Sons-In-law of the South
Or. IK
о
her I II. Morrison had four claiiglitors.
Probably never brfor«> in liislory have four
sisters married sueb dislin^uislied men as
did these
MOST men an- satisfied if I hey
have on«* worth while son-in-
law. hut what would you say
to a Carolinian who had four fatuous
men who hailed him as father-in-law?
Moreover, if this man were himself a
di*tingui*hed figure in Carolina life,
and if, on top of all that, he was an
outstanding minister of the Presby¬
terian faith, should not such a in nil
add his exclamation to that of the
P'liliiiist : "My cup runneth over"?
Rev. Dr. Robert II. Morrison was
one of the most distinguished preach¬
er* of hi- generation. He organized
tlie First Presbyterian Church in
Charlotte (thirty-eight members, it
had ► and he lieeainc the first presi¬
dent of Davidson College. For more
than thirty years he served as pastor
of Unity Presbyterian Church in
Mecklenburg. He was truly a "Prince
and a great man in Israel.”
Now I >r. Morrison had four
daughters, who married four famous
men Isabella, who married Lieu¬
tenant Genera! Daniel Harvey Hill;
Mary Anna who married Lieutenant
General Thomas Jonathan (.Stone¬
wall) Jackson; Kugenia who married
Itrigndicr General Rufus Barringer;
and Susan who marrieil the youthful
Major (later Mr. Justice) Alfonzo C.
Avery. The Morrison girl* got big
< 'onfederate officers!
Four Identical Marriage Bonds
In Rev. William L. Sherrill'* de¬
lightful "Annals of Lincoln County,"
you will find a copy of one of the four
identical marriage bonds given by the
rc.peetive bridegrooms above re¬
ferred to. I myself recognize the
signature of General Jackson, of
General Hill and Judge Avery. When
it comes to General Barringer, I have
to take Mr. Sherrill's word for it,
hut a* he is a man of known probity
I think I am safe there. I quote from
the condition of the obligation of
these old marriage bonds:
"Now therefore the condition of
ilii* obligation is such that whereas,
t lie above boundeii Daniel II. Hill
lias made application for a marriage
to lx* solemnized between him and
Isalielln Morrison of the county afore-
lailioti.
Bi; IK. C. LAfVREXCB
said, now in ease it shall not appear
hereafter that there is any lawful
cause to obstruct the said marriage*,
then the above obligation to Ik* void;
otherwise to remain in full force and
virtue.”
General Daniel Harvey Hill was
bred to the profession of arms, and he
served as Coiiiiiieudniit of the Char¬
lotte Military Academy. When the
Civil War came on, lie was placed in
command of the camp of instruction
at Raleigh where he trained the raw
Confederate levies for the stern duties
just ahead of them. Upon the organi¬
zation of the State troops Hill was
named as Colonel of the First North
Carolina regiment. In this capacity
he commanded at Rig Bethel, the
tir-i battle *.f the Civil War. A build¬
ing obstructed the Confederate fin*
and Hill called for volunteer* to burn
the building. Henry L. Wyatt. Robert
11. Bradley and other* of the Edge¬
combe Guard* responded. The Fed¬
eral line volleyed and Wyatt pitched
forward, dead first Southern soldier
to give his life for the Stars and Pars.
Valiant Military Service
General Hill served partly with the
Army of Northern Virginia where the
successful part of the battle of Seven
Pines was Hill’s light ; he served also
with the Army of Tonm-ssee when it
broke the Federal lines in the bloody
battle of Chickatiuiuga. and he com¬
manded the Department of North
Carolina U|mn a part of the war. As
Lieutenant General In* was the State's
ranking officer upon the field of
Bcntonvillc in Johnston County. The
Confederate, the Daughters of the
Confederacy and other stalwart
Carolinians have a saving for our
State: "First at Bethel; furthest at
Gettysburg; Iasi at Appomattox." It
was Hill who was responsible for the
"First at Bethel"; and the last part
of our slogan should Ik* changed from
last at Appomattox to "Last at
Bentonville." for that was the last
battle of the war and Hill's command
was not surrendered until some week*
after Ap|K>mattox. Hill's son, Daniel
Harvey Hill. Jr., waa President of
State College at Raleigh.
Thomas Jonathan Jackson (Stone¬
wall) is too well known to need any
comment here. He married Mary
Anna Morrison. He was the one great
military genius produced hv Southern
arms. When Jackson received his
fatal wound at Chancellorsvillc, Lee
spoke but the truth when he wrote the
General: “You have lost your left
arm; but I have lost my right." The
good right arm of Jflekson was to
lie sorely missed by the sons of the
South — this Southern General who
outmarched, outgeneraled, outguessed
and outfought several Federal armies;
the one Southern General who never
knew defeat. At Gettysburg
Ьч*
gazed
long and earnestly at the strong Fed¬
eral works which frowned from the
crest of Cemetery Ridge. There was
just one thought in the mind of
Ьч*.
He missed Jackson; the one innn so
necessary to convert what proved a
Southern defeat into a Southern
victory.
Jackson had no connection with
North Carolina save his marriage;
but his only child Julia did. When
Jackson lay dying, they brought tin*
infant Julia to him, hut lie had lapsed
into unconsciousness and was mur¬
muring the words so well known by
many sons of the South: "Tell Hill
lie must come up. Tell Major Hawks
to advance the Commissary train.
I-et us cross over the river and rest
under the shade of the trees."
After the death of her famous
husband Mrs. Jackson returned to
the home of her father in Mecklen¬
burg. and she lived in Charlotte until
her death. Her daughter married
William E. Christian, once connected
with the passenger department of the
Seaboard Air Line.
General Barringer
Brigadier General Rufus Barringer
married Eugenia Morrison. The Gen¬
eral was a native of Cabarrus County,
where Barringer was a famous name
since pre-Rcvolutionury days. Ho
( Continued on page twenty)
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