Elijah Morgan (abt. 1809 - bef. 1870)

Born about 1809 in Sussex, Delaware, United States

Descendants

Died before 1870 before about age 61 in Sussex, Delaware, United States

Biography

Elijah was born about 1809.

Elijah was the youngest son of local Morgan Family patriarch Elijah Morgan, Sr. and his wife Hester. (See Sr.'s linked memorial for many interesting family details.) His father's 22 September 1813 Last Will & Testament directed that, as one of Elijah Sr.'s "three youngest of my children", he (along with the other specified two, Francis A. and Lorenzo D.) should be given "eighteen months schooling to a good teacher" in the event he - Elijah Sr. - were to die before those children received an education. In the main list of children heirs in the will, Elijah is listed last, following older siblings [the will's original spellings follow] Westly, Jacob, Maggy, Azepy, Francis Asbury, and Lorensey Dow. (That list of children appears to be arranged in order of proper birth chronology.) Elijah Jr. is mentioned fully equally to all of his siblings, with the exceptions of William and Jacob, those two who each were to receive different bequests than would the other children.

He was the husband of Sarah "Sallie", whose maiden name was either Willis or Wills. The couple wed in 1827.

He resided, presumably his entire life, in western Sussex County, apparently near what is today the town of Blades.

The couple's known children: Jacob V., Hester, John E., Zephora, Sarah J. (Moore), Margaret P. (McCue), Caroline.

1850 Census household (enumerated Nov. 11, Sussex Co., 11th Subdivision): Elijah (45), Sarah (45), Jacob (22), Hester (17), John (15), Zephora (12), Sarah (8), Margaret (5), Caroline (3).

1860 Census household (enumerated June 7, Sussex Co., Broad Creek Hd. [this new hundred was created from part of the earlier 11th Subdivision]): Elijah (50), Sallie (50), John (27).

1870 Census (enumerated July 21, Broad Creek Hd.): John E. (35), Sallie (50). This clearly is Elijah's known wife and son of those names, despite Sallie's indicated age being off by approximately ten years. Assuming this conclusion is correct, it's apparent that Elijah died sometime between the 1860 and 1870 censuses.

1880 Census (enumerated June 7, Broad Creek Hd., town of Blades [back then known as Bladesville]): Sarah (69), John E. (48). Sarah/Sallie's listing notes "Consumption", therefore that she currently had tuberculosis. (John's listing, meanwhile, indicates he had been unemployed during 9 of the last 12 months.) It is known that John died in 1897. Sallie has not been found to have appeared in any records subsequent to the 1880 Census; she near certainly died, from tuberculosis, during the 1880s.

FYI: This memorial's presented 1809 birth year for Elijah is a best-guess estimate (taking not only the censuses mentioned above, but also other known factors [including Elijah's order of listing/mention in his father's will], into consideration). Be aware that indicated ages appearing in old records are frequently wildly inconsistent and often clearly very wrong.

Sources

• Delaware Vital Records, 1650-1974", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q215-N3FN : Sun Mar 10 00:49:30 UTC 2024), Entry for Elijah Morgan and Sarah Wills, 1827.

• United States Census, 1830", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP9-BNL : Sun Mar 10 22:28:48 UTC 2024), Entry for Elijah Morgan, 1830.

• United States Census, 1840", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBF-J8Z : Sun Mar 10 08:01:32 UTC 2024), Entry for Elijah Morgan, 1840.

• United States Census, 1850", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH8B-11G : Fri Mar 08 20:49:04 UTC 2024), Entry for Elijah Morgan and Sarah Morgan, 1850.

• United States Census, 1860", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M4S4-Z18 : Sat Mar 09 18:38:41 UTC 2024), Entry for Elijah Morgan and Sallie Morgan, 1860.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198257813/elijah-morgan: accessed 3/11/2024), memorial page for Elijah Morgan Jr. (1809–unknown), Find a Grave Memorial ID 198257813; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by David P. Wilson (contributor 46887005).