The evidence that the father of Sarah Morris was Samuel Morris is rather thin, though plausible. A secondary source2281 cites a “family held document form in possession of Lord Ashburnham,” a descendant. As the reporter notes, the first son of Ambrose Crowley and Sarah, his second wife, was named Samuel, which adds credibility to the premise. Ambrose’s will2278 cites a Samuel Morris as “my kinsman” and leaves him an anvil worth £5. It isn’t clear whether the Samuel of the will and Sarah’s proposed parent were one and the same person; possibly they were father and son.

A different Samuel Morris describes himself as an “ironmonger” of London in his 1688 will.2494 I have not identified a family relationship, yet it seems more than coincidence next to the ironmongering trade of Ambrose’s son (by his first wife), also named Ambrose, a major ironmonger in London.