GEORGE MORGAN
George Morgan, b ca 1770, d January 1, 1839 at Morgan's
Point, in what became Falls County, Texas, when Indians attacked his log cabin
home. George and his wife had moved to Georgia by 1804, thence to Wilcox
County, Alabama where most of their children were born. In 1830, he was listed
on the Alabama Census, along with the husbands of two of his married daughters
and their relatives.
The Morgan family
left for Texas February 10, 1833, and first settled one mile below present‑day
Marlin on December 1, 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, and most of their married and
single children, settled in Robertson's Colony, where George Morgan received a
grant for a league of land on the Brazos River about seven miles north of the
Falls, in September 1835. The family was in the "Run‑Away
Scrape" of 1836, but were among the first, along with John Marlin, to return
to their land in present‑day Falls County. The Morgans constructed a log
cabin at a place on the river that later was proved to be an Indian Burying
Ground. The couple had eight known children who were all listed as heirs to
their parents estates. When the Indians attacked on January 1, 1839, the home
was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Morgan ‑ then about seventy years of age, a
daughter Sarah (Morgan) Jones and her two children: Andrew Jackson Jones and
Wesley Jones; two daughters‑in‑law, Amanda (Barton) Morgan ‑
wife of Andrew Jackson Morgan, and Stacey Ann (Marlin) Morgan ‑ wife of
William J. Morgan, and three of Stacey Ann's young siblings (their mother,
Nancy Taylor Marlin, having died in 1837) were visiting her while their father,
James Marlin, was away: Adeline Marlin, then age 16 years, Mary Marlin, then
age 12 years, and Isaac Marlin, then age 10 years. The younger men and husbands
had gone to do the evening chores late that afternoon when the Indians
attacked.
Five of the occupants of the log cabin were scalped and
killed ‑ including Mr. and Mrs. George Morgan, Amanda (Barton) Morgan,
Adeline Marlin, and Andrew Jackson Jones. Stacey Ann (Marlin) Morgan was
wounded, but feigned death, and was left alive. The three young children, Mary
Marlin, Isaac Marlin, and Wesley Jones, hid outside until the Indians had gone;
then Isaac ran the seven miles to the home of his uncle, John Marlin, near the
Falls.
When all the men reached the site of the tragedy, Stacey
Ann was still alive. The victims were buried in one grave near the site. The
log cabin was still standing when John A. Fortune bought the estate property,
and it was lived in by one of his descendants for several years, and they were
never able to remove the blood stains from the floor. The cabin burned after
1900.
An historical marker was erected by the State of Texas in
1936 at the location of the Morgan Massacre, and the place is still known as
"Morgan's Point." For the sons, sons‑in‑law, and grand
son‑in‑law, this was only the beginning of their fights to make the
area safe for the settlers.
Mr. and Mrs. George Morgan had eight known children:
Barba Morgan, b 1804
in Georgia, d January 1853 in Falls County, Texas ‑ married about 1831 in
Alabama to Margey (maiden name unknown), b 1817 in South Carolina. They
remained in Alabama until after Texas entered the Union, and had three
children: William Clark Morgan, b 1832 in Alabama ‑ married May 4, 1872
to Lucy Lochridge; Mary Ann Morgan, b 1842 in Alabama‑married March 21,
1861 to Joel M. Neil, b 1837 in Alabama; and James M. Morgan, b 1846 in
Alabama.
Hugh Morgan, born in Georgia‑no further information,
except that he was named as one of the heirs of his parents' estate:
Joseph Morgan, born in Georgia ‑ no further information,
except that he was named as one of the heirs of his parents' estate.
Daughter Morgan, b ca 1809 in Georgia, died before 1850‑married
in Alabama to Shadrack Maness, and had three children: Sarah Maness, b ca 1827
who married Jeremiah McDaniel ‑prominent figure in the Indian fights and
in the organization of Falls County; John Maness, b ca 1829; and Allen Maness,
b ca 1831 in Alabama, who participated in the organization of Falls County.
George Washington Morgan (called "Wash"), b November
15, 1811 on the Ocmulgee River, Georgia, died at his home near the Brazos River
after 1874, and was buried there. Wash married Mrs. Mary Ann Freestone, b 1817
in Illinois, who had two daughters by her previous marriage: Melissa
Freestone, b 1840 in Illinois; and Mariah Freestone, b 1842 in Illinois. Wash
and Mary Ann had no issue. On January 10, 1839, Wash was wounded in the battle
in pursuit of Jose Maria ‑the Indian Chief. The log cabin built by George
Washington and Mary Ann Morgan was subsequently donated to the Strecker
Museum in Waco, Texas, by descendants of Robert Allen Oakes, who had bought
their property.
Sarah Morgan, b ca 1813 in Alabama ‑ married Wiley
Tibeus Jones in Alabama. They had Wesley Jones, and Andrew Jackson Jones ‑
the latter being killed in the Indian Massacre on January 1, 1839. Sarah, a
widow, shared in the estate of her parents, and moved away from Falls County.
Andrew Jackson Morgan, b ca 1817 in Alabama, d 1845 in one
of the last Indian fights in the area‑married first on May 28, 1838 in
Robertson County, Texas to Amanda Barton, who died January 1, 1839 in the Indian
Massacre; married second on March 19, 1839 to Jane Morrow, and they were
divorced; and married third on January 5, 1843 to Catherine Hill. Andrew was
involved in all of the Indian battles in the area, and served in the Texas
Army. After his death, Catherine (Hill) Morgan was married second to W. H. Wilson
on July 16, 1849.
William J. Morgan, b 1818 in Alabama, d November 5, 1862
in Falls County, Texas ‑ married in Robertson County, Texas on July 20,
1838 to Mrs. Stacey Ann (Marlin) Golden ‑ a daughter of James and Nancy
(Taylor) Marlin.
The George Morgan family were true pioneers and Indian
fighters, who paid their way in Texas in blood and tears. Most of the
descendants who remained in Falls County were those of William J. and Stacey
Ann (Marlin) Morgan.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart and her
volunteers for printing the biographies of these Falls County Families to this
web page. “Families of Falls County”, compiled and Edited by the Falls County
Historical Department, pp. 317-319.
Submitted by Glenda Argo
I want to share some information
pertaining to the Falls County Biography of George Washington Morgan. The
Morgan biography states that “
Past research on the Freestone Family has
indicated the following:
Melissa and Mariah Jane Freestone were
the youngest two daughters of 9 children ….. 6 boys and 3 girls. Their
siblings were, Joseph H., Rachel, Benjamin F., Eli H., Amos J., Isaac B. and
James K. Their parents were Jesse and Mary (Hurt/Hunt) Freestone.
Jesse and Mary were married December 2, 1824 in Clinton Co.,
The best we can determine Jesse, Mary (?)
and all the children left
The 1850 census for Limestone Co.,
I have researched the Freestone family
for almost 15 years and I worked closely with another gentleman who researched
the family for almost 30 years.
I would appreciate comments and
suggestions on how we might offer the results of our research to any interested
party for consideration.
I will be glad to answer your questions
the best I can.