Margaret Morris

1737 – 1816

I was a Quaker widow who cared for everybody during the Revolution.

In my early life I lived in a Quaker community in Philadelphia. I married William Morris in 1758, but unfortunately he died young. I was left a widow with four children to raise, so I moved my family across the river to Burlington, New Jersey, to live with my sister’s family.

I was a lifelong gardener who grew produce for food, and other plants that I could use to make medicines. I was a respected doctress and provided health care though our Quaker organizations. I would need that knowledge soon enough, because in December 1776, when George Washington and his army retreated into Pennsylvania, many Hessian troops were stationed in Burlington. There was gunfire along the Delaware which threatened to set fire to our town. And then, after the American victory at the Battle of Trenton, there were many injured soldiers on both sides, and we cared for everybody equally.

I also kept a journal of my experiences throughout the Revolution, which helps people today understand what happened. And long after the war was over, I kept writing upbeat accounts and sending them to my relatives. Near the end of my life I went through a long decline that partially paralyzed me, and I died on October 10, 1816, at age 79.