The Robert and Sarah Morriss Story

[Garry]

I’m probably getting ahead of myself but I wanted to throw something out here. I have been playing with the Robert and Sarah Morriss story. I eventually want to compare the author’s version of Robert Morriss presented in the Beale pamphlet against the contemporary sources we have available. How accurate is his information?

One of the apparent genealogical ties appears in the obituary of Robert Morriss (Lynchburg Virginian Newspaper, 8 Jan 1863, Page 3, Col 2)

DIED - On Saturday, 3d January, 1863, at Roslin, the residence of his niece, Mrs. David Saunders, ROBERT MORRISS, Esq., in the eighty-sixth year of age.

Who is Mrs. David Saunders?

I believe I have identified a candidate. I won’t try to explain how I got there but I will start from a William Warwick and work forward, for what I hope will be a simpler story to follow.

William Warwick, sometimes referred to as Major William Warwick, was born April 26, 1765. He was married three times and had nineteen children. He lived in Amherst County Virginia and served for a time as the president of the Lynchburg Branch of the Bank of Virginia. He married first Sarah Barksdale, January 17, 1783 in Albemarle County, Virginia, with whom he had nine children. Sarah died about 1801 and he next married Leanna Dawson, November 12, 1804 in Campbell County, Virginia and they had four children. Leanna died sometime after 1812 and Findagrave suggests she was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg. William married his third wife, Frances A Blakely, January 20, 1818, in Henrico County, Virginia and they would have six children.

We are interested in William’s second marriage to Leanna Dawson. We find William and Leanna’s marriage recorded in “Marriages of Campbell County, Virginia (1792-1810)”.


Robert Morris was a bondsman. Both Robert and Sarah Morris were witnesses. A third witness was Belinda Moseley. Although the name, Morris is spelled with one “s”, I believe this could well be “OUR” Robert and Sarah Morriss. By-the-way, I’m not sure what Belinda Moseley’s connection was but her maiden name appears to be Roy.

There is an explanation of some of the requirements of the early Virginia Marriage Laws in “Marriages of Campbell County, Virginia (1792-1810)”. This may shed some light for some on the marriage process. A more in-depth discussion of Virginia marriage laws can be found at other internet sites.



William and Leanna Warwick had four children.

Anzoletta Angelina Warwick, born 1806

Robert M Warwick, born 1808

Maria M Warwick, born 1810

Daniel James Warwick, born 1812

The child of our initial interest is Anzoletta.

Anzoletta Warwick married David Saunders, January 28, 1823 in Amherst County, Virginia.

I have not seen the actual image of the marriage record, which might contain some additional hints. I believe it is likely that the bondsmen and witnesses would be included. Apparently the bondsman began disappearing from the marriage records and fell into disuse by the mid 1800’s.




In this scenario, “OUR” Robert and Sarah Morriss were involved in the marriage of William Warwick and Leanna Dawson. Leanna Dawson would have been Robert’s sister and Anzoletta would have been his niece. This would also mean that Leanna’s marriage to Warwick was her second marriage. (I saw one reference that a poster made in which they identifed Leanna as Mrs. Leander Dawson). Dawson would have been her married name while her maiden name would have been Morriss. This would also mean that Anzoletta’s siblings were nieces and nephews of Robert Morriss.

This all seems to dovetail relatively well with Robert Morriss’s Obituary which identifies his niece as Mrs. David Saunders.

In some cases, information was take from other family trees on ancestry.com which I’m loathe to do but they do frequently provide hints that can be verified with further research.
The above is the bare bones scenario and anyone who is interested can easily refine their own dates and the spelling of names.

I look forward to anyone looking over my shoulder and providing sources suggesting where I’m off track or supplementing the scenario with additional sources. You won’t hurt my feelings. I believe everyone is interested in the truth as close as we can get.

I will be expanding more on the Robert Morriss ancestry angle a bit later.

Garry

 

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[legrand]

Garry...

You research and write very well ! Interesting information !

Google: seeling beale's treasure youtube

This is what I do...an introduction.

Legrand

 

[legrand]

You can also Google this:

The Beale Treasure Revealed with Ken Bauman Youtube

Legrand

 

[ECS]

The existence of Robert and Sarah Morris has never been the question, the connection to the Ward and the Otey family has always been known, the question that has never been answered is if Beale stayed at the Washington Hotel when Morris was the manager (an Otey later managed that hotel), or if Beale left an iron box with ciphers, or mailed letters to Morris from St Louis, which are the entire basis of the Beale treasure story.
...and it has never been established that Beale and his party stayed at Buford's while constructing the treasure vault and placing wired lid iron cooking pots filled with gold, silver, and jewels from St Louis.

 

[ECS]

"HIS (ROBERT MORRISS) PRIVATE RESIDENCE, THE HOUSE NOW OWNED AND OCCUPIED BY ...

MAX GUGGENHEIMER, ESQ,AT THE HEAD OF MAIN STREET..." THE BEALE PAPERS

"NOTICE- The undersigned wishes to inform his friends and customers in the city and country that he has been carrying on his business at No 167 Main Street , near the NORVELL HOUSE...MAX GUGGENHEIMER"-
THE DAILY VIRGINIAN, March 19, 1863

Robert Morriss died January 3, 1863, but the Beale Papers state that Max Guggenheimer "owned and occupied" Morriss's residence in 1885.
Max Guggenheimer's residence was in the DIAMOND HILL DISTRICT of Lynchburg at 1902 Grace Street.
The Guggenheimer Department Store's address, 700 Main Street.

There are several "tells" in the Beale Papers that inform the 1885 purchasers of the job pamphlet that it is a work of fiction and "to devote only such time as can be spared from your legitimate business to the task, and if you can spare no time, let the matter alone".

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Gonna try to ID the "where-about" of the above # 5; "head of MAIN STREET", for RM/MG House is roughly where Texas Inn on 5th Street is TODAY; it IS at the "HEAD" of MAIN STREET. It is CLOSE to Diamond Hill District (aka D STREET, across the Rivermont Bridge). There IS a "pic" of Guggenheimer's Department Store on Main Street, NICELY done... BIG building.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

OK, the BP Pamphlet indicated that the Washington Hotel became the Arlington (1885?); by 1887, it became known as the Norvell-Arlington House & a BIG section is on it... p. 36: "LEADING Hotel", "Recently Enlarged & Renovated", "Centrally situated on Church & Eight Streets", p. 37: NICE "pic" of it, WOW! D Street is where Maj. ES Hutter & family lived; HE was owner of the Rivermont Company that built the ORIGINAL Rivermont Bridge. MORE later!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

SO! Robert & Sarah Morris/Morriss house was at the HEAD OF MAIN STREET; PROBABLY had their Washington House/Inn there; moved to Washington HOTEL in 1823 (it became the Arlington House).

 

[ECS]

SO! Robert & Sarah Morris/Morriss house was at the HEAD OF MAIN STREET; PROBABLY had their Washington House/Inn there; moved to Washington HOTEL in 1823 (it became the Arlington House).

Was that the 167 Main Street in Guggenheimer's March 19, 1863 notice in the DAILY VIRGINIAN?

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Was that the 167 Main Street in Guggenheimer's March 19, 1863 notice in the DAILY VIRGINIAN?

His Department store; NICE "pic" on p. 55. Wholesale, Dry Goods, Notions, White Goods, & Hosiery... 1887.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Pondering...

 

[ECS]

...and yet, this is another "maybe" guess at a connection to the Beale story in the job pamphlet.
As Bigscoop has demonstrated time and time again, one can take a name, a date, a location, or even a phrase from the Beale Papers and create a "possible" scenario with the illusion of truth, but as one searches historical records, all these scenarios vanish into the mists and vapors of hopeful thinking.

 

[Garry]

I’m probably getting ahead of myself but I wanted to throw something out here. I have been playing with the Robert and Sarah Morriss story. I eventually want to compare the author’s version of Robert Morriss presented in the Beale pamphlet against the contemporary sources we have available. How accurate is his information?

One of the apparent genealogical ties appears in the obituary of Robert Morriss (Lynchburg Virginian Newspaper, 8 Jan 1863, Page 3, Col 2)

DIED - On Saturday, 3d January, 1863, at Roslin, the residence of his niece, Mrs. David Saunders, ROBERT MORRISS, Esq., in the eighty-sixth year of age.

Who is Mrs. David Saunders?

I believe I have identified a candidate. I won’t try to explain how I got there but I will start from a William Warwick and work forward, for what I hope will be a simpler story to follow.

William Warwick, sometimes referred to as Major William Warwick, was born April 26, 1765. He was married three times and had nineteen children. He lived in Amherst County Virginia and served for a time as the president of the Lynchburg Branch of the Bank of Virginia. He married first Sarah Barksdale, January 17, 1783 in Albemarle County, Virginia, with whom he had nine children. Sarah died about 1801 and he next married Leanna Dawson, November 12, 1804 in Campbell County, Virginia and they had four children. Leanna died sometime after 1812 and Findagrave suggests she was buried in Spring Hill Cemetery in Lynchburg. William married his third wife, Frances A Blakely, January 20, 1818, in Henrico County, Virginia and they would have six children.

We are interested in William’s second marriage to Leanna Dawson. We find William and Leanna’s marriage recorded in “Marriages of Campbell County, Virginia (1792-1810)”.

View attachment 1378202
Robert Morris was a bondsman. Both Robert and Sarah Morris were witnesses. A third witness was Belinda Moseley. Although the name, Morris is spelled with one “s”, I believe this could well be “OUR” Robert and Sarah Morriss. By-the-way, I’m not sure what Belinda Moseley’s connection was but her maiden name appears to be Roy.

There is an explanation of some of the requirements of the early Virginia Marriage Laws in “Marriages of Campbell County, Virginia (1792-1810)”. This may shed some light for some on the marriage process. A more in-depth discussion of Virginia marriage laws can be found at other internet sites.

View attachment 1378203

William and Leanna Warwick had four children.

Anzoletta Angelina Warwick, born 1806

Robert M Warwick, born 1808

Maria M Warwick, born 1810

Daniel James Warwick, born 1812

The child of our initial interest is Anzoletta.

Anzoletta Warwick married David Saunders, January 28, 1823 in Amherst County, Virginia.

I have not seen the actual image of the marriage record, which might contain some additional hints. I believe it is likely that the bondsmen and witnesses would be included. Apparently the bondsman began disappearing from the marriage records and fell into disuse by the mid 1800’s.

View attachment 1378204


In this scenario, “OUR” Robert and Sarah Morriss were involved in the marriage of William Warwick and Leanna Dawson. Leanna Dawson would have been Robert’s sister and Anzoletta would have been his niece. This would also mean that Leanna’s marriage to Warwick was her second marriage. (I saw one reference that a poster made in which they identifed Leanna as Mrs. Leander Dawson). Dawson would have been her married name while her maiden name would have been Morriss. This would also mean that Anzoletta’s siblings were nieces and nephews of Robert Morriss.

This all seems to dovetail relatively well with Robert Morriss’s Obituary which identifies his niece as Mrs. David Saunders.

In some cases, information was take from other family trees on ancestry.com which I’m loathe to do but they do frequently provide hints that can be verified with further research.
The above is the bare bones scenario and anyone who is interested can easily refine their own dates and the spelling of names.

I look forward to anyone looking over my shoulder and providing sources suggesting where I’m off track or supplementing the scenario with additional sources. You won’t hurt my feelings. I believe everyone is interested in the truth as close as we can get.

I will be expanding more on the Robert Morriss ancestry angle a bit later.

Garry

I want to continue with some background on the niece of Robert Morriss, Angeletta Warwick Saunders. From the above we know she married David Saunders in Amherst County in 1823. Amherst County was the residence of Anzoletta’s father.

Our David Saunders was the son of Colonel David Saunder’s Senior and Lockey Leftwich. David Sr. and Lockey were both from prominent families and in 1788 he married 14-year-old Lockey in Bedford County, Virginia. The couple had 16 children between 1790 and 1814. They remained in Bedford County, the remainder of their lives and they are both buried on their Pleasant Grove Plantation.

For some excellent background on Colonel David Saunders, go to findagrave and view the Col. David Saunders Cemetery web page.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...CRid=2523620&pt=Col. David Saunders Cemetery&

Our David was born in 1795 in Bedford County and the first actual document that we have found was his marriage to Anzonletta (1823). In the 1830 Census the family shows up in Lynchburg and in the 1840 Census in the Northern District of Bedford County.

We find Anzoletta (Angeline) Saunders in the 1850 Census still in the Northern District of Bedford County listed with her five children, but no David. David had died in February, 1850 in Bedford County, four months before the census was taken. He appears in the “U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885”. This schedule image identifies David as a farmer. I couldn’t read the cause of death?




Anzoletta continues to show up in the census until 1870. Below is a matrix I created that provides a rough overview of the census information for the David Saunder’s family. The slave information for 1830 and 1840 can be found in the regular U.S. Census while the information for 1850 and 1860 is taken from the U. S. Slave Schedules.

Of course there is a lot of additional information in the referenced documents that may impact the story that is not included in this overview. Anyone with access to U. S. Census information should be able to look over my shoulder and hopefully duplicate or at least point out any errors.



What does all of this have to do with Robert Morriss? This is a the foundation for further research that allows us to document Robert Morriss’ last days in more detail. I believe there is a lot of unplowed ground that will show up in Deed Records, Probates, etc at the Bedford Courthouse.

I want to focus on the 1860-1863 time period and will expand on some things later but for now it seems clear that Robert Morriss may not have died in Lynchburg at all but died in Bedford County and given the time period may well have been buried there. (The war was in full swing when he died and two of Anzoletta’s sons had enlisted to serve the confederacy.)

More Later,

Garry

 

[franklin]

I want to continue with some background on the niece of Robert Morriss, Angeletta Warwick Saunders. From the above we know she married David Saunders in Amherst County in 1823. Amherst County was the residence of Anzoletta’s father.

Our David Saunders was the son of Colonel David Saunder’s Senior and Lockey Leftwich. David Sr. and Lockey were both from prominent families and in 1788 he married 14-year-old Lockey in Bedford County, Virginia. The couple had 16 children between 1790 and 1814. They remained in Bedford County, the remainder of their lives and they are both buried on their Pleasant Grove Plantation.

For some excellent background on Colonel David Saunders, go to findagrave and view the Col. David Saunders Cemetery web page.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/...CRid=2523620&pt=Col. David Saunders Cemetery&

Our David was born in 1795 in Bedford County and the first actual document that we have found was his marriage to Anzonletta (1823). In the 1830 Census the family shows up in Lynchburg and in the 1840 Census in the Northern District of Bedford County.

We find Anzoletta (Angeline) Saunders in the 1850 Census still in the Northern District of Bedford County listed with her five children, but no David. David had died in February, 1850 in Bedford County, four months before the census was taken. He appears in the “U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885”. This schedule image identifies David as a farmer. I couldn’t read the cause of death?


View attachment 1425831

Anzoletta continues to show up in the census until 1870. Below is a matrix I created that provides a rough overview of the census information for the David Saunder’s family. The slave information for 1830 and 1840 can be found in the regular U.S. Census while the information for 1850 and 1860 is taken from the U. S. Slave Schedules.

Of course there is a lot of additional information in the referenced documents that may impact the story that is not included in this overview. Anyone with access to U. S. Census information should be able to look over my shoulder and hopefully duplicate or at least point out any errors.

View attachment 1425834

What does all of this have to do with Robert Morriss? This is a the foundation for further research that allows us to document Robert Morriss’ last days in more detail. I believe there is a lot of unplowed ground that will show up in Deed Records, Probates, etc at the Bedford Courthouse.

I want to focus on the 1860-1863 time period and will expand on some things later but for now it seems clear that Robert Morriss may not have died in Lynchburg at all but died in Bedford County and given the time period may well have been buried there. (The war was in full swing when he died and two of Anzoletta’s sons had enlisted to serve the confederacy.)

More Later,

Garry

Thank you Garry!! That is the most informative research that has been posted on this Beale Treasure Mystery for several years combined. Thank you very much for your hard work. We are both searching down the same road. Good luck to you sir!

 

[Garry]

Franklin,

Thanks for the kind words but your BS alarm just went off!

I realize my research has a very narrow focus and I am simply trying to chip away on one corner or the Beale story. My research certainly doesn’t reach the level of “most informative for several years”. There are several of you guys who are miles ahead of me but I appreciate the thought.

I previously wrote; “Robert Morriss may not have died in Lynchburg at all but died in Bedford County and given the time period may well have been buried there.”

From Robert Morriss’ obituary we have the following statement; “DIED – On Saturday, 3d January, 1863, at Roslin, the residence of his niece, Mrs. David Saunders”

This seems to beg the question; “where” or “what” is Roslin?

It has been suggested that it may have been a street in Lynchburg. There is a street on present day maps named Roslyn Place in Lynchburg.

I always had trouble with this explanation. The newspaper writer used the preposition “at” instead of “on” and he would have misspelled Roslyn. It made no sense to me to describe the location of death on a street. Joe Doe died “at” Maple Street?

This is undocumented speculation but I believe “Roslin” may refer to either David and Anzoletta’s home or property in Bedford County. Country Gentlemen frequently had names for their residences and it would not be unusual, given their background, for this to be the case for David and Anzoletta.

If this is the case, the Bedford County Deed Records or David’s Probate might reveal a name and a more detailed location for the property. (Fantasizing: We might be able to add another piece of the Morriss puzzle, exactly where he died?)

Garry

 

[franklin]

Franklin,

Thanks for the kind words but your BS alarm just went off!

I realize my research has a very narrow focus and I am simply trying to chip away on one corner or the Beale story. My research certainly doesn’t reach the level of “most informative for several years”. There are several of you guys who are miles ahead of me but I appreciate the thought.

I previously wrote; “Robert Morriss may not have died in Lynchburg at all but died in Bedford County and given the time period may well have been buried there.”

From Robert Morriss’ obituary we have the following statement; “DIED – On Saturday, 3d January, 1863, at Roslin, the residence of his niece, Mrs. David Saunders”

This seems to beg the question; “where” or “what” is Roslin?

It has been suggested that it may have been a street in Lynchburg. There is a street on present day maps named Roslyn Place in Lynchburg.

I always had trouble with this explanation. The newspaper writer used the preposition “at” instead of “on” and he would have misspelled Roslyn. It made no sense to me to describe the location of death on a street. Joe Doe died “at” Maple Street?

This is undocumented speculation but I believe “Roslin” may refer to either David and Anzoletta’s home or property in Bedford County. Country Gentlemen frequently had names for their residences and it would not be unusual, given their background, for this to be the case for David and Anzoletta.

If this is the case, the Bedford County Deed Records or David’s Probate might reveal a name and a more detailed location for the property. (Fantasizing: We might be able to add another piece of the Morriss puzzle, exactly where he died?)

Garry

Hi Garry, I burned my eyes out today looking over Census Records for 1860. I found Anzoletta's family in Bedford County. She had four children at home. Her husband had passed away in 1850 as you have stated. One of the sons was 18 and in charge of the farm and the other was 15. It also mentioned two daughters. But there was no Robert Morriss there on the farm in 1860. So then I went over all the Census Records for Campbell County and Lynchburg City. I found nothing on a Robert Morriss. Some how the Census Takers missed him or I either missed it. I will go over it again some day but right now my eyes need the rest. Maurice Garland was living in one half of his Old Home and Max Guggenheimer was living in the other one half. I presumed that Robert Morriss was staying at that time in 1860 with one of these gentlemen. I have not even found either of them in the Census of 1860. I did find James B. Ward and his family and his mother was still living with them in 1860. A lot more research to do. Thanks.

By the way if you look for Anzoletta in the Bedford County Census it was spelled "Angiletta"

Another strange thing, I checked James B. Ward's 1860 Census and Sarah Morriss is not listed as being there or any where else. I have not been able to locate either Sarah Morriss at James B. Ward's or Robert Morriss at Angiletta Saunders residence. Neither are Sarah Morriss and Robert Morriss listed as a head of household in 1860? Where both of them in a hospital or convalescent home? Really strange?

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Starting "anew"; any MORE info...?

 

[franklin]

Starting "anew"; any MORE info...?

No I looked through the census for Lynchburg and Campbell County for 1860 and still could find nothing. I did find however that the last person I could find living in Robert Morriss' House was Chiswell Dabney in 1858. I do not know if it is still standing or not. Strange though every owner was the head of the Masons in Lynchburg.

You know a researcher must take in to account what was going on surrounding Robert Morriss death in 1863. The Civil War was going on and Lynchburg, Va. served like a fort for the out lying farmlands. So if Anzoletta had a farm in Bedford County and being near the Campbell County line, it makes sense to me that she and her family would stay in town and let the slaves take care of the farm. That is why Robert Morriss died at her home, Mrs. David Saunders at Roslin. Spelling changes over the years and even the newspaper could have spelled it like it sounds instead of the way it should have been spelled, "Rosalyn"

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Well, it IS a very short street beyond 12th Street, (in the HISTORIC DISTRICT "above" 12th Street), where the Tobacco Warehouses were. I know where Krantz's Corner is in Bedford County... "off" (south) of Rt. 460, near Owen's Market; have not seen any mansion or remains there-of, on that road, tho. The "a" in Rosalyn is silent, thus, Roslin

 

[Garry]

I mentioned sometime ago that I believed Anzoletta (Angeline) Saunders may have been raised, after her mother’s death, by Robert and Sarah Morriss.

The major clue we have followed appears in Robert Morriss’s obituary in which it says that he died at the residence of his niece, Mrs. David Saunders.

What I believe we can be pretty sure of from previous posts:

Mrs. David Saunders is Anzoletta Warwick.
Anzoletta Warwick is Robert Morriss’s niece.
Anzoletta Warwick’s mother, Luanna (Leanne) Morriss was Robert Morris’s sister.
“Captain” William Warwick and Luanna Morriss Dawson Warwick had four children that reached adulthood. Besides Anzoletta (Born abt 1805), there was Robert M Warwick (Born abt 1808), Maria M Warwick (Born abt 1810) and Daniel James Warwick (Born abt 1812).

These four Warwick children were nieces and nephews of Robert Morriss.

Captain William Warwick shows up in the 1810, 1820 and 1830 census of Amherst County, Virginia. I do realize how mistakes can arise from using this information in the early census, since the ages of all the individuals are in bracketed ranges. ie (0-10) etc.

We know the individuals and their ages that “should” appear with William Warwick in each time bracket and the parents and children seem to track nicely.

!n 1810 we find William (+45), Luanna (26-44) and the first three children born to their marriage Anzoletta, Robert and Maria (0-10). In addition, there are 2 children from William’s first marriage (10-15). 7 whites in all.

In 1820 we find William (50-60) and his third wife, Frances (16-26) whom he married in 1818. Frances had one child from a previous marriage and now has two children with William Warwick. In addition, there are two males, one (10-15) and the other (0-10). 7 whites in all. These two males fit the two boys that William had with Luanna, Robert was 12 and Daniel James was 8. The two females born to William and Luanna should show up as females (10-15) and they are obviously missing in this census. It appears that the boys remained with William Warwick but the girls were living elsewhere.

If we take a look at Robert Morriss in the 1820 Census, Robert and Sarah were enumerated with 7 other white persons. 3 of the 7 were females (10-15). I believe 2 of these females were Anzoletta and Maria Warwick.

The account below is an excerpt from a book, “Sketches and reflections of Lynchburg by Margaret Cabell written in the winter of 1857.

For a number of years, Mr. and Mrs. Morris continued to supply the temporal wants of many. They educated a number of nieces and nephews, rearing them as their own children and placing them in independent situations.

I don’t know who the nephews are that the Morriss’s reared but there is circumstantial evidence that the nieces would have been Anzoletta and Maria. Sarah Morriss may have been the only mother they knew.

There are other hints of the closeness of Anzoletta and Maria to Robert and Sarah Morriss.

Of course Anzoletta took Robert Morriss in during his final days. Maria named her first born son Morriss. (Morriss with a double s) She named her first born daughter Sallie Morris (Leftwich) (I don’t believe she came up with these names by accident)

Of course this still begs the question of who the nephews might have been?

Garry