Morris (Moras) Heritage
Our Morris Heritage
I am a direct descendant of GODFROY MORAS AND ANNE DEROCHE, who were both born in France in the late 1690s (this is as far back as I could go).
If you are a descendant of Milton Morris or a Morris with roots in Avoyelles Parish, you are probably wondering why the spelling is different. My grandfather Milton's father, Albert Joseph, and all of Milton's brothers are listed with Moras as their last name. This is a little confusing and frustrating at times, but they are all the same family.
The Moras family has several different interpretations due to language and transcription changes. The original and true name is Moras; other variations are everywhere, such as Morasse, Morass, Mauras, and finally Morris. The last change to Morris was due to an admin error when Milton was working as a young man for a company in Texas, and they verbally asked him, "Hey, what is your last name?", and he said, "Moras," but they understood Morris, and the rest is history. He never changed it back to the correct spelling to keep his pay and Social Security records simple and the same.
Getting back to our story. It appears that after Godfrey died in 1719, Anne Albina Deroche was either pregnant with Claude or had moved to Quebec (New France at the time) shortly after his birth to start a new life. As depicted in the artist's interpretation in the picture to the right, Anne Albina Deroche and her son, Joseph Claude Morasse, brought our Morasse family to North America, and this is where it all started for us!
My Moras ancestors came to what we now know as Canada, but at the time it was known as New France. A young colony is, for the most part, male. The first census, in 1666, revealed that women represented only a third of the population of approximately 3,200 people. In other words, there were eight single men for each woman. King Louis XIV addressed this problem vigorously. From 1663 to 1673, almost 800 filles du roi (“King’s Daughters”) were sent to close this gap.
Those extraordinary efforts gave promising results. Within a decade, the population of New France tripled, reaching almost 10,000 by 1680. Before that time, most colonists were French migrants. Now, New France's population growth is comprised mostly of Canadian births.
After a few generations of Moras families living in Quebec, Canada, they eventually moved to Louisiana, and the rest is history, as I laid out for you on this website.
Continue to go through the generations and enjoy!
