The Morris Clan

James Newberry MORRIS

HUSBAND:
[F16]. James Newberry MORRIS. [PC C1].
James was born 3 MAY 1857 at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah; son of George MORRIS [F32] and Hannah Mariah NEWBERRY [F33].

Soon after he was born there began a time of great excitement in the Salt Lake Valley. Word arrived that the United States government was sending troops to Salt Lake, and a new governor was being sent to succeed Brigham Young. The Saints were celebrating the tenth anniversary of their arrival in Salt Lake, on 24 JUL 1857, at Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon when the word arrived that Johnson's Army was on its way. A council was held and it was decided that the saints would evacuate. James's family moved south to Utah County. They built a dugout at the Provo River bottoms near the shores of Utah Lake. The dugout was covered with reeds from the river. His father then returned to Salt Lake to tend the crops and stand in readiness to burn the home in case the soldiers tried to enter the valley by force. The family spent the winter in the Provo River bottoms and returned to their home in Salt Lake the following spring.

The first five years of James' life was spent under this threat of the army encampment. Although the soldiers were not allowed to camp near the city, their influence was felt. The even worse element was the freighters and hangers-on that came with the army. They were not subject to the discipline of the soldiers. During this time his father George served on the police force for the city. The parents must have felt great concern for their children during this time. The troops remained in Utah until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.

James married (1) Harriett Louisa ELLIOTT [F17] on 14 NOV 1878 in the Endowment House at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.

They lived for the first two years in a small two room house near the old fair grounds in Salt Lake City. James followed the trade of a mason, taught him by his father. Their first two children were born here; Charlotte Cecelia, born 14 AUG 1879, and James William, born 10 MAR 1882.

James' older brother George Vernon had found employment in the coal mines in Almy, Wyoming. Through him James learned there was an opening for a stable boss, which paid $6.00. He worked there until an underground explosion devastated the community.

James Newberry Morris Family [photo]

He married (2) Betsy (Bessie) SCHOLES on 19 JUN 1912 at Logan, Cache County, Utah.

On 21 January 1913 James was shot during a disagreement over a business arangement. A Box Elder News article gives the details. He died 16 FEB 1913 at Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah, and was buried in the Park Valley Cemetery, Park Valley, Box Elder County, Utah.

WIFE (1):
[F17]. Harriett Louisa ELLIOTT. (Hattie). [PC C1].
Born 8 AUG 1860 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah; daughter of Peter Mack ELLIOTT [F34] and Charlotte ALVORD [F35].

She married James Newberry MORRIS [F16] on 14 NOV 1878 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah.

Her father died in 1885. When his estate was finally settled, in 1889, Harriett received $800, quite a considerable sum with such a large family. With this money Harriett and her husband James invested in a herd of sheep, which they herded in the adjoining foothills. James hired a Chinese man named Hong Looie to be his herder, who had been one of the gang of Chinese workmen building the railroad through Terrace.

Harriett died of a heart ailment on 28 JAN 1902 at their home in Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah, just eleven days after the birth of their baby girl. Will and Lottie, who had just returned to Logan for school following the Christmas holidays, returned home immediately. Harriett was buried on 31 JAN 1902 in the Park Valley Cemetery at Park Valley, Box Elder County, Utah.

CHILDREN of James Newberry MORRIS [F16] and Harriett Louisa ELLIOTT [F17]:

Charlott (Lottie) Cecelia MORRIS. Born 14 AUG 1879 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. She married 12 JUL 1905 to Alfred Christoffer PETERSON. She died 28 MAR 1960.
James William (Will) MORRIS. Born 10 MAR 1882 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. He married 28 JUN 1911 to Mary Loree COBIA. He died 10 or 11 JUN 1964.
Viola Elliott MORRIS. Born 24 JUL 1885 at Alma, Uinta County, Wyoming. She died 19 AUG 1888.
Lillis Adelia MORRIS. Born 25 MAR 1888 in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. She married 15 NOV 1911 to James PALMER. She died 27 JUN 1952 or 19 JUN 1953.
Earl Wellington MORRIS. Born 8 JAN 1890 at Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah. He married 27 SEP 1915 (1913) to Mary Etta LARRABEE. He died 13 DEC 1969.
[F8]. Eli Ray MORRIS. [PC C1]. Born 19 July 1892 at Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah. Ray married Tina Matilda KUNZLER [F9] on 9 December 1914 at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah. He died on 14 October 1980 at River View Hospital in Idaho Falls, Bonneville County, Idaho, and was buried in the Park Valley Cemetery in Park Valley, Box Elder County, Utah.
Maria Janetta (Jenny) MORRIS. Born 15 JAN 1894 at Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah. She married 9 SEP 1910 to Don Merlin GROVER.
Alvin Elliott MORRIS. He was born 11 NOV 1896 at Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah. He married 16 DEC 1921 (1913) to Cecelia BOTT.
Claudeous (Claude) Newberry MORRIS. Born 20 NOV 1898 at Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah. He married (1) 26 DEC 1957 to Elsie Violet MORRIS. He married (2) Mrs. Remola CHADBURN SMITH.
Harriett Iva MORRIS. Born 17 JAN 1902 at Rosette, Box Elder County, Utah. She married (1) Howard LONG. They were divorced. She married (2) 1 SEP 1937 at Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah to David L. BASINGER. He was born 16 OCT 1894 at Bluffton, Allen County, Ohio; son of Ephraim BASINGER and Lavina LUGIBIHL. He died 15 JUN 1970. She married (3) to Robert H. WIER.

[Photo 1: James and Harriett Morris and Family.] The family, before Iva was born.

[Photo 2: James and Harriett's children.] The children of James and Harriott. Top Row Left to right: Lilis, William, Earl, Ray, and Charlotte (Lottie). Bottom Row Left to Right: Alvin, Iva, Claude, Jeannett.

WIFE (2):
Betsy SCHOLES.
Born 17 MAR 1882 at Hull, Yorkshire, England, daughter of Richard SCHOLES and Betsy PLATT. She was christened in St. Barnabus, Hull, York, England. She was baptized 17 MAR 1900 at Hull, Yorkshire, England. She married James Newberry MORRIS [F16] on 19 JUN 1912 at Logan, Cache County, Utah. She died 11 APR 1978 at Rigby, Jefferson County, Idaho, and was buried 14 APR 1978 at Rigby, Jefferson County, Idaho.

CHILDREN of James Newberry MORRIS [F16] and Betsy SCHOLES:

Muriel MORRIS. Born 23 JUN 1913 at Brigham City, Box Elder County, Utah. She married 22 MAR 1934 to Thomas Harper YATES.

SOURCES:

{S1]. (Newberry History Book) compiled by Beth Tingey.
{S2]. Ancestral File. Version 4.13.
[S3]. James Newberry Morris, A Father in Very Deed. (author unknown).