Pictured is Marion Mitchell Morrison as he appeared shortly after the Civil War. His birthplace is presently the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Nixon, located on Ebright Road in Wayne Township. Built in 1836 by James Morrison, the old braced frame structure’s original appearance has been lost due to several alterations and remodeling.
(By Stephen Kelley from the People’s Defender, 1983)
Last week’s column was devoted to James and Martha Morrison. The Morrisons were Wayne Township residence who moved from Adams County to Little York, Illinois, in 1861. Little York is a hamlet located above deven miles northwest of Monmouth, Illinois. James and Martha were a middle-aged couple at the time of their removal, already having eight children born in their modest home which still stands on present day Ebright Road.
James and Martha’s fifth child was a son they christened Marion Mitchell Morrison. He was named after his uncle, the Reverend Marion Morrison, who had persuaded James and Martha to move to Illinois, and after his grandmother Morrison, whose maiden name was Mitchell. Marion was born on January 20, 1845, and lived the first sixteen years of his life in Wayne Township. Just months after their arrival in Little York, hostilities erupted between the North and South. Soon, this great conflict enveloped the Morrison family and Marion and his older brother Robert Porter (Port), enlisted in the 83rd Illinois infantry. Both brothers members of Company B and by the summer of 1864, found themselves stationed at Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
On the twentieth of August 1864, 19-year old Marion with 11 of his comrades, was caught in a confederate ambush. The Yankees were outnumbered nine to one and the rebels made sport out of pursuing them one by one and killing the young men in a most savage manner. Marion was cut down as he went to the aid of 15-year-old Mitchell Thompson. Before he could help his doomed friend, a confederate soldier struck Marion across the back of his head with the saber.
Laughing while doing it, another rebel then shot Morrison at close range, the bullet entering near his left temple. Before he had fallen into the ground, several more confederates savagely attacked him, hacking him with their sabers. One blow to the face broke his nose leaving a large gash. Another saber nearly slashed off his left ear. Although down and out, he was severely beaten and left for dead. Hours after the attack, Marion regained consciousness after discovering the militated bodies of his fellow soldiers, he managed to stagger and crawl over three miles of woods and farmland to the Tennessee River. There, after several hours of waiting on the banks of the river, he was rescued by a union gunboat.
Despite the severity of his many wounds, Marion Morrison recovered and was able to return to Little York. He was married in 1869 to Weltha Chase Parsons. The young couple bought a farm near Monmouth and there had four children. About 1887, Marion, like his father before him, decided to move further west. He relocated his family in Warren County, Iowa where he became involved in selling real estate. In 1899 he was elected treasurer of Warren County. During the summer of 1902, Marion Mitchell Morrison returned to his native Adams County for a visit with childhood friends and his numerous relatives. He had not returned since his family’s departure 41 years earlier.
Following Weltha’s death in 1909, Marion moved to Southern California, where he died near Los Angeles on December 5, 1915. He of course was the grandfather and namesake of Marion Michael Morrison who later adopted the stage name of John Wayne. Wayne’s father was Clyde Morrison, who had been born on his father’s Illinois farm near Monmouth in August 1884. Clyde was raised in Iowa and studied Pharmacy at Simpson College. He was married to Mary Alberta Brown in September 1905. Their son Marion (John Wayne) was born in 1907 in Madison County, Iowa. Clyde and Mary eventually moved to southern California, settling near Clyde’s father in 1914. This is where young Marion Michael was raised and thus given the unique opportunity of finding part-time work at a movie studio during his college years. His acting talents were discovered in one of America’s best known and admired actors began his career which spanned over half a century.
