Page:One of a thousand.djvu/439

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MORRISON. MORSE. 42 5 executive ability in the many positions of honor and trust to which he has been called. MORRISON, JOHN H., son of John and Bridget (McCaffrey) Morrison, was born in Westford, Middlesex county, De- cember 23, 1S56. He passed through the public schools of Westford and Lowell, Westford Academy and Lowell high school, there fitting for Harvard College. He entered Harvard in 1874, but owing to sickness was unable to complete the course ; entered the Harvard law school, and was graduated in the class JOHN H. MORRISON. of 1878 ; read law with William H. An- derson, of Lowell ; was admitted to the Massachusetts bar, October, 1879, and immediately began practice on his own account. Mr. Morrison was married in Lowell, June 30, 1884, to Margaret L., daughter of James and Esther (Quade) Owen. They have no children. Mr. Morrison has been president of nearly all the Catholic organizations in the city, including the Irish National League ; was a delegate to Philadelphia at the time of the national convention of the Irish National League ; was elected to the Lowell school board when twenty-one years of age ; elected to the House of Representatives at the age of twenty-two years, and to the Senate at twenty-four. He was the first Democrat appointed as chairman of the probate and chancery com- mittee on the part of the Senate. He has been for several years a member of the Democratic state central committee. He has been fortunate in never having been defeated for any office for which he has been nominated. He enjoys a large and lucrative practice, and is a favorite of the young Democracy. MORSE, ASA PORTER, son of Daniel and Sarah (Morse) Morse, was born in Haverhill, Grafton county, N. H., Septem- ber 1, 1818. He is a lineal descendant in the seventh generation from Anthony Morse, who came from Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, and settled in Newbury, in 1635. His father, Daniel Morse, was the son of Dan- iel and Miriam (Hoyt) Morse, who was born in Newbury, and afterwards removed to Amesbury, and finally settled at Bridge- water, N. H., and died there February 25, 1S26 ; the son of Benjamin and Marga- ret (Bartlett) Morse, of Newbury and Amesbury, about 1730 ; the son of Wil- liam and Sarah (Merrill) Morse of New- bury ; the son of Benjamin and Ruth (Sawyer) Morse of Newbury ; the son of Anthony Morse, the emigrant settler. His mother, the daughter of Benjamin and Ra- chel (Webster) Morse, was born October 8, 1777, in Concord, N. H., and died Jan- uary 22, 1834. Mr. Morse came to Boston in 1840, then about twenty years of age, and began business life as book-keeper in the house of Hayward & Morse, who were engaged in the Provincial and West India trade. In a few years he had accumulated suffi- cient capital to begin business for himself, supplying parties in the West Indies with goods for their plantations, and later on manufacturing staves for shipment to Cadiz and other ports, also shooks for the West Indies, etc., in which he employed a large number of men, and in the conduct of which he was eminently successful. In 1845 he removed to Cambridge, where he has ever since resided, becoming largely interested in real estate operations and in building. For many years he has been connected with the banks of Cambridge as director and trustee; also director of the Cambridge Hospital, the Cambridge Fire Insurance Company, and other local institutions. He has been a member of the school board fif- teen years, and for the past six years presi-