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Morse Family Papers, 1878-2005

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Morse family
Title
Morse Family Papers
Dates
1878-2005 (inclusive)
Quantity
1.5 linear feet
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0195morsefamily (collection)
Summary
The Morse family papers document the life and experiences of Morse family members living in Waterville, Maine and San Francisco, California. These papers also document Robert I. Morse's effots to establish a thriving business enterprise during the pioneer age in Bellingham, Washington.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public.

Languages
English.
Sponsor
Funding for preparing this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding the finding aid was awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Biographical Note

In 1875 Robert Irvine Morse, using money his mother saved for him in a sugar bowl, moved from Waterville, Maine to San Francisco, California in order to seek gainful employment. Robert was the son of Comfort Taylor Morse and Rhoda Ann (Balentine) Morse. In California Robert worked as a salesman, a streetcar conductor, and a milk delivery person. He drove a team of horses through the streets of San Francisco sixteen hours a day, making two hundred delivery stops.

In 1894, after visiting the Bellingham Bay area, Robert used three thousand dollars he made on a real estate investment to found a hardware store which became known as the Morse Hardware Company in the town of Sehome (now Bellingham), Washington. In 1984, the Morse family celebrated the company's one hundredth anniversary in business.

In 1882 Robert married Etta Fowler. They had five children: Cecil A., Roscoe Irvine, Luta Ivy, Charles Leland, and Hosea. Etta died in 1906 and Robert re-married in 1909 to Ada Margaret Chisholm. They had three sons: Robert Irvine, Jr., William Howard, and David Chisholm.

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Content Description

The Morse family papers document the life experiences of Morse family members living in such places as Waterville, Maine and San Francisco, California, California, as well as Robert I. Morse's efforts to establish a thriving business enterprise during the pioneer age in Bellingham, Washington. The entire collection contains forty-five letters, primarily between Morse family members. The letters cover the time period between 1878 and 1965.

The family correspondence provides fascinating insights into the history of the Morse family and early Bellingham. Twenty-four of the letters were written by Robert I. Morse. Robert's letters document his pioneering days in Sehome (now Bellingham), Washington, where he established the Morse Hardware Company in 1884. His letters include a description of his new home as a place of "primitive" landscapes packed with two-hundred-foot-high trees. He also detailed the efficient logging techniques used to fell such tress and alluded to a fledgling railroad industry.

In addition to documenting ongoing personal ventures and general family news, researchers might take interest in Robert's account of a motor trip that he and his second wife, Ada, made during the final months of his life. In March, 1920 they drove an "Essex turnabout" from the Sacramento, California area to Los Angeles. In the letter Robert Morse describes not only beautiful California landscapes, but road conditions and driving speeds of the day, as well.

Ada Margaret Chisholm Morse was the correspondent on nine of the collection's letters, which contain extensive family history. Most were written to Robert's sister, Mary (May) Morse Jackson. These letters were written between the years 1920 and 1942.

The collection also contains some ephemera and approximately twenty family photographs (circa 1897-2005) donated by the Morse family.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Publication restriction.

Preferred Citation

Morse Family Papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections, Western Washington University, Bellingham WA 98225-9123.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Morse family papers are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:

  • Series I: Robert I. Morse, 1878-1920
  • Series II: Ada Margaret Chisholm Morse Correspondence, 1920-1942
  • Series III: Other Family Correspondence, 1881-1965
  • Series IV: Publications and Ephemera, 1900-1963
  • Series V: Photographs, circa 1897-2005

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Acquisition Information

Materials donated by David Morse to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies in August, 2006.

Bibliography

Heller, Ramon. Sell 'Em Low - Send and Get More: A Centennial History of Morse Hardware Company. (Bellingham, Wash.: R. Heller, 1984).

Related Materials

Morse Hardware Company Records, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Morse Hardware Company -- History -- Sources.
  • Pioneers -- Pacific Northwest -- Correspondence -- History -- Sources.
  • Pioneers -- Washington (State) -- Whatcom County -- History -- Sources.
  • San Francisco -- California -- History -- 19th Century -- Sources.

Personal Names

  • Morse, Ada C.
  • Morse, Robert I.

Corporate Names

  • Morse Hardware Company -- History -- Sources.

Family Names

  • Morse family -- History -- Sources.

Geographical Names

  • Bellingham -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources.
  • San Francisco -- California -- History -- Sources.
  • Whatcom County -- Washington (State) -- History -- Sources.

Finding aid prepared by Tom Petruzzi.
2007

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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