JAMES MORRISON. - The subject of this sketch was born on the 10th day of November, 1810, in Greenbrier county, Virginia. His father, John Morrison, was also a native of Virginia, and was married to Miss Mary McCorkel, of Greenbrier County, Virginia, and in 1812 he emigrated with his family to Lawrence county, Ohio. He remained there a few years, when he went to Pike county, Ohio, where he resided for several years, engaged in farming and stock raising. In 1832 he emigrated to Morgan (now Scott) county, Illinois, and settled on section 32, township 15, range 13, where he purchased a body of land, and began opening up a farm. He was the first man who stall-fed cattle on the bottom. He resided upon the farm where he first settled until his death, which occurred in 1854, of cholera. He was a devout Christian and a good man, beloved by all who knew him.

Mr. James Morrison received his early education in Ohio, and followed the occupation of farming, which he continues to this day, he having one of the best stock and grain farms in the state. He was married on the 5th day of February, 1832, in Pike county, Ohio, to Miss Mary Lower, a native of Ohio, and in the fall of 1833 emigrated to Morgan (now Scott) county, Illinois, and settled a few rods from where he now resides, in a log cabin, which protected them from the storms of that winter. In the following spring he engaged in farming. His first purchase was where he now lives; he paid ten dollars per acre, and today it is worth one hundred. His farm contains four hundred acres, and a view of his residence, surrounded as it is by beautiful evergreens, can be seen elsewhere in this map.

When Mr. M. came to Illinois Scott county was one vast wilderness; his neighbors were few, but they enjoyed themselves far better than those who live in this day and generation. They used to go a little above the present site of Naples to attend church, and in those early days they had no buildings in which to hold their meetings. Mr. and Mrs. Morrison are the parents of five children, all of whom are now living and are heads of families: Margaret Ann, the wife of Thomas Turley, who resides in Jacksonville, was born November 30, 1832, in Pike county, Ohio; John Wesley was born February 28, 1834, in Morgan county, Illinois, and now resides in Vernon county, Missouri, near Fort Scott; he was married to Miss Mary Peak, daughter of Absalom Peak, Esq., of Scott county, Illinois; William Henry was born February 26, 1835, is now residing in Morgan county, Illinois, and was married to Miss Rebecca J. Tunnell, daughter of Stephen Tunnell, of Morgan county; James Newton was born January 5, 1837, now resides in St. Louis, Missouri, and was married to Miss Eviline Rush, daughter of John Rush, Esq., of Pike county, Illinois; Thomas W., was born April 3, 1846, is residing near the old homestead, and was married to Miss Barbara Penager, daughter of John Penager, Esq., who was one of the first settlers of Scott county.

Mr. Morrison is a consistent Christian man, and has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1832. He and his wife, who have lived together for the past forty years, are now in the evening of life, and are enjoying the fruits of their labors and the society of their neighbors and children. Mr. M. is a temperate man in all things; he never used tobacco in any shape, or spirits of any kind.