An American Family History

Gideon Morris

Gideon Morris was born about 1750. He may have been the son of William Drury Morris.

His wfe was named Jeanette.

John Morris (1770, married Rachael Reese/Reece),
Gideon Morris, Jr.,
Shadrack Morris,
Mary Morris (married Samuel Riggs),
Margaret Morris (married James Anderson or Anderton),
Nancy Morris (married Elisha Milliken).

In 1776 he was on the Cherokee Expedition.

In 1777, he signed the Petition of Holston Men.

On August 27, 1778, Valentine Sevier, Abraham Sevier, Julius Robinson, Zachriah White, Dempsey Ward, Andrew Thompson, Gideon Morris, Robert Sevier, and Jermiah Duncan, came into court and took the Oath of Allegiance.

He fought at Kings Mountain and received land grants for fighting in the Revolutionary War.

They were early settlers on Lick Creek in the area that would become Morristown.

from History of Tennessee, Volume 2 by Goodspeed Publishing Company Staff

Hamblem is a small county lying along the left bank of the Holston River, and divided into two almost equal parts by the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad. It was formed from fractions of Jefferson, Grainger and Hawkins Counties. The first settlement in this territory was made in 1783 by Robert McFarland and Alexander Outlaw, both of whom located at the "bend of Chucky."

Shortly after Gideon, Daniel and Absalom Morris settled in the vicinity of where Morristown now is. They were brothers, and had been among the first settlers on the Watauga.

Gideon Morris had three sons: John, Gideon and Shadrach, all of whom after marriage remained in the neighborhood of the old homestead. John lived south of the present town in a house still occupied by one of his descendants, and Gideon west of town on what is now known as the Hobb's place, while Shadrach, who subsequently removed to Indiana, located on the site of Rheatown.