Morgan's at Witchend and Moorend

Army pensions did not pass to widows upon death of the pensioner so Thomas Morgan's mother Hannah Davies Morgan was probably cast into dire financial straits by the death of her husband in 1829. She was left with six children, the oldest of which was only 12 years old. She died a short time later, in 1830, at the age of 39, at Witchend Tump (which was, and still is, a farm). There are a series of buildings in the Witchend complex, including Black Witchend, Witchend Tump, Star Pitt, Panks Bridge, and Red Witchend. Panks Bridge is listed as the residence of a Hannah Davies, age 75, in the 1841 Census. Thomas Morgan's sister Hannah Morgan, age 15, is listed in the same census living at Red Witchend (she was working as household help). And two other Davies families, in separate households, were living at Star Pitt. If the Hannah Davies living at Panks Bridge was Thomas Morgan's maternal grandmother then it would suggest that Hannah Davies Morgan moved with the children to her mother's place after the death of her husband, Thomas II. And, since Hannah Davies Morgan died soon after this move, it is likely that her mother, perhaps with the help of other Davies relatives, raised the children. Children would normally have gone to work part time before the age of 10 and full time by the age of 10 so it is safe to say that our Thomas Morgan, orphaned at the age of 8, would have gone to work in the fields at this young age.

View of the Moorend area from Frome Hill

In the 1841 census Thomas Morgan III's residence is listed as Moorend farm. There are three Moorend farms, the upper, middle and lower. Upper Moorend has a large house that has not been altered much over time and looks like it would be adequate quarters for a farm family and their single laborers. Middle Moorend is a modest cottage that has been added on to but is still rather small. If the old part that is visible was the original, it was a small one room cottage. Because of its small size a good guess is that it was used to house a married farm labor family. Lower Moorend also has a large house that would accommodate a farm family and their laborers but it has been extensively remodeled and probably does not look much like it did in 1841. In 1841 Thomas Morgan III (our Thomas Morgan who came to America), 20 years old and unmarried, was living in the farmhouse with the family of his employer, as was the custom of the time. He was living in the household of Richard Homes, whom previous research has shown was farming the Lower Moorend farm at the time. In the household were Richard Homes, his wife Elinor, three children, four young men (including Thomas) who were listed as farm laborers, and two young women who may have been household help.

The farmhouse at Upper Moorend Farm. Thomas Morgan was not living in this farmhouse in 1841 but the one he was living in has been extensively altered so this one is shown as a typical Moorend Farmhouse that would have housed the farmer, his family, and their unmarried hired laborers.

Thomas and Ann Morgan in Herefordshire page 9

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