Morford Family History

Introducing the Morford Family History Project

If you’ve been following my family history research, I’ve spent years trying to untangle a couple of our toughest paternal brick walls: the origins of Jackson Long (b. 1829) and David Kennedy (b. 1793). For a long time, traditional paper trails could only take us so far. But thanks to recent genetic genealogy breakthroughs, the fog is finally clearing. The data is strongly pointing to a fascinating conclusion: both Jackson Long and David Kennedy appear to have Morford fathers, or at least share a direct Morford patrilineal ancestor. To prove this beyond a doubt, we've been coordinating a targeted DNA testing strategy as part of a new research project focused on the Morford families of colonial New Jersey, Somerset in England, and other lineages directly related by Y DNA or that share this surname.

Because Y-DNA is passed down almost entirely unchanged from father to son, comparing basic results helps us determine which branches are likely related in genealogical time, and the detailed results acts like a genetic clock. By looking at the genetic markers that belong to one branch but not another, we can confirm the structure of the early Morford family and prove precisely where our Long and Kennedy ancestors fit into this paternal lineage.

This post provides an update on where the research stands, a newly discovered plot twist, and what it means for our tree.

Tracing the Morford Lineages

To establish exactly how our Long and Kennedy lines connect to the Morfords, we needed to test known descendants of the candidate Morford families. Right now, we have three distinct testers with advanced Y-DNA tests processing at the lab, plus several more folks with preliminary Y haplogroups. They represent several key lineages:

• 1: Daniel Morford (1740-1833). His first wife was most likely Rachel Dye, and his parents are thought to be John Morford (1713-1812) and Elizabeth Robins.
• 1a: A descendant of Daniel Morford Jr (b. 1761)
• 1b: A descendant of James Morford (b. 1766), who married Jane Kennedy in Greene County, Pennsylvania. The descendant is through their son Daniel Morford. I have expected Jackson Long and David Kennedy to be connected through James and Jane Kennedy since they have consistent Morford and Kennedy autosomal DNA matches.
• 2: Zebulon Morford Jr., presumed son of Zebulon Morford Sr. (1722).
• 3: John M. Morford (b. 1758), identified son of Thomas Morford (b. 1717). Family lore among Thomas’s descendants suggests his origins were in Scotland:

·       "The Morfords came from Scotland and settled in New Jersey. Thomas, the oldest of whom we have any record was born in 1716, died in 1797 (from "History of the Morford family” by Curtis R. Morford).

• 3a: His son Richard Morford (1781).
• 3b: His son William Morford (1799).

·       Most trees suggest that John (1713) and Thomas (1716) were brothers, both sons of Thomas Morford who died in 1717 and was the son of another John Morford (1655)—a deed record noted that John left property to his grandsons John and Thomas because their father Thomas had died

"Proof that the elder Thomas was the son of John2 and Margaret Morford comes from a deed dated 16 December 1751 but not filed for record until 15 April 1803, apparently to prove the chain of ownership of certain property.  This deed was made by "John Morford of Pennsylvania, son of Thomas Morford deceased, and which Thomas Morford was the eldest son of John Morford late of the County of Middlesex . . . deceased . . ." (MxD 5:48).  The deed was, however, recorded within the lifetime of John4 Morford 1713- 1812) of Pennsylvania, probably at the instigation of heirs of Benjamin and Elizabeth Applegate, who had lost the original deed from "John Morford the elder."  Thomas3 Morford's wife was probably the Rebecca "Morfett" listed among members of Middletown Baptist Church in 1712, and baptised as an adult in 1715.  It is noted that the name Rebecca appears frequently among descendants of both sons of Thomas3 Morford, who died not long before 31 July 1717, as a deed of that date made by John2 Morford "of  Cranbeare" (Cranbury) gives to his two grandsons, John4 and Thomas4, "land upon which my loving son Thomas Morford (of late deceased) in his lifetime dwelt. . . "  (MxD A-1:212)."

A Major Plot Twist: Two Unrelated Morford Families?

Conventional family history documented based on the Morford Historian newsletter compiled by Enid Adams suggested that all three lines might have shared a common ancestor in an immigrant John Morford born about 1620 from Somerset in England. However, the newsletter noted considerable uncertainty and that it wasn’t clear whether the immigrants to New Jersey came from England or Scotland or somewhere else.

The preliminary results show a clear, close relationship between the descendants of Zebulon Jr., Daniel Morford, Jackson Long, and David Kennedy in haplogroup R (U106). The Daniel/Zebulon line has matches with the Wolcott family which traces back to Somerset, England in the late 1500s; this result supports the hypothesized connection to the immigrant John Morford.

However, the descendants of #3 above match each other in the basic haplogroup Haplogroup I. Because these two genetic groups split from each other tens of thousands of years ago, it is biologically impossible for these lines to share a common paternal ancestor.

This means we are likely looking at two entirely unrelated lineages using the same surname in colonial New Jersey. However, we don't have information to support or refute the claim that Thomas’ line came from Scotland.

The graphic below summarizes the tree and test results so far:

What This Means for Our Research

Our next steps include:

• Analyze the Pending Results: Once the lab finishes processing our three current testers, we will have a clear genetic baseline for the Greene County Pennsylvania Morford branch. This will give us the final proof we need to anchor the Jackson Long and David Kennedy lines.
• Establish a Morford Surname Project: I am working to establish a Morford surname DNA project at FamilyTreeDNA to help sort current and future testers into lineages based upon their genetic groups.
• Recruit more results: A particular emphasis will be to recruit additional Morfords from branches that precede any of the branches listed above, so we can update our confirmations. Representative from the following lines would be particularly helpful, even if they have only basic haplogroup levels (from 23andme, AncestryDNA, or Family Finder).
• Descendants of Cornelius Morford 1741-1825, presumed brother of Daniel.
• Descendants of Thomas Morford 1692, cousin of John Morford 1655-1729.
• Any testers from an English lineage that did not emigrate to the US; most of these appear to be from Folkestone in Kent, England. (Note that one such descendant did come to the U.S. in the 20th century--Professor Mark Percy Owen Morford--who taught classics at the University of Virginia; he was born in Sri Lanka (“British Ceylon”) in 1929 to parents from England).
• Descendants from any Scottish lineages would also be very helpful.
• Descendants of other sons of James Morford and Jane Kennedy--to try to identify Jackson Long's father.

We are rewriting the family history books in real time. Stay tuned for the next update when the lab results land!

Are you a descendant of a Morford or Mofford? Your data could be the next piece of the puzzle. Drop a comment below to join the project!