Biographical Sketch of H. C. Morton, Johnson County, Missouri, Warrensburg Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** H. C. Morton, a prosperous and prominent farmer and Civil War veteran, residing in Warrensburg, Missouri, is a citizen of Johnson county rich- ly deserving of mention in a work of this character. He was born Jan- uary 21, 1842, in Randolph county, Missouri, the son of Josiah and Margaret L. (Callison) Morton, both natives of Kentucky. Josiah Morton and his wife and family came to Missouri from Kentucky in 1842 and lo- cated in Randolph county on a farm, where they resided two years, when they moved to Schuyler county. In this county, Mr. Morton died and was buried. His widow and children moved from Schuyler county to Johnson county, settling on a farm, in Grover township, which was owned by John G. Callison, the brother of Mrs. Morton. The family later moved to Lafayette county, where Mrs. Morton died. Her death occurred in 1854 and burial was made in the cemetery in Lafayette county, near Mayview. Josiah and Margaret L. (Callison) Morton were the parents of the follow- ing children: Mrs. Mary J. Poole, deceased; Mrs. Aramenta Poole, decea- sed; Wade, who was killed while in the Confederate service, in a battle near Higginsville, Missouri, about 1863; H. C., the subject of this review, and Mrs. Rebecca (Morton) McElroy, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who are twins; and John, deceased, and Richard Benjamin, of Marshall, Oklahoma, who were also twins. Educational opportunities were very limited in the state of Missouri when H. C. Morton was a youth. He was but a little child four years of age, at the time his father died. The widowed mother needed all the assistance her boys could render in help- ing care for the seven little ones. There were no public schools in Missouri before the Civil War and the "subscription schools" were open only a few months in the year. Since he was sixteen years of age, Mr. Morton has made his own way in the world, shouldering a man's responsi- bilities while still a boy. He began life for himself as a farm hand, in the employ of James Hutchinson in Lafayette county, working for ten dollars a month for three years. In 1862, he enlisted in the Civil War, at Sedalia, Missouri, serving under Colonel John F. Phillips in Company A, Seventh Missouri Cavalry. He was in active and continuous service in Missouri and Arkansas, serving at different times under Generals Brown, Curtis, Pleasanton, Garfield and Blount. Mr. Morton participat- ed in the battles of Big Blue and Mine Creek. He was also in countless skirmishes. From March 8, 1862 he served faithfully three years and six days and in 1865 received his discharge at St. Louis, Missouri. After the war had ended, H. C. Morton returned to Johnson county, Mo., and engaged once more in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, pursuits in which he has been engaged for the past fifty years in different parts of the county. He has been the owner of several different farms, which he would purchase to sell again. For the past twenty-five years, he has resided in Warrensburg township, where he now owns ninety acres of land, besides five acres within the city limits of Warrensburg. In 1915, he purchased the site of his present home at 116 Ming street, where he built his beautiful, modern residence of eight rooms. February 26, 1865, H. C. Morton was united in marriage with Lucy Margaret Ezell, of Warrensburg, the daughter of William Edward and Louisa Virginia Ezell, the former, a native of Virginia and the latter of Kentucky. Both parents are now deceased and their remains rest in the Greer cemetery, south of Warrensburg. Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Morton are the parents of six children: Charlie, Warrensburg, Missouri; Mrs. Lucy Phillips, who resides in Post Oak township; Albert, Warrensburg, Mo.; Emery Ezell, who is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School and is now employed as superintendent in the Clayton County Seat School at St. Louis county, Mo.; Lola, who is a graduate and post-graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School and of the University of New York City, from which institution she will soon obtain her master's degree and she is now the supervisor of Domestic Science and Art in Charleston, Illinois, one of the highest salaried teachers in the coun- ty; and Mrs. Winnie Etherton, who is the wife of Henry C. Etherton, a prominent attorney of St. Louis, Missouri, residing in a suburb of St. Louis. H. C. Morton deserves much praise and commendation for the success that has deservedly come through his own efforts. Handicapped as he was, by the lack of a good education, Mr. Morton struggled per- sistently upward. He learned to read after he was married. No one in Johnson county, perhaps, appreciates the value of educational advantage surrounding the youth of the present day, as does H. C. Morton, who had so few, when he was a lad and desired so much to learn. He has "fought a good fight" and Johnson county is proud to claim him as one of its citizens. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. 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