Thomas J. Morris

Thomas J. Morris was born in 1826 in Stanly County, North Carolina, the third son and sixth child of William Airly Morris and Martha Smith Morris. His father was a prominent figure in Anson County — State Assemblyman, State Senator, and pastor of Rocky River Baptist Church.¹

Early Life in North Carolina

Thomas grew up in a large household on Lane’s Creek and Brown Creek in Anson County. His father died in 1844 when Thomas was about eighteen, and his mother Martha headed the household through the 1850 census, which lists Thomas at age twenty-three alongside his younger siblings Nathan, Rosanna, Susanna, Sarah E., and Columbus.¹

In December 1853, Thomas joined his mother and brothers Jackson J., George W., and Nathan A. in conveying family land to D. (Darling) M. Smith, Martha’s brother — a sign that the family was preparing to leave North Carolina.¹

Marriage

On November 28, 1853, Thomas married Sarah Jane Floyd in Stanly County, North Carolina (near Albemarle and Charlotte). Sarah Jane was born October 9, 1836, the youngest of four children of James P. and Elizabeth W. (Carver) Floyd. Her brothers were William J. (born 1823), James T. (born 1826), and Joseph P. (born 1827). Thomas was ten years her senior.³

Migration to Texas

In December 1853, just weeks after their wedding, having heard that “money grew on trees in Texas” and with both sets of parents recently deceased, the young couple decided to move to Texas. They came to New Orleans by train and booked passage on a ship called the Perseverance bound for Galveston. En route they were overtaken by a severe storm, and Sarah Jane reported that “when the trip was over that the ship was appropriately named.”³

From Galveston they traveled to Houston and on inland to Little River, Milam County, where they settled sixteen miles north of Cameron near Kaysfield. Thomas bought twenty-five acres of land on Harold’s Creek, a short distance from the Little River Church, and there they made their home and raised their family.³

Life in Texas

In addition to farming, Thomas taught school at Rocky Hill School, where the school terms lasted about three or four months. He was known locally as “Tom.”³

Sarah Jane joined the Little River Baptist Church soon after their arrival. There were three churches at the time, all log structures. She had previously been a Methodist.³

Thomas died before any of his children were married. His oldest son, “Billy” (William James Morris), was married in 1880 at Maysfield, Texas. Sarah Jane lived to “a ripe old age” and is buried at Little River Cemetery, along with other Morrises. Her grave is marked, though some of the others are not.³