Patrick J Morris

MORRIS KELLY MANLEY

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/22/2010 at 21:12:43

History of Woodbury County, Iowa 19i84

Patrick J Morris
By Donna Loftus

Patrick J Morris was born on 3 September 1837 in Ireland to James Morris and Catharine Kelly Morris. James was a professional soldier with the English Army and Catharine also was English. Patrick’s mother died when he was twelve years old so an uncle arranged for him to become an apprentice roofer. He claimed that he had grown tired of falling off of the roofs so he ran away.

Patrick was united in marriage to Bridget Manley of Ireland on 14 September 1860. They came to America in the 1860’s and were found to be in Hanover, Illinois, in 1870 with their children: Catharine, John, Mary, Thomas, and Anna. Michael, William, Edward, Peter and Agnes were to be born in Illinois before they came to the Dakotas in the 1880’s.

Catharine married Michael Hynes; John married Anna Pletch; Mary married John A Merchant; Thomas never married; Anna married Patrick J Keegan; Michael married Martha Dufner; William never married; Edward married Bridget Kilcullen; Peter married Mable Hughes; and Agnes married William Ross.

Michael had a homestead in the Chamberlain, South Dakota area where he met and married Martha ‘Mattie’ Dufner. Mattie was a school teacher in the area. They had a son who was born and also died there. Their first daughter, Alice, was also born there. She traveled with them to Harrison County, Nebraska, to homestead some land. Then they went to Ponca. In 1911, Michael and his family to Sioux City, where Gladys was born in 1910.

Alice married Clifford Watkins of Sioux City and they lived in Sioux City and raised their family here.