The Morrison Family of Smethport, Pennsylvania

Hugh Morrison, the first of the line here under consideration of whom we have definite information, emigrated from the North of Ireland to this country, died in Pleasantville, Pennsylvania. He married Isabella and left issue:

1. Hugh Morrison, married and left issue.
2. Thomas Morrison, married and left issue.
3. Joseph Morrison, married and left issue.
4. William Morrison, married and left issue.
5. James Morrison, married and left issue.
6. John Morrison, married and left issue.

(II) William Morrison

William, son of Hugh and Isabella Morrison, was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, died in Derrick City, Pennsylvania, in 1885, aged over seventy years. He became a prominent farmer of Pleasantville. He married Elizabeth McMaster, born 1815, in Pennsylvania, died in Forestville, New York, 1869. Children, all born in Pleasantville:

1. Mary Morrison, born 1838, died in Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1911; married James Farrell, who died in 1907, a retired oil producer; children:
   1. Bertha Farrell, deceased.
   2. Harry Farrell, deceased.
   3. Sarah Farrell, deceased.
   4. George Farrell, of State Line, New York.
2. Thomas Anderson Morrison, of whom further.
3. Isabella Morrison, born 1841, died in Forestville, New York, 1892; married Milton Hyde, who survives her, a farmer, with issue.
4. William C. Morrison, born 1843, now living in Illinois, an oil well worker; twice married and has a son:
   1. William Morrison, an express agent in Chicago.
5. Fidelia Morrison, born 1846; married Albert McQuiston, whom she survives, a resident of Rexford, Pennsylvania; children:
   1. Ira McQuiston, of Erie, Pennsylvania.
   2. Blanche McQuiston, married George Zilafro.
   3. Jennie McQuiston.
6. Adelaide Morrison, born 1848, died at Friendship, New York.

(III) Judge Thomas Anderson Morrison

Judge Thomas Anderson Morrison, son of William and Elizabeth (McMaster) Morrison, was born in Pleasantville, Venango county, Pennsylvania, May 4, 1840. He was educated in the public school, Pleasantville Academy and the Pennsylvania State Normal College. He became a very learned man, his lifetime being devoted to study, and to this habit more than any institution of learning his later successful career may be ascribed. At eighteen years of age he began teaching school during the winter months, working during the summer months on the home farm. In July, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. He went to the front with his regiment and at “bloody” Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, was borne from the field of battle with one arm shot off and a bullet in his left knee. He was supposedly fatally wounded, but youth and a strong constitution triumphed and after a long term in Washington Hospital he was honorably discharged and mustered out in April, 1863. He returned to Pleasantville minus an arm but plus an experience that was perhaps worth the loss as he never faltered in any crisis of his after life, but with the same dauntless courage that carried him up the bullet swept slopes of St. Mary’s Hill, the Confederate breastworks, he meets every emergency and presses ever onward. He held the office of justice of the peace in 1864-65. In 1867 was elected treasurer of Venango county, holding that office two years. In 1871 was appointed United States deputy collector of Internal revenue and moved to Oil City, Pennsylvania, where he was married, later returning to Pleasantville. He now decided to study law, although at an age where many lawyers have their reputations established. He began to study under Hon. M. C. Beebe and in 1875 was admitted to the Venango county bar and began practice. In 1879 he moved to Smethport, where he established a successful law practice and gained so favorable a reputation that in 1887 he was appointed judge of the fourth judicial district of Pennsylvania, composed of the counties of McKean and Potter, and at the following election held November 13, 1887, he was elected to the same high office for a term of ten years. His judicial record was so flawless that at the expiration of his term he was re-elected for a second term of ten years, which began January 1, 1898. Before the completion of his second term he was appointed by Governor William H. Stone in 1903 (to fill a vacancy) judge of the superior court of Pennsylvania. At the ensuing election he was elected to the same office, his term beginning in 1904 and expiring in 1914. The record Judge Morrison has made as a jurist has won him the high regard of the members of the Pennsylvania bar, and especially those of McKean and Potter counties, with which he was so long associated. He is a member of many legal and other societies, prominent in Grand Army circles, and a lifelong Republican.

He married, March 31, 1870, Helen S. Gardner (see Gardner IV) and maintains his permanent residence in Smethport. Children:

1. Mary Elizabeth Morrison, born in Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1874; educated in the high school of Smethport; married, April 18, 1894, Samuel E. Bell, an oil producer; children:
   1. Morrison Donovan Bell, born April 3, 1896.
   2. Mortimer Elliott Bell, born July 27, 1903.
2. Thomas H. Morrison, born in Pleasantville, March 11, 1877, graduate of Williams College, Massachusetts, now a practicing attorney of Smethport; he married, June 18, 1904, Maud Davis, of Bradford; child:
   1. Thomas P. Morrison, born September 3, 1905.

The Gardner Line

(I) Nelson Gardner

This branch of the Gardner family in the United States descends from Nelson Gardner, born in the North of Ireland, came to the United States, settling in Rhode Island, where his active years were mainly spent. Later in life he joined his son in North Wethersfield, New York, where he died July 30, 183—, aged about seventy-six years. He was a member of the Protestant church, and a Democrat in politics. He married a Miss Larkins, who died in New England. Children, all born in Rhode Island:

1. Edwin Gardner, died in Warsaw, New York, a well-to-do farmer.
2. Easton Gardner, of whom further.
3. Nathaniel Gardner, died in North Wethersfield.
4. Mary Gardner, married Dr. John Tibbitts.

(II) Easton Gardner

Easton, son of Nelson Gardner, was born in Rhode Island, 1801, died in Orion, Michigan, March, 1872. He grew to manhood in Rhode Island and there gained a manufacturing experience and became a master mechanic. He later located at North Wethersfield, New York, where he established woolen mills, being the pioneer woolen manufacturer of that section, there being then no other mills of that nature in New York outside of Buffalo. He spent the greater part of his life in North Wethersfield, but later in life went to Michigan, where he died. He was a Democrat, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as was his wife.

He married Hannah Tift, born 1801, in New England, died in Orion, Michigan, 1870. Children:

1. James Gardner, born in Rhode Island in 1824, died in Jackson, Michigan, 1906; a weaver in the woolen mills; had wife Martha and daughter:
   1. Alice Gardner, born December 1, 1849, now living in Jackson, Michigan.
2. John Gardner, of whom further.
3. Abby Gardner, born 1828 in North Wethersfield, married a Mr. Bradshaw, whom she survives, residing in Detroit, Michigan; no living issue.
4. Albert Gardner, born 1830, ran away from home when sixteen years of age and was never heard from.
5. Charles Gardner, born 1832, in North Wethersfield, died in Pasadena, California, 1910; he married Delia Tibbitts, deceased; child:
   1. George Gardner, deceased, married Sarah Webster, who survives him, a resident of Pasadena.
6. Richard Gardner, born 1835, died in Chicago; was a photographer; he had wife Pruella; children:
   1. Richard Gardner.
   2. Frank Gardner.
7. Mary Gardner, born 1837, died in Kalamazoo, Michigan; married Rosewell Warren, a farmer, also deceased, leaving issue.
8. Clark Gardner, born 1839, died in Los Angeles, California, January, 1890, unmarried; he was ticket agent in Chicago for the Baltimore & Ohio railroad a great many years and at the time of his death was the oldest employee of the road.

(III) John Gardner

John, son of Easton Gardner, was born in North Wethersfield, New York, December 5, 1826, now (1912) under treatment in the hospital at Wellsville, New York. He is well educated, and learned the cabinet-maker’s trade. He also for many years was interested in the operation of the Gardner Woolen Mills in North Wethersfield, owned by his father, the only woolen mills in New York outside of Buffalo at that time. He held the office of postmaster at North Wethersfield many years, was school director and filled many other town offices, being always an active leader in party and civic affairs. He enlisted during the civil war but was rejected by the examining surgeons; later he again tried to enter the army but was again rejected by the examiners for physical reasons, he not being either robust or in good health. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Congregational church of Warsaw, as was his wife. In 1863 he located in Warsaw, New York, which town was the family home for several years. He married, September 25, 1849, Hannah Elizabeth Stevens, born in Mayfield, New York, March 30, 1828, died in Warsaw, November 19, 1889, daughter of Ira H. Stevens, born in Chester, Massachusetts, October 10, 1790, died in Mayfield, October 5, 1831, a carpenter; he married, October, 1818, Sarah Matthews Rust, born August 16, 1793, died September 10, 1831, a descendant of Henry Rust, the emigrant (see Rust VII). Ira H. Stevens was a son of John and Ruth (Moore) Stevens, all coming from the North of Ireland. Children of John Gardner:

1. Helen Sophia Gardner, of whom further.
2. Eva Stevens Gardner, born February 5, 1853, died October 4, 1854.

(IV) Helen Sophia Gardner

Helen Sophia, daughter of John Gardner, was born in North Wethersfield, New York, July 7, 1850. She was thirteen years old when her parents moved to Warsaw, New York, where her education was continued in the public school and finished at Warsaw Academy. Through her revolutionary and colonial ancestry she has been admitted a member of the Colonial Dames of America and of the Patriotic Order Daughters of the American Revolution. She is also a member of the Woman’s Relief Corps, Grand Army of the Republic; Travelers’ Club and St. Peters’ Episcopal Church. She married Judge Thomas Anderson Morrison (see Morrison III).

The Rust Line

(I) Henry Rust

The American ancestor of the branch herein recorded was Henry Rust, who came from Hingham, Norfolk county, England, between the years 1633 and 1635, settling at Hingham, Massachusetts, being the first of the name to settle in America. In 1661 he was of Boston where he purchased the property later known as the “Seven Star Inn.” In 1677 he is mentioned in Boston records as “deponent.” He died in 1684 or 1685. His only daughter was named Hannah and from this it is inferred that Hannah was the given name of his wife. Children:

1. Samuel Rust, baptized in Hingham, Massachusetts, August 5, 1638; married Elizabeth Rogers.
2. Nathaniel Rust, baptized February 2, 1639; married Mary Wardell.
3. Hannah Rust, baptized November 7, 1641; married Robert Earle.
4. Israel Rust, of whom further.
5. Benjamin Rust, baptized April 5, 1646.

(II) Israel Rust

Israel, son of Henry Rust, was baptized in Hingham, Massachusetts, November 12, 1643, died in Northampton, Massachusetts, November 11, 1712. He moved to Northampton when a young man, took the oath of allegiance, December 8, 1678, and the freeman’s oath, March 30, 1690. He married, December 9, 1669, in Northampton, Rebecca, sixth child of Lieutenant William Clark, born in England, 1609, came to America, 1633, settling in Massachusetts. She died February 8, 1733. Children:

1. Son, born and died September, 1670.
2. Nathaniel Rust, of whom further.
3. Samuel Rust, born August 6, 1673, died January 1, 1701; unmarried.
4. Sarah Rust, born May 29, 1675; married, February 20, 1699, Samuel (2) Allen, deacon in the church of which Rev. Jonathan Edwards was pastor.
5. Experience Rust, born July 30, 1677, died young.
6. Israel Rust, born July 15, 1679; married Sarah North, April 3, 1704.
7. Jonathan Rust, born June 11, 1681; married (first) Elizabeth Allen, (second) Anna Lyman.
8. Rebecca Rust, born 1683; married, December 31, 1702, Robert (2), son of Robert (1) and Elizabeth Danks.
9. John Rust, born 1685.

(III) Nathaniel Rust

Nathaniel, son of Israel Rust, was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, November 11, 1671. In 1700 he built the first house in what is now South Coventry, Connecticut, on the west side of a beautiful little lake. He did not remove his family there until 1709. Not only was he the first actual settler in Coventry, but as long as he lived was prominent in town affairs. He was chosen selectman, December 5, 1715; chosen to keep the town “Inn,” December 3, 1716, and again, December 10, 1717; chosen “Moderator” at a “Legal town meeting,” January 5, 1732; again December 11, 1732 and December 10, 1733; selectman, December 6, 1736; moderator again, January 24, 1737. He married (first) May 17, 1692, Mary or Mercy Atchinson, “from Hatfield,” born 1673, died January 21, 1754. He married (second) “Widow” Mary Rose, September 9, 1754. Children, some born in Northampton, some in Coventry:

1. Experience Rust, born November, 1693, died July 10, 1768; married Samuel Gurley.
2. Nathaniel Rust, married Hannah Hatch.
3. Margaret Rust, born May 11, 1698, died 1712.
4. Lydia Rust, died young.
5. Samuel Rust, born May 10, 1703; married Sarah Hawkins.
6. Mary Rust, born July 7, 1705, died 1706.
7. Noah Rust, married Keziah Strong.
8. Daniel Rust, of whom further.
9. Elizabeth Rust, born June 11, 1713; married, 1731, Daniel Herrick.
10. Lydia Rust, born May 9, 1716; married Joseph Herrick.

(IV) Daniel Rust

Daniel, son of Nathaniel Rust, was born in Coventry, Connecticut, February 18, 1711. He was elected to several town offices in Coventry, including constable, collector, highway surveyor, 1744, and in 1745 was chosen by the town to “keep up the stock of ammunition.” He married (first) April 26, 1732, Anna White, died July 23, 1747. He married (second) October 27, 1748, “Widow” Mary (Wilson) Mead, who died in Coventry, September 23, 1775, aged sixty-two. Anna White was the daughter of John White, third of the children of Captain Nathaniel White, son of Elder John White, who was born in England in 1600, arrived in Boston, 1632, located in Hartford, 1639, in Hadley, 1659, returning to Hartford, Connecticut, 1670; married Mary Levit in England, six children. Captain Nathaniel White, eldest son of Elder John White, was born 1624, married Elizabeth —–, and in 1650 moved to Middletown, Connecticut; eight children. John, son of Captain Nathaniel White, was born at Middletown, Connecticut (Upper House), April 9, 1657, died July, 1748. His wife was Mary —–. Children of Daniel Rust, all born of his first wife, Anna White, except the last:

1. Nancy Rust, born June 11, 1733, died 1739.
2. Daniel Rust, born April 16, 1734; married Mary Parker.
3. Anna Rust, born September 26, 1736, died 1739.
4. Gershom Rust, of whom further.
5. Nancy Rust, born August 15, 1739; married, November 23, 1763, Abner Clapp.
6. Lemuel Rust, born February 11, 1741; married Azabah Kingsley.
7. Zebulon Rust, born in Coventry, January 5, 1742; enlisted as a private, January 1, 1777, and served on the brigantine, “Independence,” Captain Simeon Samson, until July, 1777, served on same ship from November 7, 1777, one month and twenty-four days; he enlisted again in Springfield, Massachusetts, May 28, 1781, as a private, discharged August 28, 1781.
8. Mary Rust, born December 27, 1744.
9. Anna Rust, born March 14, 1747; married, 1768, John (2) Strong.
10. Nathaniel Wilson Rust, born April 25, 1751; married Rachel Babcock.

(V) Sergeant Gershom Rust

Sergeant Gershom Rust, son of Daniel Rust, was born in Coventry, Connecticut, or Southampton, Massachusetts, about March, 1738. After his marriage he moved to Chester where he died October 8, 1823. He was a carpenter and farmer. He served in the revolutionary war with the rank of sergeant, marching from home, October 21, 1776, in Captain Shepard’s company, Colonel John Moseley’s regiment, under command on the march to Mount Independence of Lieutenant-Colonel Timothy Robertson. He again marched in the same company on the “Bennington Alarm.” He married, in Springfield, October 28, 1761, Mary Cooley, who died about 1829, in Mayfield, New York. Children:

1. Anna Rust, born November 1, 1762, died in Norwich township, June 6, 1808; married, in Chester, Elisha, son of Daniel and Dinah (Stark) Stanton, born in Preston, Connecticut, 1754, died in Norwich township, Massachusetts, February 13, 1813; a farmer.
2. Justin Rust, born April 23, 1764; married Margaret Clark.
3. Quartus Rust, born January 30, 1766; married (first) Lois Terre, (second) Anna Rust.
4. Gershom Rust, of whom further.
5. Joseph Ashley Rust, born April 27, 1778; married Louise Bonner.

(VI) Gershom (2) Rust

Gershom (2), son of Sergeant Gershom (1) Rust, was born in Chester, March, 1770, died in Shelby, New York, August 27, 1851. He was a carpenter. He married Sarah Matthews, born in Cheshire, Connecticut. Children:

1. Sarah Matthews Rust, of whom further.
2. Polly Cooley Rust, died in Shelby, New York, February 21, 1872.
3. Lucy Curtis Rust, born February 22, 1798, died May 12, 1849; married, July 10, 1828, Robert Martin Smith, born July 17, 1802, died October 13, 1865; children:
   1. Lucy Ann Smith, born June 10, 1830, died October 1, 1886; married, June 25, 1850, John G. Mitchell, a surgeon in the civil war, detailed for duty at the hospital in St. Louis where he contracted dysentery and died without seeing actual service.
   2. Gershom Stephen Smith, born April 3, 1833, died June 29, 1856.
   3. Frances Lodema Smith, born September 3, 1836; married, November 25, 1856, Andrew Jackson Culver, born August 4, 1829, died at his home in Pontiac, Michigan, August 12, 1889, having served the nine years preceding his death as supervisor of the fourth ward of Pontiac.
   4. Octavia Minerva Smith, born November 26, 1838, in Macomb, New York; married, August 19, 1856, Hial Mitchell (brother of John G., previously mentioned), born in Macomb, July 13, 1833.
4. Elisha Converse Rust, born June 21, 1801; married Minerva Baker.
5. Lodema Delight Rust, born February 4, 1804; married, July 20, 1824, Joseph, son of Moses and Mehitable (Walton) Warner, of Suffield, Connecticut.
6. Octavia Hall Rust, born July 5, 1807, died October 30, 1832.
7. Ann Maria Rust, born July 21, 1809; married, in Mayfield, New York, March 9, 1837, Amos Potter, a farmer of Mayfield, born June 3, 1809; she died at Theresa, New York, March 12, 1882.
8. Gershom Cooley Rust, born about 1810; married Hannah Dye.

(VII) Sarah Matthews Rust

Sarah Matthews, eldest daughter of Gershom (2) Rust, was born August 15, 1793, died September 10, 1831. She married Ira H. Stevens. Children:

1. Sarah Matthews Stevens, born September 4, 1819, died in Northampton, November 28, 1883; she married, at Chester, August 18, 1842, Hopkins Clapp, born November 12, 1810; children:
   1. Adelaide L. Clapp, born in Williamsburg, September 13, 1843, married, June 30, 1864, Lucius Steele, no issue.
   2. Mary M. Clapp, born in Northampton, March 14, 1846, died at Hadley, November 30, 1867.
   3. Hopkins Clapp, born January 18, 1848, married, August 26, 1874, Jennie A. Beardsley, of Cheshire, Connecticut; children:
      1. Mary S. Clapp, born in Wallingford, Connecticut, June 26, 1875.
      2. Bertha L. Clapp, born in Cheshire, November 27, 1879.
      3. Edwin L. Clapp, born in Northampton, October 12, 1880.
      4. Luriah Clapp, born in Northampton, November 22, 1888, died in Goshen, October 2, 1891.
2. Lucy Maria Stevens, born June, 1821, died November 24, 1831.
3. Hannah Elizabeth Stevens, of whom further.
4. Ira Henry Stevens, born in Mayfield, New York, May 31, 1830; married, September 11, 1855, Melvina Cornelia Bulkeley, born August 20, 1829, died February 8, 1858, daughter of Roger Griswold and Sally (Taylor) Bulkeley, of Vermont.

(VIII) Hannah Elizabeth Stevens

Hannah Elizabeth, daughter of Ira H. and Sarah M. (Rust) Stevens, was born March 30, 1828, died in Warsaw, New York, November 19, 1889. She married, September 25, 1849, John Gardner (see Gardner III).

(IX) Helen Sophia Gardner

Helen Sophia, daughter of John and Hannah Elizabeth (Stevens) Gardner (see Gardner IV), married Judge Thomas Anderson Morrison and resides in Smethport, Pennsylvania.

See: Genealogy of the Allegheny Valley Pennsylvania

Source

Jordan, J. W. 1840-1921. (1913). Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co.

This genealogy is based upon the source cited above. Only the structure and formatting have been changed for clearer presentation; the genealogical and biographical content has been preserved.