We don't really know anything about her first husband, identified only as Mr. Morris.
This morning I was re-reading the 1902 memoir written by Fanny's great-granddaughter Eleanor Howard (Thomas) Brittain Knowlton. Ellen states with considerable conviction that her great-grandparents came to America aboard the Mayflower and that her great-grandfather fought at Braddock's Defeat.
Some simple math is appropriate here. Assume her great-grandfather Morris indeed arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. Braddock's Defeat was 1755. A man born early enough to arrive on the Mayflower would have been at least 135 years old in 1755. The same person cannot have been part of both events. But perhaps we should be looking for an ancestor who was an early settler in New England.
Back to Braddock's Defeat. I am not a great student of military history, so had to go looking for information about Braddock's Defeat. Wikipedia tells me the battle was part of a greater Brittish campaign during the French and Indian War, and that it was a huge defeat for the British. It took place in the vicinity of present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. George Washington (yes, that George Washington) was 23 years old, knew the territory, and served as aide-de-camp to General Braddock. Wikipedia adds that the British forces were supplemented by colonial militia from many areas -- including Virginia -- and that Daniel Boone and Daniel Morgan were both wagoners in the company.
Why have I never noticed Daniel Morgan's name before? Especially linked to Daniel Boone? Why have I never before connected that our Thomas and Morris/Ray ancestors were living in 1790 in the MORGAN DISTRICT of Rutherford Co., North Carolina?
So who was Daniel Morgan, and did he connect in any way with North Carolina? Rather than plagiarize, I refer all readers to the Wikipedia articles about Daniel Morgan, American frontiersman, military hero, and member of Congress from Virginia. He was one of the major commanders at the Battle of Cowpens (1781), fought in South Carolina but in the general neighborhood of today's Rutherford County, North Carolina.
Wikipedia reports that Daniel Morgan was considered one of the most brilliant battlefield tacticians of the Revolutionary War. In 1775 he was charged with organizing one of 10 rifle companies ordered by the Continental Congress to support the Siege on Boston. These were to come from the middle colonies; Virginia agreed to send two. Morgan's Riflemen were well known for their uncanny accuracy, due in part to a unique technology in their rifles. The barrels were thin-walled with interior spiral grooves, making them light weight and far more accurate than the conventional muskets of the time. Morgan used his sharpshooters to ambush an enemy unit and pick off first their guides and then their officers, creating havoc among the troops who usually needed someone to tell them where they were going and how they were supposed to fight.
Morgan's Riflemen and the 11th Virginia Regiment of which they were a part, fought at the Battle of Saratoga in September 1777. A number of the company were killed there when they mistakenly took an advance party of the British Army for the main body, picked off the leaders, then charged -- into the face of the main body of the army just arriving on the scene.
Ellen says in her memoir that Mr. Morris was well known for the ammunition he supplied to the Colonial Army. We know by calculation that he probably died 1777-1778. We further calculate that he was likely born 1730-1740. If we assume he was about 20 at Braddock's Defeat, that narrows the range and makes him a contemporary of George Washington, Daniel Boone, and Daniel Morgan.
We know that Fanny's presumed family came from Virginia, so it is reasonable to assume that Mr. Morris also had Virginia connections. Might he have been a part of the Morgan Riflemen? Might he have been supplying ammunition for their unique rifles? Might he have been at the Battle of Saratoga? Might he have died there? The dates fit. The circumstances fit. But right now the whole idea is speculation. It needs documentation, and that means research.
Are there lists available of the members of Morgan's Riflemen? Are there lists of the Colonial forces who were killed at the Battle of Saratoga? There may be better places to start this hunt than the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City, but it is an interesting place to start. So is the National Archives branch library in San Bruno, California.
Goin' hunting!
Also look at the articles about the Battle of Saratoga. Daniel Morgan was a commanding officer there, too.
On June 13, 1777, Morgan was also placed in command of the Provisional Rifle Corps, a light infantry unit of 500 riflemen selected primarily from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia units of the main army. Many were drawn from his own permanent unit, the 11th Virginia Regiment. Washington assigned them to harass General William Howe's rear guard, and Morgan followed and attacked them during their entire withdrawal across New Jersey.
...[Battle of Freeman's Farm]Morgan's men took very careful aim, and picked off virtually every single officer in the advance company, and then charged, unaware that they were headed directly for Burgoyne's main army. While they succeeded in driving back the advance company, Fraser's leading edge arrived just in time to attack Morgan's left, scattering his men back into the woods. ...We are never told the given name of Fanny's husband Mr. Morris, but we are told that he was well known for the ammunition which he provided to the colonial army and that he was killed on one of his trips to provide ammunition. Is it such a far reach to think that he might have been providing ammunition to the Morgan Rifleman for use in their specially designed rifles? Is it so far-fetched the think that a North Carolina resident with Virginia links might be part of the 11th Virginia Regiment and a member of the Morgan Rifleman? Was he one of those Morgan Rifleman who were at Freeman's Farm at the Battle of Saratoga?
Should be be looking for our Mr. Morris among those Morgan Rifleman who died at Freeman's Farm? The timing is right. Fanny's youngest Morris child was born about 1777, her eldest Ray child born in October 1779. Therefore, Fanny was married to Mr. Ray by January 1779. Morris was likely alive in early 1777, but could have died as late as March or April and still have a child born that year. Freeman's Farm was in September, 1777.
I'll be in Salt Lake City in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I'll be searching the Internet!
