Pennsylvania - Adams County - Black's Graveyard

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A Brief History of the Families in Black's Graveyard Adams County, Pennsylvania

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PART I - PART II - PART III - PART IV - PART V - PART VII

From the Gettysburg Times Gettysburg, Pennsylvania of 
Saturday, August 8, 1959 

A Bit Of History About Early Settlers

By B. F. M. MacPHERSON

The Morrison -- Buchanan family

The historical and genealogical study of Black's graveyard (Upper Marsh 
Creek Presbyterian), located in Cumberland Township, this County, just 
off the Mummasburg Road, is continued at this time.

As stated before in this series on Black's graveyard, beginning after 
the congregation moved to its first location in Gettysburg, many families 
began removing their dead other burial grounds. This movement, gained 
impetus when the Evergreen Cemetery was opened in 1854. Among these were 
members of the Buchanan and Smith families, who are related to the 
Morrison's, and were originally buried with them (tradition states that 
were buried together) in Black's graveyard. Robert, the son of Walter 
and Elizabeth (Buchanan) Smith, moved the bones and monument of his 
ancestors from the old, neglected burial ground into the Evergreen 
Cemetery (area A.). At one time this plot was enclosed by an old hand 
wrought iron fence but in recent years this has disappeared. Three of the 
stones, those marking the graves of the Buchanan's, are the large, flat, 
black slate stones, covering an entire graves, with the Buchanan coat-of-arms 
cut thereon.

Inscriptions on stones

The inscriptions from the Smith -- Buchanan's stones, moved from Black's 
graveyard to the Evergreen Cemetery, are as follows:

1. (Coat-of-arms) "Here lys ye Body of Jean/Buchanan who Departed This Life 
   March ye 28, 1760, Aged 50 years / Here Lies The Body of John/Buchanan 
   who Departed This Life March The 3, 1773 Aged 68 Years."

2. (Coat-of-arms) "Here Lys The / body of Robert Buchanan/ Who departed This 
   Life / the 28th of Sept. In The / Year of Our Lord 1748 / Aged 51 Years: 
   Also Here Lys the body of James / Buchanan who Departed This Life the 21st 
   of Novr in the / Year of Our Lord 1751 Aged / 20 years."

3. (Coat-of-Arms) "Here Lys the Body of / Andrew Buchanan/ who Departed This 
   Life / January the 19th, 1759 / Aged 43 Years / In Memory of Walter 
   Buchanan / who Departed this Life in the / Year 1780 / And of Mary Roney, 
   wife of Walter Buchanan / Elizabeth Smith / Daughter of Walter and Mary 
   Roney Buchanan / Aged 74 years."

4. (Upright black slate stone) "in memory of/Robert Smith/who departed this 
   life/August 19, 1769 in the 64th year of his age/. Elizabeth, daughter of 
   Walter and Mary you can/wife of Robert Smith died/March 1812 aged 74 
   years/parents of Walter Smith."

5. "Walter Smith/departed this life/June 8, 1838/in the 75th year of his age./
   Elizabeth/consort of Walter Smith/the part of this life/5 March 1837/in 
   the 68th year of her age."

Stone is broken

6. "Jane Robinson/daughter of Walter and Elizabeth Smith/born October 21, 1803/
   died April 23, 1826/the stones originally at Jane's grave was broken by 
   rebel shot in the battle of Gettysburg/July 1863, in which the Union army 
   won / the great victory over the southern rebels."

7. "In memory/Walter Addison/son of Walter/and Elizabeth Smith/the departed 
   this life/April 29, 1850/aged 19 years."

8. "In memory of/Nancy Smith/daughter/Walter and Elizabeth Smith/who departed 
   this life/November 28, 1831/aged 25 years/and eight months."

9. "In/memory/Harriet Smith/daughter/Walter and Elizabeth Smith/the died 21st 
   of June 1836/in the 35th year of her age."

An old saying has been handed down among the descendents of the Buchanan -- 
   Morrison -- Smith -- Dickson families which runs as follows:

"My mother's name was Morrison

Her mother's name was Buchanan

Her maiden name was Dickson

My great-grandmother Morrison's name was Holmes."

A more or less reliable guide to the genealogy of the families in question -- 
that is if the main lines can be traced accurately.

One Marker Remains

Returning to the burial of the Morrison family in Black's graveyard -- is to 
be noted that only one grave marker remains to mark the site of what must 
have been a fairly large family burial lot. This town, corrected to the memory 
of John Morrison and Catherine, his wife, was described in last week's column.

The emigrant ancestor of the Morrison family in America was one Hans Morrison, 
who died in the year 1783 in what is now Straban Township, Adams County (then 
York County). In his will Hans Morrison mentions the following members of his 
family:

1. Son -- Hugh Morrison intermarried with Margaret Buchanan.

2. Son -- James Morrison.

3. Son - Nathaniel Morrison.

4. Son -- Hans Morrison (the second of the name).

5. Son -- Abraham Morrison.

6. Daughter -- Elizabeth Morrison.

7. Son -- Ebenezer Morrison.

8. Son -- John A. Morrison.

Note: Hans Morrison, the emigrant, was first married to a Miss Holmes and, 
after her death, was married for the second time to Elizabeth Andrews.

Had Eleven Children

Hugh Morrison, the son of Hans (first of the name) and his first wife, was married 
to Margaret Buchanan. They were the parents of the following children: --

1. Samuel Morrison, born 1775.

2. Hans Morrison (third of the name), born 1776.

3. Mary Morrison, one 1778.

4. George Morrison, born 1780.

5. James Morrison, one 1781.

6. Ann Morrison, born 1785.

7. Jane Morrison, born 1787.

8. Joseph Morrison, born 1788.

9. Sibley Morrison, born 1791.

10. James Dickson Morrison, 1793.

11. Margaret Morrison, married James Marshall.

Will Show Relationship

The relationship of the Buchanan -- Dickson family is clearly pointed out in the 
will of Samuel Dickson, the emigrant ancestor of that family. This document was 
written in 1765 and entered to probate in 1767 space (York County, Pennsylvania, 
Will book "B.," page 109).

1. "I bequeth to my wife Jane Dickson..."

2. Daughter, Mary Buchanan.

3. Daughter, Margaret Dickson.

4. Daughter, Isabelle Dickson.

5. Daughter, Jane Dickson.

6. Daughter, Elizabeth Dickson space (later married to the Rev. Joseph Henderson).

7. Son, Samuel Dickson.

"To each of my unmarried daughters of black chest."

"To my granddaughter Margaret Buchanan, the sum of 25 pounds when she becomes 
 age." (This is the only granddaughter Samuel Dickson mentions by name in his will, 
 designating that she is the oldest).

"To each of my grandsons now born 10 pounds and a Bible."

"To each of my granddaughters now born 5 pounds and a Bible."

Among the papers on file with the will of Samuel Dickson is the following receipt: 
-- received from William and James Dickson the sum of 5 pounds and 10 shillings in 
full for money left me on my grandfather, Samuel Dickson, and received per order 
of James Dickson, Esquire. "Received in the year 1783 by me -- "signed, 
Mary Buchanan."

Mary Dickson, the daughter of Samuel Dickson, the emigrant, was married to George 
Buchanan. She died in the year 1791. Mary, the daughter of George and Mary 
(Dickson) Buchanan, married you Morrison, the son of Hans Morrison, the emigrant. 
In 1790 2Q and Mary Morrison sold their plantation in Strabane Township, York (now 
Adams) County, and moved to Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, where they lived for 
the remainder of their lives.

The notes on the Buchanan -- Morrison family will be continued in 
this column next week.