The McMORRANs of Michigan, USA
This page was created 16 April 2000 and last modified 26 October 2002

1. Unknown McMORRAN b. Scotland  m. Unknown b. Scotland
    Children:
    2. i THOMAS McMORRAN b. 1807.
    3. ii ROBERT WILLIAM McMORRAN b. 1816.

Second Generation

2. THOMAS McMORRAN b. 1807, Co. Armagh, Ireland, m. MARTHA DOUGAN.  THOMAS died 12 AUG 1887, Goodland Twp, Lapeer, MI.
    Children:
    4. i WILLIAM McMORRAN b. 1839.
    5. ii ISABELLA McMORRAN b. 1844.
    6. iii JOHN McMORRAN b. 1845.
    7. iv MARY McMORRAN b. 10 MAY 1853.
    8. v GEORGE McMORRAN b. 15 OCT 1859.

3. ROBERT WILLIAM McMORRAN b. 1816, Scotland, m. ISABELLA KEWLEY, b. 1823, Isle of Man, d. 1909.  ROBERT died 1855.
    Children:
    9. i HENRY GORDON McMORRAN b. 11 JUL 1844.
 

CENSUS 1880 - Goodland, Lapeer, Michigan
Name	Relation	Marital Status	Gender	Race	Age	Birthplace	Occupation	Father's Birthplace	Mother's Birthplace
Thomas MCMORRAN	Self	M	Male	W <White>	67	IRE	Farmer	SCOT	SCOT
Martha MCMORRAN	Wife	M	Female	W <White>	58	IRE	Keeping House	IRE	IRE
Mary MCMORRAN	Daughter	D <Divorced>	Female	W <White>	26	NY	Works In House	IRE	IRE
George MCMORRAN	Son	S <Single>	Male	W <White>	22	MI	Works On Farm	IRE	IRE
Claude MCMORRAN	Son	S <Single>	Male	W <White>	5	MI	At Home	MI	MI

Third Generation

4. WILLIAM McMORRAN b. 1839, Co. Armagh, Ireland, m. (1) 5 MAY 1864, in Lapeer, MI, MARGARET DIXON, b. c. 1841, m. (2) 1897, ANNA EVILSISOR.  WILLIAM died 12 SEP 1914, Mt. Vernon, Washington.
    Children by MARGARET DIXON:
      i HENRY McMORRAN b. Portis, Osborne, Kansas.
      ii OTIS McMORRAN b. Portis, Osborne, Kansas.
      iii MARY McMORRAN b. Portis, Osborne, Kansas.
      iv PETER McMORRAN b. Portis, Osborne, Kansas.
      v JAMES McMORRAN b. 1867, Lapeer, MI.
      vi WILLIAM McMORRAN b. 1869, Lapeer, MI.
      vii MABELLE DORIS McMORRAN b. 21 APR 1882, Portis, Osborne, Kansas.

5. ISABELLA McMORRAN b. 1844, Co. Armagh, Ireland, m. 5 OCT 1868, in Lynn Twp., St. Clair, MI, OWEN ELBA NOLIN b.c.1836, Hungerford, Hasting Co., Ontario, d. 1884, Goodland Twp., Lapeer Co., MI. ISABELLA died 16 JUN 1927, Imlay City, Lapeer, MI.
    Children:
      i FRANK ELBA NOLIN b. 23 OCT 1869, Goodland Twp., Lapeer, MI, d. 1942, MI.
      ii CARRIE NOLIN b. 1 SEP 1871, Goodland Twp., Lapeer, MI.
      iii GRACE NOLIN b. 7 JAN 1884, Goodland Twp., Lapeer, MI, d. 1953.
      iv JAMES THOMAS NOLIN b. 27 OCT 1873, Goodland Twp., Lapeer, MI, d. 24 MAR 1928, Goodland Twp., Lapeer, MI.

6. JOHN McMORRAN b. 1845, Co. Armagh, Ireland, m. 26 DEC 1871, in Imlay City, MI, NANCY McNEVEN b. 1853, Ontario.  JOHN died 6 APR 1920.
    Children:
    10. i MARTHA JANE McMORRAN b. 15 SEP 1872.
      ii WILLIAM CLARE McMORRAN b. 20 MAY 1875.
      iii MARY BELLE McMORRAN b. 13 JAN 1878.
      iv GEORGE WALTER McMORRAN b. 24 FEB 1880.
      v FLORENCE ETHEL McMORRAN b. 23 MAR 1889.
      vi LEROY THOMAS McMORRAN b. 17 FEB 1891.
 

CENSUS 1880 - Goodland, Lapeer, Michigan
Name	Relation	Marital Status	Gender	Race	Age	Birthplace	Occupation	Father's Birthplace	Mother's Birthplace
John MCMORRAN	Self	M	Male	W	33	IRE	Farmer	IRE	IRE
Nancy MCMORRAN	Wife	M	Female	W	27	ONT	Keeping House	SCOT	SCOT
Martha J. MCMORRAN	Dau	S	Female	W	7	MI	At School	IRE	ONT
Wm. MCMORRAN	Son	S	Male	W	5	MI	At School	IRE	ONT
Mary B. MCMORRAN	Dau	S	Female	W	2	MI	At Home	IRE	ONT
George W. MCMORRAN	Son	S	Male	W	3M	MI	At Home	IRE	ONT

7. MARY McMORRAN b. 10 MAY 1853, Rochester, New York, m. (1) CLAUDE SLEEMAN, m. (2) SAMUEL INGRAM, (son of SAMUEL INGRAM and JANE BAILEY). MARY died 7 DEC 1901, Almont, Michigan.
    Children by CLAUDE SLEEMAN:
      i CLAUDE A. SLEEMAN b. 3 SEP 1874.
    Children by SAMUEL INGRAM:
    11. ii DELILAH MAE INGRAM b. 29 AUG 1884.

8. GEORGE McMORRAN b. 15 OCT 1859, Goodland Township, Lapeer County, MI, m. 28 AUG 1887, in Imlay City, Michigan, LYDIA INGRAM, (daughter of JOHN INGRAM and ELIZABETH LEECH). GEORGE died 18 AUG 1910, Port Huron, St. Clair, MI.
    Children:
    12. i JOHN INGRAM McMORRAN b. 9 JUN 1889.
    13. ii LILLIA ELIZABETH McMORRAN b. 6 MAR 1891.
    14. iii GEORGE WILBUR McMORRAN b. 20 JUN 1893.
      iv GRACE BELLE McMORRAN b. 1897, m. (1) ARTHUR BASIL DRAPER, m. (2) GORDON ROSS.  GRACE died c.1985.

9. HENRY GORDON McMORRAN b. 11 JUL 1844, Port Huron, St. Clair, MI, m. 29 OCT 1866, in Marysville, St. Clair, Michigan, EMMA CAROLINE WILLIAMS, b. 19 DEC 1845, Marine City, St. Clair, Michigan, (daughter of MIRON PEASE WILLIAMS and MARY MARGARET GALLAGHER) d. 17 SEP 1917, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.  HENRY died 19 JUL 1929, Port Huron, St. Clair, MI, buried: Lakeside Cemetery, Port Huron, MI. He was a Representative from Michigan; born in Port Huron, Mich., June 11, 1844; attended the Crawford Private School; engaged in the wholesale grocery business in 1865 and also in the milling, grain, and elevator business; member of the board of aldermen in 1867; city treasurer of port Huron in 1875; general manager of the Port Huron & Northwestern Railway 1878-889; member of the State canal commission; elected as a Republican to the Fifty-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1903-March 3, 1913); was not a candidate for renomination in 1912; engaged in numerous business enterprises at Port Huron, Mich.; organized the Great Lakes Foundry Co., serving as its president; director of the First National Bank & Trust Co.; died in Port Huron, Mich., July 19, 1929; interment in Lakeside Cemetery. (From: Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949). McMorran Place in Port Huron was named after him.  Emma died 17 SEP 1917 in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.  Henry's daughters EMMA McMORRAN MURPHY, and CLARA McMORRAN MacKENZIE set up The McMorran Foundation in 1944 to fund the project.
    Children:
      i MARY ISABELL McMORRAN b. 15 SEP 1867, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, d. 16 MAR 1873, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.
    15. ii DAVID WILLIAMS McMORRAN b. 3 DEC 1870.
      iii EMMA JOSEPHINE McMORRAN b. 24 MAR 1873, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, m. ANDREW J. MURPHY, d. Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.  EMMA died 1960, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.
      iv CLARA ERMA McMORRAN b. 2 MAR 1875, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, m. NORMAN McKENZIE.  CLARA died 1858, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan.
      v CHARLES FREDERICK McMORRAN b. 25 NOV 1879, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, d. 23 JUL 1882, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.
      vi MARY McMORRAN b. 1883.
 

CENSUS 1880 - 1st Ward, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan
Name	Relation	Marital Status	Gender	Race	Age	Birthplace	Occupation	Father's Birthplace	Mother's Birthplace
Henry MCMORAN	Self	M	Male	W	35	MI	Mill Owner	SCO	ILE OF MAN
Emma MCMORAN	Wife	M	Female	W	34	MI		VT	NY
David MCMORAN	Son	S <Single>	Male	W <White>	9	MI		MI	MI
Emma MCMORAN	Daughter	S <Single>	Female	W <White>	7	MI		MI	MI
Clara MCMORAN	Daughter	S <Single>	Female	W <White>	5	MI		MI	MI
Frederick MCMORAN	Son	S <Single>	Male	W <White>	6M	MI		MI	MI
Alice MULLIN	Other	S <Single>	Female	W <White>	20	MI	Servent	IRE	NY
Isabella MULLIN	Other	S <Single>	Female	W <White>	15	MI	Servent	IRE	NY

Fourth Generation

10. MARTHA JANE McMORRAN b. 15 SEP 1872, Goodland Twp., Lapeer, MI, m. 1896, in Romeo, MI, JOHN INGRAM.  MARTHA died 1938.
    Children:
      i male child INGRAM b. 1897, d. 1897.
      ii LEON JOHN INGRAM b. 1899, d. 1965.
      iii LEONA MAE INGRAM b. 1901, d. 1965.
      iv FLORENCE NELLIE INGRAM b. 1902.
      v HAROLD VIRGIL INGRAM b. 1904.
      vi ELTON ARDIEL INGRAM b. 1907.

11. DELILAH MAE INGRAM b. 29 AUG 1884, Goodland Township, Lapeer County, MI, m. 10 APR 1907, JAMES ALLEN BRAIDWOOD.  DELILAH died 10 AUG 1952, Almont, Michigan.
    Children:
    16. i CLAUDE EVERETT BRAIDWOOD.

12. JOHN INGRAM McMORRAN b. 9 JUN 1889, Goodland Township, Lapeer County, MI, m. 27 AUG 1913, in Port Huron, St. Clair, MI, MATIE LEADER, (daughter of CARL LEADER and LENA STARK).
    Children:
    17. i ROBERT JOHN MCMORRAN b. 17 MAR 1920.

13. LILLIA ELIZABETH McMORRAN b. 6 MAR 1891, Goodland Township, Lapeer County, MI, m. 18 JAN 1917, in M.E. Church on Cass Ave, Detroit, MI, DON WILLIAM WEBB, (son of WILLIAM WEBB and LOUELLA STEPHENSON). LILLIA died 1995.
    Children:
    18. i HUGH DOUGLAS WEBB.
      ii DOROTHY GRACE WEBB b. 2 FEB 1928, Port Huron, St. Huron, MI, d. 26 SEP 1933, Port Huron, St. Huron, MI.

14. GEORGE WILBUR McMORRAN b. 20 JUN 1893, Goodland Township, Lapeer County, MI, m. 12 SEP 1920, in Birmingham, Alabama, MYRL BROOKS, (daughter of JOHN BROOKS and NANCY BOILES). GEORGE died 23 OCT 1977, Port Huron, St. Clair, MI.
    Children:
    19. i JUNE DELORIS MCMORRAN.
    20. ii GEORGE WILLIAM MCMORRAN.

15. DAVID WILLIAMS McMORRAN b. 3 DEC 1870, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, m. 16 DEC 1899, in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, CHARLOTTE CHENEY, b. 25 JUL 1877, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, d. 14 JUN 1951, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, buried: Lakeside Cemetery, Port Huron, MI.  DAVID died 8 JAN 1945, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, buried: Lakeside Cemetery, Port Huron, MI.
    Children:
      i CHARLOTTE CHENEY McMORRAN b. 11 DEC 1900, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, d. 2 JUN 1991, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.
    21. ii HENRY GORDON McMORRAN b. 13 AUG 1903.

Fifth Generation

16. CLAUDE EVERETT BRAIDWOOD m. VIOLA MARGUERITE BROWN.
    Children:
      i CAROL ANN BRAIDWOOD m. WILLIAM ROBERT VANCE SCRIMGER.
      ii DENNIS CLAUDE BRAIDWOOD m. VIONA SHELDON.

17. ROBERT JOHN MCMORRAN b. 17 MAR 1920, Detroit, MI, m. (1) ANN SWEET, m. (2) MURIEL WOOLLEY, m. (3) RONNIE BYER.  ROBERT died 29 OCT 1977, St.Clair (Rattle Run), MI.
    Children by RONNIE BYER:
      i ROBERT JOHN JR. MCMORRAN m. PATRICIA LOUISE CHENOSKI.

18. HUGH DOUGLAS WEBB m. ELDA LUCILLE ALEXANDER, (daughter of ANSON ALEXANDER and PEARL RANDALL).
    Children:
      i RANDY WEBB b. 24 DEC 1953, d. 30 JUL 1956, Port Huron Hospital, Port Huron, MI.

19. JUNE DELORIS MCMORRAN m. LOUIS CHARLES CORDEN, (son of HARRY CORDEN and RUTH MCLARTY).
    Children:
      i BARRY ALAN CORDEN m. CYNTHIA ANNE RAWSON.

20. GEORGE WILLIAM MCMORRAN m. MARGARET ANN KOENIG, (daughter of HARRY KOENIG and HULDA KNOCHE).
    Children:
      i CINDY KAYE MCMORRAN.
      ii LORI ANN MCMORRAN.

21. HENRY GORDON McMORRAN b. 13 AUG 1903, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, m. 9 MAR 1940, in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, JEAN STEWART WESTON, b. 12 JAN 1919, Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan.  HENRY died 2 MAR 1975, Ft. Gratiot, St. Clair, Michigan, buried: Lakeside Cemetery, Port Huron, MI.
    Children:
    22. i DAVID STEWART McMORRAN.
    23. ii HENRY GORDON McMORRAN.
    24. iii HUGH DOUGLAS McMORRAN.
    25. iv PAMELA TODD McMORRAN.

Sixth Generation

22. DAVID STEWART McMORRAN m. MARY THERESE ANNE HAECK.
    Children:
      i DAVID MICHAEL McMORRAN.
      ii MARK DANIEL McMORRAN.
      iii KRIS ANNE McMORRAN.

23. HENRY GORDON McMORRAN m. ROBIN RAY DILLER.
    Children:
      i HENRY GORDON McMORRAN.
      ii KATE ELENA McMORRAN.

24. HUGH DOUGLAS McMORRAN m. DIANE MARIE KING.
    Children:
      i IAN STEWART McMORRAN.
      ii KIRK PATRICK McMORRAN.

25. PAMELA TODD McMORRAN m. MYRTON JOHN FOX.
    Children:
      i CHARLOTTE CLOE FOX.
      ii HARRIET EDITH WESTON FOX.

Years ago, a palm reader told John McMorran he would live to be 111.  He went along, nodding and laughing and not believing a word of it.  On Monday, John Ingram McMorran -- a longtime resident of Port Huron who now lives in a nursing home in central Florida -- will celebrate his 111th birthday.  He just may be the world's oldest living man.

The place to start this story is Goodland Township, named for the good brown earth -- "muck" they call it -- north of Imlay City in Lapeer County. It is where Mr. McMorran was born in a log cabin June 19, 1889. As I write this, I am looking at a copy of his birth certificate. He was the first-born child of George T. McMorran, a 31-year-old farmer, and his 22-year-old bride, the former Lydia Ingram of Ontario. Is he the truly the world's oldest man? "It certainly looks like it" said Johnny Adams of the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles. "He just may be the oldest man whose age can be documented."

On May 30, the Guinness Book of World Records bestowed the oldest-man title on Benjamin Harrison Holcomb, a retired farmer in Oklahoma. Mr. Holcomb was born July 3, 1889
--exactly two weeks after Mr. McMorran.

The only person older, Guinness says, is Eva Morris of Staffordshire, England, who turns 115 in November.  Of course, any number of people claim to be older still. A woman on the Caribbean island of Dominica says she is 125 and one of her neighbors claims to be 117. A Puerto Rican man now living in Tampa insists he will be 120 on June 24. An elder in the African nation of Namibia lists his birthday as Aug. 10, 1888, and credits his long life to God, women, beer and maize porridge.

Unfortunately, none of these people can provide clear and convincing documentation of their age. Guinness demands such documentation. No one has yet brought Mr. McMorran to Guinness' attention, but there is ample proof of his age. His birth certificate is on file in Lapeer County (although it's a delayed registration
made in 1941). His marriage certificate, dated Aug. 27, 1913, and listing his age as 24, is on file in the St. Clair County Courthouse.

I first wrote about Mr. McMorran last summer, shortly after his 110th birthday. He is hard of hearing and I could not interview him over the phone, but one of his friends took my
questions to him and jotted down the answers. Nearly everything he has to say is an interesting tidbit: His first car was a 1912 Ford with a crank engine. He was too old (28) to be drafted for World War I, but he put in 20-hour days building bombs at a munitions factory in Detroit. He earned $1 an hour -- "big money" in 1917. He has seen 20 presidents come and go, from Benjamin Harrison to Bill Clinton. He and his wife, Matie, celebrated their 50th anniversary in 1963. She died the next year.

And, yes, he is related to Henry McMorran, the wealthy businessman and longtime congressman whose name was bestowed on Port Huron's McMorran Place. His father and the
congressman were first cousins. "It was their side of the family that had the money," he said. Mr. McMorran grew up in St. Clair County. His parents farmed in the Yale and Avoca areas. There were three more children including Lydia McMorran Webb, a longtime resident of Port Huron's South Park who died in 1994 at age 103.

Obviously, it's a family with good genes, which explains why Harvard University scientists recently drew a sample of Mr. McMorran's blood. They're analyzing it, hoping to learn what
qualities allow him to have normal blood pressure after 11 decades. He offers a formula for long life: "I drink a cup of coffee before every meal -- and stay away from cheap whiskey."

Bob McMorran of Lakeland, Fla., suspects his grandfather's longevity is a reflection of his get-up-and-go lifestyle. "He came from a family of farmers ... hard-working people," he said.
"He worked hard all of his life. He was something like 85 before he retired."

In the 1920s, he lived near Goodells and worked as a milk hauler, collecting milk from local farms and delivering it to dairy receiving stations in Goodells and Memphis. A nephew, 80-year-old Douglas Webb of Leesburg, Fla., grew up next door to the McMorrans. He and Mr. McMorran's only child, Robert (who died about 25 years ago), were the same
age. By the time they could walk, they were playmates. In the late 1920s, the two boys occasionally accompanied Mr. McMorran on his deliveries. "He had this stake-rack (flatbed) truck and he'd cover the milkcans with burlap. Every couple of stops, he'd douse the burlap with water to cool the milk," Mr. Webb said. "If he took his foot off the gas pedal, that old truck would slip out of high gear. So, he whittled a stick and when he got into high gear, he'd shove that stick in just so and then the truck would stay in gear." In the 1930s, he hauled milk to Johnson's Dairy in Detroit. But with the advent of tanker trucks, his business dried up.

In the mid-1950s, when he was old enough to retire, he took a job hauling mail from Port Huron to post offices at North Street, Croswell, Carsonville, Sandusky, McGregor, Deckerville,
Ubly and Bad Axe. He made the run six days a week, rain or shine, for years. He and Matie lived at 819 Ninth St. in Port Huron.

In 1973, he finally decided it was time to retire and move to Florida, where much of the family had migrated. Today, he lives at a Tandem Health Care nursing home in Lakeland. He's blind, nearly deaf and fragile, but don't think of him as decrepit. "I'm not sure what a 111-year-old man should look like, but he looks really good," said great-granddaughter Lisa Saxton. "He gets around (in a wheelchair). He goes everywhere. He has the neatest stories to tell and he's always giving me advice on marriage and raising kids.

"He can talk to you on any subject, especially women. He loves women. He's a trip, I'm telling you." His grandson visits nearly every day. Mrs. Saxton, who also lives nearby, often stops by with her 5-year-old son, Logan. The boy is Mr. McMorran's great-great grandson. Put another way, the boy's grandfather is Mr. McMorran's grandson. "He likes to hug Logan and hold his hand," Mrs. Saxton said. "Logan says his skin is nice -- all wrinkly and soft."

The family plans a small party, nothing elaborate, to celebrate birthday 111, a wonderfully odd number. Willard Scott plans a salute. The local papers will publish stories. Mr. McMorran doesn't dwell on the future, but he has said he's looking forward to New Year's Day and the dawn of a new century, the third one he has seen.

Don't try telling him the new century is already here. He remembers celebrating the first day of the 20th century (named for its final year) on Jan. 1, 1901, and he knows the 21st century
(named for 2100) has not yet started. If that seems old-fashioned ... well, at 111, old-fashioned is cool.

Then there's the matter of the palm reader's prediction, which once seemed ludicrous and now seems just a little foreboding. "Way back when ... when he was young, a palm reader told him he'd live to be 111," grandson Bob McMorran said. "At the time, he thought it was a joke, but maybe that palm reader was
right."

Mike Connell's column appears on Sundays and Wednesdays. He can be reached at 989-6271.  This article is from a Port Huron newspaper issued 18 June 2000 and was kindly forwarded by Scot Kavanaugh, the Technical Director of the McMorran Arena and McMorran Auditorium in Port Huron, Michigan USA. www.mcmorran.com.

 Jane is said to be possibly related to the McMorran Place family but the connection is unknown. See The McMORRANS of Ontario site for further details on this family.