Rosters |location=Kanawha County |page=2 |edition=1 |url=http://www.revwarapps.org/w7920.pdf |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref>

== Revolutionary War ==
On August 10, 1789, Leonard Morris and William Morris were listed as having sold, and provided war materials in support of the [[Northwest Indian War|Northwest Indian Wars]] amounting to three-thousand seven hundred and eighty-two rations for Colonel George Clendenin, 26 Privates, 2 Sergeants, one Ensign, one Lieutenant, and one Captain from March to July 1789 in support of the Northwest Indian Wars for the Kanawha County Militia Rangers, known as the [[Morris' Company of Rangers]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer, M.D. |first1=Wm P |title=Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts |date=1885 |publisher=Rush U. Derr, Superintendent of Public Printing |location=Richmond |page=14 |edition=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkgOAAAAIAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

Leonard Morris's farm and stock raising was instrumental to the war effort, from May 1791 Leonard's Brother Captain John Morris, Commander of the Morris' Company of Rangers provided Leonard's farm with soldiers until September 30, 1791, protecting the lands from hostile forces. The Ranger company was listed in a March 24, 1792 report to the Governor of Virginia, [[Henry Lee III]] as "having adopted full and effectual measures for the defense of the Western Frontier."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Palmer, M.D. |first1=Wm P |title=Calendar of Virginia State Papers and Other Manuscripts |date=1885 |publisher=Rush U. Derr, Superintendent of Public Printing |location=Richmond |page=475 |edition=5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SkgOAAAAIAAJ |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>


Leonard Morris, while Sheriff of Kanawha, testified in court regarding a land dispute between claimants of a 250-acre tract of land, previously patented to General [[George Washington]] and General Lewis that, in 1775, he saw surveyors making a survey of the tract. The patent was later granted to Washington and Lewis, and signed by [[Thomas Jefferson]], Governor of Virginia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Samples |first1=Lori |title=Historical Booklet - Greenbrier County: History of Oil and Gas |date=1938 |publisher=Greenbrier County |location=Greenbrier, West Virginia |page=1 |edition=1 |url=http://www.wvgenweb.org/greenbrier/history/160th24.htm |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>
Leonard Morris, while Sheriff of Kanawha, testified in court regarding a land dispute between claimants of a 250-acre tract of land, previously patented to General [[George Washington]] and General Lewis that, in 1775, he saw surveyors making a survey of the tract. The patent was later granted to Washington and Lewis, and signed by [[Thomas Jefferson]], Governor of Virginia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Samples |first1=Lori |title=Historical Booklet - Greenbrier County: History of Oil and Gas |date=1938 |publisher=Greenbrier County |location=Greenbrier, West Virginia |page=1 |edition=1 |url=http://www.wvgenweb.org/greenbrier/history/160th24.htm |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>
Line 51: Line 61:
"And the said Leonard Morris, being produced as a witness for the plaintiff, after being first duly sworn, deposeth and saith: That in the year 1775, this deponent was residing on Kanawha river about six miles from Burning Spring Tract. During that year, Messrs. Samuel Lewis, a surveyor, Colonel [[John Stuart (Virginia settler)|John Stuart]], of Greenbrier, and [[Thomas Bullitt]] were on the Kanawha surveying lands, and procured from out of this deponent's family, Mungo Price and his son as chain carriers; that after the party returned from surveying, this deponent understood from them that they had surveyed the Burning Spring Tract for the late General George Washington and Andrew Lewis. This deponent, with the exception of some periods when the Indian wars made it hazardous to keep a family on Kanawha, has made it his principal residence since 1775. Sometimes during the Indian troubles, this deponent's family resided altogether in Greenbrier."
"And the said Leonard Morris, being produced as a witness for the plaintiff, after being first duly sworn, deposeth and saith: That in the year 1775, this deponent was residing on Kanawha river about six miles from Burning Spring Tract. During that year, Messrs. Samuel Lewis, a surveyor, Colonel [[John Stuart (Virginia settler)|John Stuart]], of Greenbrier, and [[Thomas Bullitt]] were on the Kanawha surveying lands, and procured from out of this deponent's family, Mungo Price and his son as chain carriers; that after the party returned from surveying, this deponent understood from them that they had surveyed the Burning Spring Tract for the late General George Washington and Andrew Lewis. This deponent, with the exception of some periods when the Indian wars made it hazardous to keep a family on Kanawha, has made it his principal residence since 1775. Sometimes during the Indian troubles, this deponent's family resided altogether in Greenbrier."


==Appointment to Justice==
==Life==

Leonard Morris was born in Culpeper, Colony of Virginia and is the son of [[William Morris Sr. (pioneer)|William Morris]] and Elizabeth Stapp (Stipps). Leonard had sixteen children, six by his first wife Margaret Price - John, Meredith, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Leonard Jr.; and ten children by his second wife Margaret Larkin - Charles, Nancy, Parthenia, Joshua, Hiram, Peter, Andrew, Cynthia, Madison and Dickinson.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Laidley |first1=W.S. |title=Genealogies of West Virginia Families from the West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly, 1901-1905 |article=The William Morris Family: Pioneers of Kanawha Valley |date=1992 |publisher=Genealogical Publishing Co. |location=Baltimore, MD |page=174}}</ref> Leonard Morris owned 18 slaves in Kanawha County, Virginia in 1820.<ref name="Bureau of the Census, National Archives">{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Leonard |title=1820 US Census |date=August 7, 1820 |publisher=NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls |location=Washington, D.C. |page=28 |edition=Fourth |ref=1820 U S Census; Census Place: Kanawha, Virginia; Page: 8; NARA Roll: M33_142; Image: 28}}</ref> In 1836, Mararget Larkin erected a Church in Leonard Morris's honor, [[Ebenezer Chapel (Marmet, West Virginia)]] which was built by Morris's slaves. Leonard Morris is the founder of the City of Marmet, as well as [[Lens Creek]] on the Kanawha River<ref>{{cite news |last1=Metro Staff |first1=Clint Thomas |title=Marmet Landmark Church Receives Restoration Grant |url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/metrokanawha/marmet-landmark-church-receives-restoration-grant/article_42d70f52-d003-506e-ab72-86124450ff98.html |access-date=1 December 2021 |work=WV Gazette Mail |agency=WV Gazette Mail |issue=Web |date=November 20, 2020}}</ref>
On October 6, 1789, the Virginia House of Delegates appointed Leonard Morris as Justice of the newly established Kanawha County, and was sworn in as member of the County Court. The first official court appearance in Kanawha County was held in the house of Colonel George Clendenin. On this occasion several of the newly appointed Justices were sworn in as members of the Court including [[Thomas Lewis Jr.]], and [[Daniel Boone]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hale |first1=J.P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_IxAQAAMAAJ |title=West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly |date=1901 |publisher=West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society |edition=1-2 |location=Charleston, West Virginia |page=13 |access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1876, by George Wesley Atkinson, In the Office of Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.">{{cite book |last1=Atkinson |first1=George W |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yjoTAAAAYAAJ |title=History of Kanawha County from 1789 until Present Time |date=1876 |publisher=The West Virginia Journal |edition=1 |location=Charleston |page=28 |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> In 1794 Morris was named Commissioner for [[Kanawha County]], and in 1798 named Sheriff of Kanawha County.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shepherd |first1=Samuel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rV83AQAAMAAJ |title=Statutes at Large of Virginia from October Session 1792 to December Session 1806 |date=1835 |publisher=Commonwealth of Virginia |edition=1 |location=Richmond |page=312 |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Laidley |first1=William S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bI-AAAAYAAJ |title=West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly |date=January 1904 |publisher=West Virginia Historical and Antiquarian Society |edition=4 |location=Charleston, West Virginia |page=80 |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref>

==Later Life==
Historical records show Leonard Morris owned 18 slaves in Kanawha County, Virginia in 1820.<ref name="Bureau of the Census, National Archives">{{cite book |last1=Morris |first1=Leonard |title=1820 US Census |date=August 7, 1820 |publisher=NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls |location=Washington, D.C. |page=28 |edition=Fourth |ref=1820 U S Census; Census Place: Kanawha, Virginia; Page: 8; NARA Roll: M33_142; Image: 28}}</ref> In 1836, Mararget Larkin erected a Church in Leonard Morris's honor, [[Ebenezer Chapel (Marmet, West Virginia)]] which was built by Morris's slaves. Leonard Morris is the founder of the City of Marmet, and the great-grandfather of [[Benjamin Franklin Morris II|Benjamin Franklin Morris]] who served as Marmet's mayor. Leonard Morris also founded [[Lens Creek]] on the Kanawha River<ref>{{cite news |last1=Metro Staff |first1=Clint Thomas |title=Marmet Landmark Church Receives Restoration Grant |url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/metrokanawha/marmet-landmark-church-receives-restoration-grant/article_42d70f52-d003-506e-ab72-86124450ff98.html |access-date=1 December 2021 |work=WV Gazette Mail |agency=WV Gazette Mail |issue=Web |date=November 20, 2020}}</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 20:42, 31 January 2024

Honorable
Leonard Morris
Justice of Kanawha County
In office
October 6, 1789 – May, 1831
Appointed byVirginia House of Delegates
Sheriff of Kanawha County
In office
1798–1801
Appointed byVirginia House of Delegates
Preceded byThomas Lewis Jr.
Succeeded byWilliam Morris
Commissioner of Kanawha County
In office
1794 – May 17, 1831
Personal details
BornOrange County, Virginia
DiedMay 17, 1831
Marmet, West Virginia
Spouse(s)Margaret Price (m.1770); Margaret Larkin (m.1789)
OccupationSpy; Pioneer
Military service
Allegiance Thirteen Colonies
BranchVirginia Militia
Service years1774-1789
UnitKanawha County Militia
ConflictBattle of Point Pleasant Revolutionary War

Leonard Morris (1748 – May 17, 1831) was an early American pioneer, soldier, and sheriff, who was one of the founders of Charleston, West Virginia in 1788.[1] Five years later Leonard was named as a trustee of Charleston when the town was incorporated by the Virginia House of Delegates in 1794, alongside Ruben Slaughter, Andrew Donnally Sr, and William Morris.[2]

Early Life and Family

Leonard was born in Orange County, Virginia to William Morris Sr and Elizabeth Stapp. In the fall of 1773, the entire Morris family moved to the Kanawha Valley, becoming the first permanent white settlement in the region.

Leonard had sixteen children, six by his first wife Margaret Price - John, Meredith, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Leonard Jr.; and ten children by his second wife Margaret Larkin - Charles, Nancy, Parthenia, Joshua, Hiram, Peter, Andrew, Cynthia, Madison and Dickinson.[3]

Leonard's brothers William Morris and Carroll Morris served in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Kanawha County; John Morris was a Captain in the County Militia and father of of US Congressman Calvary Morris, and Bishop Thomas Asbury Morris.

Lord Dunmore's War

Leonard Morris fought in the Battle of Point Pleasant under Colonel Andrew Lewis (soldier) in Lord Dunmore's War in 1774.[1] During the Battle of Point Pleasant and through the American Revolution Leonard commanded Fort Morris (also known as Kelly's Post).[4] The Morris Fort was already established by 1774 near the mouth of Catfish Shoals on the Kanawha River twelve miles away from Leonard Morris' Fort.

Fort Morris was built by Leonard, William, and their father William Sr in 1774; but Leonard thought it would be strategic to have a secondary fort further down the Kanawha River. Both of these forts were established prior to Colonel Lewis and Dunmore's men coming to engage with Chief Cornstalk. Morris, and five of his brothers joined Colonel Lewis on the march to Point Pleasant and was in the battle on October 10, 1774.

In 1774 while occupying Fort Morris, Leonard received from the Governor of Virginia, Lord Dunmore, a guard of ten soldiers who remained until the settlers were safe from Indians.[5] In one of the last raids the Indians kidnapped Sallie, one of Leonard's maids, and though Morris and twenty men followed the Indians as far as Guyandotte they were unable to obtain her release. The war party was of a couple hundred, and their ransom was too great that they could not get Sallie back.[6]

From 1775 - 1782, Morris was a scout and Indian spy during the American Revolution, tracking hostile Indian movements in Greenbrier and Kanawha along with his brother-in-law John Jones. Morris also worked alongside Lt. John Young who was newly commissioned under Captain William Morris's Company as a spy.[7][8]

Revolutionary War

On August 10, 1789, Leonard Morris and William Morris were listed as having sold, and provided war materials in support of the Northwest Indian Wars amounting to three-thousand seven hundred and eighty-two rations for Colonel George Clendenin, 26 Privates, 2 Sergeants, one Ensign, one Lieutenant, and one Captain from March to July 1789 in support of the Northwest Indian Wars for the Kanawha County Militia Rangers, known as the Morris' Company of Rangers.[9]

Leonard Morris's farm and stock raising was instrumental to the war effort, from May 1791 Leonard's Brother Captain John Morris, Commander of the Morris' Company of Rangers provided Leonard's farm with soldiers until September 30, 1791, protecting the lands from hostile forces. The Ranger company was listed in a March 24, 1792 report to the Governor of Virginia, Henry Lee III as "having adopted full and effectual measures for the defense of the Western Frontier."[10]

Leonard Morris, while Sheriff of Kanawha, testified in court regarding a land dispute between claimants of a 250-acre tract of land, previously patented to General George Washington and General Lewis that, in 1775, he saw surveyors making a survey of the tract. The patent was later granted to Washington and Lewis, and signed by Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia.[11]

"And the said Leonard Morris, being produced as a witness for the plaintiff, after being first duly sworn, deposeth and saith: That in the year 1775, this deponent was residing on Kanawha river about six miles from Burning Spring Tract. During that year, Messrs. Samuel Lewis, a surveyor, Colonel John Stuart, of Greenbrier, and Thomas Bullitt were on the Kanawha surveying lands, and procured from out of this deponent's family, Mungo Price and his son as chain carriers; that after the party returned from surveying, this deponent understood from them that they had surveyed the Burning Spring Tract for the late General George Washington and Andrew Lewis. This deponent, with the exception of some periods when the Indian wars made it hazardous to keep a family on Kanawha, has made it his principal residence since 1775. Sometimes during the Indian troubles, this deponent's family resided altogether in Greenbrier."

Appointment to Justice

On October 6, 1789, the Virginia House of Delegates appointed Leonard Morris as Justice of the newly established Kanawha County, and was sworn in as member of the County Court. The first official court appearance in Kanawha County was held in the house of Colonel George Clendenin. On this occasion several of the newly appointed Justices were sworn in as members of the Court including Thomas Lewis Jr., and Daniel Boone.[12][13] In 1794 Morris was named Commissioner for Kanawha County, and in 1798 named Sheriff of Kanawha County.[14][15]

Later Life

Historical records show Leonard Morris owned 18 slaves in Kanawha County, Virginia in 1820.[16] In 1836, Mararget Larkin erected a Church in Leonard Morris's honor, Ebenezer Chapel (Marmet, West Virginia) which was built by Morris's slaves. Leonard Morris is the founder of the City of Marmet, and the great-grandfather of Benjamin Franklin Morris who served as Marmet's mayor. Leonard Morris also founded Lens Creek on the Kanawha River[17]

References

  1. ^ a b Graham, Miller (1885). History of Kanawha County and Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men (1 ed.). Charleston: Miller & Graham; Printers and Publishers. p. 5. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  2. ^ Shepherd, Samuel (1835). Statutes at Large of Virginia from October Session 1792 to December Session 1806 (1 ed.). Richmond: Commonwealth of Virginia. p. 322. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  3. ^ Laidley, W.S. (1992). "The William Morris Family: Pioneers of Kanawha Valley". Genealogies of West Virginia Families from the West Virginia Historical Magazine Quarterly, 1901-1905. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co. p. 174.
  4. ^ Johnson, Erna (March 1969). The Tacketts in Kanawha County Virginia (PDF) (1 ed.). Kanawha County: C.L. Ewen. p. 4. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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Public Domain This article incorporates text from these sources, which are in the public domain: History of West Virginia, by Virgil Anson Lewis (1887)