Morgan, New Jersey

On this Fourth of July celebrating the 234^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the start of the United States of America, I reflect again on long ago studying US history at Jesse Selover Elementary School in Morgan, NJ and how at the time the Revolutionary War felt like it happened “so far away”.  Little did I know or comprehend that 200 feet away from where I was sitting lie buried three Revolutionary War veterans, one who lost his life during the conflict, who fought the Tories and the Empire – probably in what eventually became my very own yard.  I also came to know later in life that in my DNA are the genes of three other Revolutionary War veterans.

I would like to first take a moment and give tribute to my three Revolutionary War veteran ancestors:

1. My Great Great Great Great Grandfather John Pitman, Sr. (DAR Ancestor #: A089352), a private in the Lincoln County Kentucky Militia who served under Captain John Dougherty and General George Rogers Clark (older brother of William Clark who is the ‘Clark’ of ‘Lewis and Clark’). John Pitman was one of 182 Kentuckians who participated in the August 19, 1782 Battle of Blue Licks (near present day Olivet, Kentucky). This was one of the last battles of the war and didn’t go well for the Kentuckians. Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel Boone also participated in this battle. Boone’s son, Israel Boone, was killed during this battle.
2. My Great Great Great Great Grandfather William Pearl (DAR Ancestor #: A086946) who is also listed as one of George Rogers Clark’s men as a Sergeant in the Lincoln County Kentucky Militia under Captain John Kennedy and Colonel Benjamin Logan.
3. My Great Great Great Grandfather John Wyatt (DAR Ancestor #: A128982) and son-in-law to William Pearl.  On November 15, 1832, John Wyatt gave a declaration to the County of Montgomery, State of Missouri, in order to obtain a pension made available by an act of Congress passed on June 7, 1832 to veterans who served for at least two years.  “… he was called into the service as a volunteer [private], in a company of [North Carolina] Rangers called the County Light Horse… whose duty was to keep the Tories in awe & subjugation… March [15,] 1781… [Major] General [Nathanael] Green with his army fought the battle at Guilford [North Carolina], being the best and hardest fought battle during the Revolutionary War… he was next under Jacob Duckworth, a militia Capt. who with 22 men (me being one of them) attacked a body of Tories under a Capt. Garner of 150 in number… whom we surprised and defeated… The next skirmish, he and eleven others under Capt. N. Mall had with the Tories was on Brush Creek in Chatham County. The Tories were commanded by Col. Fannen; they defeated us, killed two & took two of us prisoners. These were the only skirmishes, he was ever in except being frequently engaged in running one or more of the Tories at a time through the Country…”

Some time after the April 30, 1803 Louisiana Purchase and the subsequent Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806, both John Pitman with his wife Dorothy and John Wyatt with his wife Polly Pearl moved along the north bank of the Missouri River just west of present day St. Louis, Missouri where all four are now buried. Records show John Wyatt and Polly Pearl moved to Warren County in 1817. I don’t know when William Pearl and Charity moved to Missouri.  Daniel Boone, who William Pearl possibly personally knew from the revolution days, moved to the same area in what is now Missouri in 1799.  Note that in 1799, Missouri was not yet part of the United States. Daniel Boone lived there until his death at age 85 on September 26, 1820.

From the Morgan Family, I would like to give tribute to:

• James Morgan, Sr. – Captain of the Second Regiment/Middlesex County, and also State Troops. See his war record below.
• James Morgan, Jr. – Ensign in Captain Morgan’s Second Regiment/Middlesex County; later a Major General and Congressman.
• Nicholas Morgan – First Lieutenant in Captain Morgan’s Company, Second Regiment/Middlesex County; Lieutenant Commanding Company, Major Hayes’ Battalion, State Troops, mortally wounded December 9, 1782. Killed while on patrol at Cheesequake. He was reportedly hung by the Tories.
• Daniel Morgan – Private in Captain Morgan’s Company, Second Regiment/Middlesex County.
• John Morgan – Private in Captain Morgan’s Company, Second Regiment/Middlesex County.

Again, these five Morgans are listed on the “Liberty Plaque” in the South Amboy Post Office (see posting from 5 September 2009).  James, Sr., James, Jr. and Nicholas are buried in the family cemetery in Morgan.  I am not sure where Daniel and John lie.

I am enormously excited to bring this next part to the Morgan-NJ.org readers. Thanks to the New Jersey State Archives, here verbatim is the War Record of Captain James Morgan, Sr.  The more I learn about this remarkable man, the more amazed and impressed I become. He was a truly remarkable person. I am not certain at this time what the references (e.g., “ref”) are referring to but will continue to try to find out.

MORGAN, JAMES, SR. – Captain, 2nd Regiment, Middlesex County Militia, prior to Sept. 1776 (ref. ms. 849; wid. I82, James Morgan, Jr.).

Active Service.

• Commanded his company of 34 men serving in Bergen County, Sept. 21 to Oct. 5, at Newark, Oct. 8 to 11 and at Elizabeth, Oct. 17, 1776 (ref. ms. 849);
• Commanded his company in service at Cranbury, Feb. 1, to Mar. 3, 1777 (ref. ms. 841);
• Commanded company in capture of the Brigantine William and Anne, on the coast near Long Branch, summer of 1777 (ref. N. J. Arch. vol. 1, series 2, 448-9; vol. 2, series, p. 188).
• Commanded company of Militia stationed at South Amboy and along the river and bay, 8th Sept. to 7th Dec. 1777; 5th Jan. to 27th Oct. 1778 (ref. wid. 87, Timothy Rose; aud. bk. B, p. 165 & 170; extracts min. of coun. saf.);
• Commanded his company of 25 men, enlisted under resolution of the Legislature, 24th Sept. 1779 to be stationed as a guard at or near South Amboy, to serve until Dec. 1, 1779 (ref. jour, coun. p. 86; aud. bk. B. p. 165);
• Commanded company of 50 men raised by order of the council, Dec. 23, 1779, stationed at South Amboy (ref. wid. 87, Timothy Rose); served at South Amboy, Feb. 1780, Amboy, March 1780 and at Spotswood, Apr. 1780; company consisted of 39 men in April (ref. aud. bk. B. p. 165, 170 & 433).

WSP- 2-4-16