The Morse Society
|
|
The Morse Society |
|
1981 Newbury Massachusetts
MS Newsletter Issue No. 27
The second reunion of the New England Morse family convened
in the First Parish Church of old Newbury, Massachusetts (the church to which
both Anthony 1 and William 1 belonged) on Saturday, October 10, 1981, at 9:00
o'clock A.M. The weather man (who must be a Morse) provided a most perfect day
of sunshine, and the fall colors were at their height. The day began at 8:30
o'clock for the members of the Planning Committee and their helpers; organizing
the registration desk, the name badges, the information packets and the
exhibits. By 9:00 o'clock the others began to arrive, spending the next hour
getting acquainted, discussing the exhibits and the items for sale. Sixty people
attended the morning session and lunch, about half of whom had attended the
first reunion in Natick in 1979. Many of the newcomers have become new members
of the Society.
At 10:00 o'clock we all went upstairs to the church hall for the formal
session. We heard from our Chief Editor, Denis Morse, (who came down from Canada
for the reunion) about the difficulties of compiling the next section of the
Morse Genealogy, to continue beyond the six generations contained in the present
volume. For this task, the Soundex records for 1880 and 1900 for each state must
be scanned for details of all the Morses there recorded. Some state censuses are
being scanned by Morse Society volunteers, but more help is needed, particularly
for the middle west and western states. Anyone interested in helping in this
vital task is urged to write to Denis for details.
Next we heard an instructive and amusing talk on the early history of
Newbury from the local historian, D'Arcy van Bokkelin, who told us how the
settlement started and grew, and indicated how two of our immigrant ancestors,
Anthony 1 and William 1, lived in those far-off days, so different from ours.
Then Bernice Gilson and Philip Weston Morse, both members of the Planning
Committee, related what is known of the lives of Anthony and William, and their
respective ancestors.
The meeting concluded with a general discussion of the possibilities for
the future action, ending in general agreement that another reunion should be
held in another two or three years. Names were suggested as likely members of
the next Planning Committee, with representation from New York and New Jersey,
as well as New England (six attendees came from these states). When acceptances
have been received, the outgoing committee will meet with the new committee
members, to start the cycle again.
At noon we all trooped downstairs for a buffet luncheon, where pictures
were taken of members of each table, by Philip Weston Morse's grandson, Edward
Mercorelli. Near the end of the luncheon Howard Gilson spoke, describing the
arrangements for the afternoon. Groups of 15 alternately went to the Coffin
House nearby (one of the oldest in Newbury), or accompanied Mr. van Bokkelin
down the road to the Old Green and cemetery on the Parker River, near where the
first settlers landed. By 4:00 o'clock the cyclic process had been completed and
many went north to Newburyport, which was celebrating its Fair that day.
At 6:00 o'clock in the evening 38 of us reconvened at the Eagle House in
nearby Rowley, where we had the second floor of the old remodeled barn to
ourselves. Refreshments and dinner were excellent and an enjoyable time was had
by all; climaxed by an entertaining talk by Louise Morse, a local celebrity.
The Planning Committee for the reunion: Howard and Bernice Gilson of
Wilbraham (both of whom trace back to Anthony and Samuel through a
multi-channeled tree of mothers and fathers that must have taken years to
unravel); Martha Jennison (who grew up on the land once owned by Samuel); Ralph
C. Morse of Acton; Robert M. Morse of Millis and Robert G. Morse, his son, of
Winchester; Philip Weston Morse (our Treasurer) of Framingham and Philip McCord
Morse of Winchester, who had the job of chairman; all spent a non-negligible
part of the past two years in organizing the reunion, meeting about once a month
to discuss progress and agree on next steps. All Morses in the telephone books
of most of the larger cities in New England, plus many more suggested by others,
were sent invitations and reply forms; over a thousand were sent out. Some
replies indicated an interest in joining the Society, some were interested in
the reunion. These we kept informed and eventually sent registration blanks with
requests for advance deposits on reservations.
Since the first reunion was held in Natick, near Medfield, the home of
Samuel's family home, it was natural that this reunion should be held in
Newbury, the home of Anthony and William. The Gilsons did a yeoman job of
investigating dates and places of interest, as well as making arrangements for
the evening dinner at the Eagle House. Philip Weston Morse contacted the pastor
of the First Parish Church and arranged with the caterer for the luncheon.
Martha Jennison designed and ordered the name badges we all wore, also organized
the welcoming committee. Ralph Morse arranged for the design and manufacture of
the Morse Merchant Mark pin, sold at the reunion and available to members of the
Society. The two Roberts, between them, gathered a large number of telephone
lists of Morses and compiled a list of motels and guest houses near Newbury, for
people who came from a distance. And Philip McCord Morse wrote and had
duplicated most of the letters and blanks sent out in the previous 15 months,
acted as Master of Ceremonies at the reunion, as well as exercised his
chairman's rights by telling everyone what else to do, and when. We all feel the
results were worth the effort.
problems or suggestions, contact:
Morse Society Webmaster
©2007 Morse Society
a 501(c)(3) organization