San Diego-Orange County CA Archives Biographies.....Morse, E. W. 1823 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 21, 2006, 12:54 am Author: Theodore S. Van Dyke E. W. MORSE. THE visitor who reaches San Diego in a palace car, drives to a first-class hotel, and the following morning, from the seat of an easy carriage, looks down from the highest part of the city upon the beautiful bay and the enchanting landscape that greets his eye, breathing, meanwhile, the air that invigorates his entire system, is very apt to think that he has reached an earthly paradise. But it is doubtful if his enjoyment is as keen as is that of the man who, looking upon the same scene, and breathing the same atmosphere, calls to mind the fact that nearly two-score years ago he stood upon the same spot and looked down, for the first time, upon the panorama which nature spread at his feet. There were no stately buildings before him then: the waters of the bay were not dotted with the hulls of merchantmen; it was indeed as nature had made it—neither marred nor adorned by the hand of man. The pioneer of the Pacific Coast possesses many of the qualifications of supreme happiness. He has seen the country emerge from a state of semi-barbarism into one of the most enlightened and progressive sections of the republic. He has seen old theories concerning agriculture, commerce, and transportation overturned. He has seen lonely hamlets made populous trade centers, and the desert to blossom as the rose. He has not only seen all these things, but he has participated in the many wondrous changes; and, if he has been usually economical, industrious, and persevering, he has kept pace with the advance about him, and to-day enjoys a share in die general prosperity of the State. To this class belongs the subject of the following brief sketch.:— E. W. Morse was born in Amesbury. Massachusetts, October 16, 1823, in the house yet standing, and now over two hundred years old, in which his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had been born before him. Until he was eight years of age he lived with his father and mother on the old farm. Then for the first time he left the parent nest, being sent to Newburyport to school. Here he remained for eight years, and by the time he was sixteen years old, he had acquired an excellent common-school education; just such a preparation for the work of every-day life as many a New England boy received at that time. Then, having a strong taste for an outdoor life, he went back to the farm, and until he was twenty-five worked steadily. He had apparently settled down to the steady-going life of a New England farmer. But an event was happening; on the shores of the Pacific that was to make a change, not only in the career of young Morse, but in that of thousands of others. Gold had been discovered, and when the news was brought to the Atlantic States the wildest excitement was created. All eyes were turned toward the El Dorado. From no section of the Union did the argonautic fleet gain more zealous recruits than from New England. Young Morse caught the infection, and he joined a company, largely made up of his acquaintances and friends, who purchased the ship Leonore, and on the 4th of February, 1849, sailed away from Boston Bay in search of the golden fleece. The voyage was about the average of Cape Horn voyages, and they entered the Golden Gate on the 5th of the following July. They disposed of the ship, and all hands started for the mines, locating on the Yuba River. The work was hard, the weather was excessively hot, and after a few weeks the little band of gold-hunters that had left Massachusetts, strong and rugged, began to droop; many died, and the others, suffering from fever and ague, started for "the Bay" Morse was among these. Although the bracing air of San Francisco invigorated him somewhat, his system had become so impregnated with the malarial poison, that he felt that he must have a more complete change of climate if he would regain his old-time health and spirits. Even in that early day the reputation of San Diego as a sanitarium was established, and Morse determined that he would make a trial of it. He accordingly took a sailing vessel, and after a pleasant voyage down the coast arrived in the harbor of San Diego. The settlement at that time was in what is now called Old Town. It was there that Mr. Morse engaged in the mercantile business and settled down to make his home. The climate he found to be all that was claimed for it; within a month after his arrival he was as strong and hearty as the day he left the old farm. The San Diego of that day differed qreatly from the city of the present. The amusements were bull-fights, fandangoes, and fiestas; the buildings were all made of adobe; cattle, hides, and tallow were the chief exports, and beef and beans were the staple articles of diet. Young Morse, however, took readily to the new ways, learned to talk Spanish, and was soon a great favorite with the native population. Before settling down for good, however, he took a journey back East. In 1851 he started by the Nicaraugua route, and arrived safely at his old home. He then married Miss Lydia A. Gray, of Amesbury, and with his bride returned to San Diego. Five years afterward he was left a widower with one son, Edward W., who is now a resident of Merrimac, Massachusetts. In 1852 Mr. Morse was elected Associate Judge of the Court of Sessions of San Diego County, and the following year he was chosen a member of the Board of Trustees. He was afterward made Secretary of the Board, and held the office for twelve years. In 1850 he was admitted to practice in the courts of the Judicial District. In 1859 he disposed of his mercantile business, and went to Paloma, to engage in raising sheep. In 1861 he returned to San Diego, and again engaged in business as a merchant, also acting as agent for Wells, Fargo & Co. In 1865 Mr. Morse was married a second time, to Miss Mary C. Walker, a native of Manchester, New Hampshire. In 1869 he sold out his business in Old Town, and moved down to the new city of San Diego. In 1870 he was one of the moving spirits in the organization of the Bank of San Diego, the pioneer bank of the city. He also aided in organizing the Consolidated National Bank, and has always continued to be a director in that institution. In 1871 Mr. Morse went to Washington to look after the interests of the city in the case of the United States vs. city of San Diego, in regard to a disputed survey of the Pueblo. He appeared before the Secretary of the Interior, and argued the case so ably that a few weeks after Mr. Morse's return home, that official handed down his decision, which was favorable to the city. Mr. Morse has been Public Administrator and County Treasurer, and has always been identified with every enterprise that has been started to advance the interests of his adopted city. If he had never done anything, the erection of the magnificent block on the corner of F and Sixth Streets, which he undertook in connection with his long-time friend, the late James M. Pierce, would be an enduring monument to his public spirit. He has, in partnership with Thos. Whaley and R. H. Dalton, lately built another beautiful business structure on Fifth Street adjoining the First National Bank. James M. Pierce left, by his will, the sum of $150,000 to found a home for boys and girls, and Mr. Morse and two other gentlemen have each contributed a like sum for the founding of institutions similar in character, which are to be established in the City Park, and will, together with Mr. Pierce's endowment, form a magnificent chain of benevolent institutions. Additional Comments: From: THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO. ILLUSTRATED, AND CONTAINING BI0GRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS. SAN DIEGO, CAL. LEBERTHON & TAYLOR 1888 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/sandiego/bios/morse823nbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 8.3 Kb