Hector Morrison, Loyalist or Not?

On 19 April 1825 my third great grandparents, John Astles and Flora Morrison, were married in the Anglican Church in New Carlisle. John was identified as of major age while Flora was said to be a minor of 19 years. They were married “in the presence and with the consent” of both mothers, suggesting the fathers were deceased.

Hector Morrison’s Paper Trail

New Carlisle Anglican Church records also show that James Astles died 1 October 1823 aged 64 and Hector Morrison died 10 November 1823 aged 75. Hector’s burial record identifies as his sons, James and Hector Morrison. On 22 September 1845 the younger Hector Morrison was also a witness to his mother’s burial when he was identified as the son of Ann Lane, wife of Alexander McKay, by her former marriage to the late Hector Morrison. Mary and Hugh have also been identified by various researchers as children of Hector and Ann Morrison. So far I have not found baptism records for any of these children. The 1861 census shows that Flora was born in Lower Canada and her birth year inferred from the census is 1806, consistent with that inferred from her stated age at marriage. The late Donald J. Flowers, UE has stated that Mary Morrison, daughter of the Loyalist Hector Morrison married Robert Henry Kempffer, Sr. ¹

Who was Hector Morrison and where did he come from? His death record states he was a farmer of New Carlisle. He is not on the “Return of Loyalists and Discharged Soldiers embarked on Board the Province Vessels for Chaleur Bay, Quebec, 9th June 1784” as reproduced in A.D. Flowers’ The Loyalists of Chaleur Bay. Nor is Hector Morrison on the Muster Role [sic] of a Detachment of King’s Rangers at St. Johns Commanded by Major Rogers. Return of Sept 8, 1780” also included in Flowers’ book. Likewise his name is missing from the lists of settlers who drew for farm lots at Paspébiac on August 3, 10, 11 & 17, 1784, included by Flowers.

The November 1788 report from the committee that reviewed and made recommendations on land petitions in Quebec lists Hector Morrison and family as Loyalists seeking land. The committee recommended that the Loyalists be put in “immediate possession of lots in the Townships laid out last summer.” Two obvious questions are: Was this the same Hector Morrison who married Ann Lane? And where was the land that was surveyed in the summer of 1788? The committee appears to have dealt with petitions from a wide geographic swath with a few names in its report that are recognizable from the New Carlisle area but many that are not.

The 1802 memorial of William Vonden Velden, member for Gaspé of the Provincial Parliament, asking for title to lands for his constituents, who had previously been assigned lots to occupy and improve with the promise of a grant upon improvement, does include an entry for Hector Morrison settled in Cox Township New Carlisle. Hector made his mark rather than signing the petition.

The 1816 “Untitled Relief Book” lists among the petitioners Hector Morrison aged 64 with his wife and 6 of his 7 children living with him. James Morrison and Hector Morrison, Sr. were also among the group of men paid to unload from the schooner the flour provided and transport it to the warehouse.²

Ann Lane’s burial record in 1845 gives her age as about 70 years, implying a birth year of about 1775. This would suggest a marriage not much earlier than 1793 when she was 18. If this were the case then who are Hector Morrison’s family in the 1788 report? I have approximate birth years for only 2 of Ann and Hector’s children – James in 1794 and Flora in 1806. The others could be older than James if Ann was born earlier and/or married earlier than estimated.

Catherine Morrison and Barbara Fraser Morrison McCraw

Another complication in the story concerns Catherine Morrison, daughter of Barbara Fraser and Hector Morrison, who married John Ross in Gaspesia and claimed in a petition for land that her father died in military action in Canada. In 1779 Catherine’s mother had been listed at the loyalist refugee camp of Machiche, where she stated she was a Scottish-born widow from New York. Yvan Goulet, in a well-referenced piece in Loyalist Trails, provided the preceding details and raised the question of whether Barbara Fraser’s and Ann Lane’s husbands were one and the same man. He states that Hector Morrison had land confiscated in New York in 1783 and that Hector and Ann’s first child was born in 1888 but does not give a citation for the latter assertion. Goulet also speculates that Hector Morrison may be named as a Loyalist in the 1788 document in consequence of being the husband of Ann Lane whose father John was a Loyalist.³

The Morrisons were discussed again in Loyalist Trails in reply to a query about John Ross. Bev Loomis UE, cited information received from Yvan Goulet demonstrating that Barbara Fraser Morrison had 4 children by 1781 when she was described as a widow and that Duncan McCraw, the husband she married in 1784, named all of Barbara’s children in his will including theirs together and hers from her previous marriage and that none was named Catherine unless this was a second name. Loomis said: “Hector Jr, Alexander, Barbara, Marianne are believed to be Barbara & Hector Morrison's children.” Donald Flowers, in the same issue, stated that Catherine Morris married John Ross about 1790 and they lived at Hope, now known as Hopetown, in Bonaventure County, Quebec. He noted that the death of Catherine Morrison Ross, on 12 May 1848, and her burial are recorded in the St. Andrew's [New Carlisle] Anglican Church records.⁴

My Research Goals

Are Hector Morrison and Ann Lane my ancestors? Were they Loyalists? I am gradually locating and working my way through primary sources and the researchers cited above have given me further ideas to pursue. What additional information, hypotheses, strategies or resources can forum participants suggest to further illuminate Hector Morrison and his descendants?

¹ From Loyalist Trails 2007-37: September 23, 2007. http://www.uelac.org/Loyalist-Trails/Loyalist-Trails-index-2010.php

² Information provided by William Flowers.

³ From Loyalist Trails 2004-24 December 11, 2004.

⁴ From Loyalist Trails 2007-16: April 22, 2007.