Morden family line

This family line originated in the United Kingdom (England), spread to the American British colonies, and finally spread to Prince Edward County, Ontario.

There are a few secondary sources that are very useful in exploring this line, which are also listed on the separate page of resources and sources:

Morden Genealogy – compiled by two amateur genealogists and compiled in January 1984. It is 159 pages in length.

Mordens of the Bay of Quinte, Volume 1 – Joseph Morden and Laurania Howell (2005)

Mordens of the Bay of Quinte, Volume 2 – James Morden and Margaret Parliament (1999)

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Samuel Morden (1665-1706)

Samuel was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire, England, on 14 October 1665. His parents might have been Clement Morden (1645-1680) and Isabell Prowele (1637-1660) but there are no confirming sources.

He married Ann Jane Johnson (1668-1708) at Scarborough on 24 May 1687.

Together, Samuel and Anne had at least four children:

1. Daniel Morden (1688-1691) – died at age 3
2. Thomas Morden (1690-1721) – my direct ancestor
3. Sarah Elizabeth Morden (1692-)
4. Mary Morden (1693)

He was buried at the Parish Church of Deal, Kent, England, on 2 May 1706 (England, Select Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991)

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Thomas Morden (1690-1721)

Thomas (my 7x great-grandfather) was born in 1690 “near” London, England. There is a possible baptism record in the Aylsham parish records, showing the date of baptism as being 28 September 1691 and the parents’ names as being Samuel and Ann.

He married Sarah Elizabeth Jackson on 14 February 1710 in Ely, Holy Trinity, England.

The following are their possible children:

1. Susan Morden (1710-)
2. James Morden (1711-1758)
3. Moses Morden (1714-)
4. William Aaron Morden (1714-)
5. George Morden (1715-1790) – my 6x great-grandfather
6. Jane Morden (1717-1758)

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George Morden (1715-1790)

George, according to some sources, was born on 9 December 1719. A baptism record from Haddenham evidences a baptism of “George son of Thomas & Sarah Morden” that took place on 10 December 1719:

This document, of unknown provenance, appears to indicate that he arrived in the the New World ca. 1743, when he would have been 23-24 years old (assuming that the birth year of 1719 is more accurate):

The following narrative, again of questionable provenance but sufficient to serve as a basis for further corroboration, was found

George Morden was born in 1715 Yorkshire, England. He was granted land by Pennsylvania Proprietaries on November 10, 1755 in Northampton Co., Pennsylvania, adjoining his brother James Morden, between branches of Allegany River, 40 miles from Philadelphia. He was first married in 1737 in Yorkshire, England. They emigrated with the children in 1737 to the U.S. The wife did not survive the voyage or died soon after. (Their daughter Nancy was born enroute to America in 1743). Their children were Jonathon, James, George, Joseph, Ralph and Nancy.

George married a second time to Neeltje (Elinor) Emans Robeson who was born on October 3, 1725 and christened on May 19, 1728 at Kingston, Ulster City, New York. She died after 1755 in Northampton, Pennsylvania, She was the daughter of Jan Emans (1695-1732) and Neeltje (Elinor) Van Aken (born Sept. 11, 1697), the daughter of Marinus Van Aken and Pieternella DePree. After her father’s death in 1732, her mother remarried Edward Robeson and Elinor is also known by her stepfather’s name. Neeltje was also married to a man named Butler. This was prior to the Morden marriage and she may have brought young children into the marriage.

There are a few issues with this account. First, there is a disparity in the place of birth and that of baptism (Haddenham is in Buckinghamshire, not Yorkshire). It could be that the baptism record relates to another individual, but the previous relatives had lived in the vicinity of Cambridge and London, not in Yorkshire.

In any event, my direct ancestor is Joseph Morden, who was supposedly born in Yorkshire as well. This adds some strength to the above account.

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Joseph Morden (1740-1777)

Using the above as a starting point (as the general details all fit),

This account from the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada website:

In 1760, Joseph married Laurania Howell and they came to settle in the Mohawk Valley, New York where Joseph was a tenant farmer of Sir William Johnson. 

After Sir William died, his son, Sir John Johnson found that his situation was being made more difficult by the rebels and he wanted to avoid capture at all costs.  He gathered friends and tenants together to begin a long march north to Montreal to join the forces there.

Joseph Morden was one of that brave group of men who left everything  and made the arduous trek by foot in the winter over rough terrain.  They were poorly equipped for the journey but most of them finally arrived at their destination, tired and weak from lack of food.

Sir John Johnson was commissioned to raise a battalion to be called The King’s Royal Regiment of New York.  Joseph enlisted on the first day, 19th June 1776, along with his younger brother Daniel. Joseph took part in some expeditions and during the time their company was encamped near Montreal there was an outbreak of smallpox.  Joseph died of the disease 24th November 1777.

Joseph and Laurania had eight children, all of whom married and settled in the Bay of Quinte area.  Laurania later married Matthew Forrest who was a corporal in the KRRNY, they settled in Fredericksburgh.

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James Amit Morden (1762-1840)

My 4x great grandfather was born in Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, on 27 December 1762. As noted above, he moved with his parents to the Mohawk Valley in New York as a child, and was only 14 when hostilities broke out. Following his father’s death in Montreal in 1777, the family eventually sought refuge in New York City – at that time, a British (or “Tory”) stronghold. All of the family’s possessions in New York state were confiscated.

The ordeal of Laurania and her young family is documented in considerable detail from various sources, and will be further described in the future on a dedicated page. In short, the family traveled from New York City to Halifax, and from there to Montreal. There is evidence that the family remained at that location for a few years, before moving on to Prince Edward County. James, who by that time was old enough to enlist in his father’s old regiment in Montreal, did so and served with them for a time.

In Prince Edward County, James was able to receive a land grant. His mother, despite being the widow of a Loyalist soldier and the mother of another, was not granted any property as the regulations in force did not permit it. It wasn’t for lack of trying – several petitions were filed with this objective in mind.

James married Margaret “Peggy” Parliament (1771-1868) in Sophiasburg on his 30th birthday – 27 December 1792. Like James, Peggy had fled from New York state a few years around the time of the American Revolution. The couple had the following children:

1. George Morden (1796-)
2. Isaac Morden (1799-1893)
3. Richard Morden (1801-)
4. Loraine Morden (1804-1884) – my 3x great-grandmother
5. John Parcels Morden (1806-)

James died in Sophiasburg on 18 October 1840 and is buried at the Lazier-Cronk Cemetery in Prince Edward County.

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Loraine Morden (1804-1884)

Loraine, my 3x great-grandmother, was born in Sophiasburg, Prince Edward County, on 7 January 1804 and was baptized by Rev. McDowall in Sophiasburg. As a daughter of a Loyalist, she received a grant of land by Order-in Council on 8 June 1825 (upon reaching the age of 21).

She married William Brickman ca. 1825, and they had the following children:

1. Deborah Alison Brickman (1828-1917) – my 2x great-grandmother
2. Benjamin Brickman (1830-)
3. William Alpheus Brickman
4. Elizabeth (Betsy)

According to Van Damme:

Loraine married William BRICKMAN, estimated date of marriage 1825. William, a man fourteen years older than she, was born ca. 1890, son of Lewis (or Ludwig or Lodewyck) Brickman and Mary (Marytje) Wanamaker. In the 1851 Census he stated he was born in the United States. His ancestry was Dutch. Since the Brickman family was not included in Pioneer Life (presumably because they did not order a copy of the book) my information is based on other sources.

William lived in Ameliasburgh Twp, Prince Edward County on a 300 acre farm near Rednerville on Lots 77 and 78, Concession 1. A militia roll dated 1829 showed him as a Sargeant age 29 in the 4th Company of the 2d Regiment of the Prince Edward Militia. On October 14, 1830, when he turned 40 he was transferred to the Reserve Battalion.

By his first wife Deborah Ostrander, who died around 1821, he had two children, Peter and Charlotte. These became Loraine’s stepchildren and Peter married her niece Sarah Morden.

William and Lorraine had four children: Deborah, obviously named in memory of Deborah Ostrander, Benjamin, William Alpheus, and Elizabeth (Betsy). Gilbert W. Morden wrote that one of the sons lived near Rednerville and the other at Trenton. This family was Wesleyan Methodist.

When the township of Ameliasburgh was being organized in 1850 William was the first treasurer to be appointed. In the 1851 census William was 62, Loraine 48, Benjamin 22, Deborah 23, and Alpheus S. 19.

William died in 1863 aged 73 and is buried in Albury Church Cemetery, Ameliasburgh. In the 1871 census Lorraine was living with her daughter Deborah and husband John Russell. In the 1881 census she was living with her son Alpheus and his wife Anna – age 77 widow, born Ontario, C Meth, Dutch origin.

She died on 4 Aug 1884 aged 80 years, 5 months, 21 days. Dr. File gave the cause general debility and old age. I failed to find a tombstone for Loraine in Albury Cemetery.

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Deborah Alison Brickman (1828-1917)

My 2x great-grandmother was born on 23 April 1828 in Sophiasburgh.

Again, Van Damme has a very good summary of the documentary record:

From her age in census records (23-1851) and at marriage we estimate she was born ca. 1828. In 1861 she was 32, unmarried and still living in her parents’ home.

On 17 January 1865 she married John RUSSELL of Ameliasburgh, son of Jeremiah Russell and Elizabeth. John was 62, Deborah 37. He was twenty-seven years older than Deborah and two years older than her mother and may have been a widower. He was born ca. 1802 (age 69 in 1871) in the United States.

They had only one child, a son named Lewis after his great-grandfather Brickman. In the 1871 census of Ameliasburgh John and Deborah had in their household little Lewis age 4, and Deborah’s mother Lorraine Brickman, aged 67 and widowed.