The Two Graves
BY HAROLD THOMAS BECK
We take for granted the history–rich area
in which we live. The story "The Two Graves" first appeared in the Mountain
Laurel Review in November 1994. It is the story of the two tombstones located on Route
321 between Kane and Marshburg. The story makes reference to Larry Ely as being one of my
major sources for history because of his age and vivid memory. We have since lost Larry,
and with him that source of information before the building of the Allegheny Reservoir and
the Kinzua Dam. The loss of a good friend like Larry is always a bitter loss, but the loss
of his knowledge and the feelings he was able to relate to us regarding the past is one
that is irreplaceable.
The Ely family was one of many who were displaced by the building of the hated dam.
They watched their farm along the Sugar Run become flooded and then covered by the waters
that were being held back so Pittsburgh could become a boaters’ paradise. As the
waters covered their farm, it also covered the town of Morrison and Kinzua Creek. Both
areas are rich in history. Sugar Run and the flats along it where it joined the Allegheny
River was once the place where Chief Cornplanter successfully defended his people from
British, Mohawk and American attacks. His people lived there long before the white men,
and when the Morrison family first came to the area in the 1790s, it was Chief Cornplanter
who allowed them to settle along Kinzua Creek. The Morrison family and their descendants
would live in the area even to this day all because of that first friendship with the
Great Chief Cornplanter.
As Larry Ely and I drove 321 and I did the double take at the sight of the graves,
Larry told me what he knew.
"There’s a descendant of the Morrison family buried there along with a young
boy. They aren’t related. They’re just buried together for one reason or
another."
James Morrison, I would find, was one of the original settlers of this area. He
traveled up the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh in the late 18th Century through what was
at that time still hostile Indian territory. The treaty between Pennsylvania and the
Seneca Nation was still not a reality when he chose a site along the Brokenstraw to
settle. That was in the summer of 1790, and when the aged Chief appeared with 20 or so
warriors, Morrison wisely put his best foot forward. He presented the Chief with a newly
forged flintlock and a shining new knife. Cornplanter accepted the gifts and allowed
Morrison to stay.
Their friendship grew and the chief invited his friend to his camp often. When spring
floods washed away Morrison’s cabin and drowned his livestock, Cornplanter invited
his friend to occupy an area of fertile land several miles from his own town located up
the Kinzua Creek. With Cornplanter’s help he would rebuild at the new site. This
would become the location of the town of Morrison.
The Morrison family thrived in the fertile valley. Floods did not affect it as they had
on the Brokenstraw. The surrounding hills were teaming with game, and as he slowly cleared
the land, he was successful at growing crops.
Samuel Morrison was a direct descendant of James Morrison. When the Civil War broke out
he enlisted in the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The 12th Pennsylvania fought in the second
battle of Antietam, at Manassas and at Gettysburg. As the Confederate forces retreated
from their defeat at Gettysburg, the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry was part of the pursuing
Union Army. In 1864 and 1865 it saw action in and around Richmond. During the final
battles of the war Samuel was wounded and hospitalized.
Army field hospitals were barbaric at their best. Infection was a certainty if you
survived the initial wound. With Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse,
Samuel’s comrades came to visit him. He pleaded with them not to let him die so far
from home. They took him from the Army hospital and began to transport him by wagon
through Winchester, VA and Hancock, MD back to Pennsylvania. North of Bedford, Samuel
died. Similar to the modern novel "Lonesome Dove," his buddies continued the
journey. News was sent ahead of Samuel’s death. A grave was prepared for him next to
that of his childhood friend, Samuel B. Stanton.
The two Samuels played together as children. They were inseparable and roamed the
forest on the eastern side of the Kinzua Creek. His mother, Betsey, would recount in her
diary that the boys played Revolutionary War. She feared the wild beasts: panthers, wolves
and bears who all still frequented the area. Her fear of the beasts would prove to be
unfounded. It was measles that took her son’s life in 1849. He was one of several
hundred, including many Seneca, who died in the winter outbreak that arrived with
immigrants from Germany.
The burial site was selected by young Samuel Morrison and O.L. Stanton, Samuel’s
father. The young pine tree was the site of the boy’s fortress where they could take
refuge from the armies of the evil and crazy King George. Samuel Morrison would miss and
grieve the loss of his friend his entire life. As he left to fight in the war it was his
last stop before going off to enlist. Finally, realizing he could not survive the journey
home, and, as he lay dying, his last wish was to be buried next to his friend. That wish
was granted and fortunately after all of these years, the monuments and the site have
survived.
Today, as we speed past the two graves and the pine tree that is now in excess of 150
years old, I cannot help wonder if that pine tree might not pose imminent danger to the
grave sites. Our friend, Bart Bandy, has suggested the removal of the tree. He feels that
the rotting and aged pine could easily fall and destroy the tombstones. He has also
suggested the erecting of a fenced area around the grave sites and a marker that would
give the history of how they came to be there.
It is easy to make suggestions, but Mr. Bandy, a person who is a professional in the
management of trees, has offered his services for free. He wants to take the tree down and
then be involved in the creation of some sort of memorial park for the two young men who
once enjoyed this area just as much as we do.
We are looking for your input and suggestions. The history of this area, unless it is
recorded properly, could easily be lost.
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