Newhanover County NcArchives News.....COL. MORTON SOUTHERN MGR. March 19, 1910
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Bill Gibson bgibson@uncfsu.edu May 10, 2006, 9:53 am

The Evening Dispatch, Wilmington, NC  Saturday, March 19, 1910 Volume Fifteen March 19, 1910
COL. MORTON SOUTHERN MGR.

Given Big Promotion by the Galena Co.

Is to Have Charge of the Entire Southern Territory and Is in Line for an 
Executive Office—Will Remove to Atlanta—He Retires From the Race for the 
Legislature—Political Pot is Now Boiling Fast and Furiously.

  In recognition of able service Col. George L. Morton, of this city, has just 
been given one of the most important positions with the Galena Signal Oil 
Company, and which well deserved promotion places him in line for an executive 
office with the big concern.
 He has been named as Southern Manager of the Galena Company, and this means 
something big, as his field will cover the entire South, taking in points from 
Cincinnati to and including New Orleans, La.  The only regrettable part about 
promotion is the fact that it will carry Col. Morton and family away from 
Wilmington, as while Wilmington will still be in the Southern territory and 
hence under the direction of Col. Morton, he will have to remove his 
headquarters, so as to be centrally located.  Hence, he will within the next 
month or two remove his residence from here to Atlanta, Ga.  This was stated to 
a Dispatch man  this afternoon about 3 o’clock, Col. Morton arrived home early 
this afternoon, via the Seaboard and was seen then by The Dispatch man.  He of 
course, regrets to leave Wilmington, which has many times honored him with 
office, and it must be frankly admitted honored him, too, when the odds seemed 
greatly against him, but which made the honor all the greater.

  He has time and time again represented New Hanover county in the legislative 
halls of North Carolina and he was considered the strongest candidate in the 
race this time, and that, too, after having declined to run, but being brought 
out by a big petition by his friends, and without his knowledge.  Of course, 
Col. Morton states he will now withdraw from the race, and will prepare a card 
to this effect, and which will express his regret and his warm thanks to his 
many friends.

  The many friends of Col. and Mrs. Morton will regret deeply to see them leave 
Wilmington.  Col. Morton has been a thorough Wilmingtonian and while his ideas 
did not always agree with many people’s, yet one could always place him.  He 
was always frank and to the point.

  The retirement of Col. Morton will bring about a new boiling in the political 
pot, because many of those who aspired to the legislature were afraid to run 
against him.  At present only Joseph W. Little, Esq., who has faithfully stuck 
to his candidacy and has been fighting hard, is in the race, but there are 
several more talked of.  Friends of Woodus Kellum, Esq., a popular and splendid 
young lawyer, stated this afternoon that he would be in the race, though Mr. 
Kellum has made no definite announcement.  Friends are also urging L. Clayton 
Grant, Esq., to run.
[Garbage line of newsprint.]
   is also known now positively that ex-Alderman T. W. Wood is going to run for 
county commissioner.  Mr. Wood stated such to a Dispatch man this morning when 
asked about it.  Mr. Wood will make a strong run, as he made a good alderman 
and was foremost and in the thickest of the fight for municipal ownership of 
the waterworks.


Additional Comments:
Col. George Lee Morton was the son of Stephen H. Morton (originally of Onslow 
County, then Wilmington), and the husband of Mildred Gracey Thompson 
(originally of Louisville, KY).  He would have been 43 years old at the time of 
this article.

A few years after the death of his father in 1886, George L. Morton, Sr. took 
over the successful “Morton and Hall Co.” turpentine distilling business and 
later the business name was changed to the "Geo. L. Morton Company, Inc."  The 
history of this business is available online in a pamphlet, “Wilmington Up to 
Date”, which was originally published in 1902.  He had been the Wilmington 
postmaster for a term, and then was an officer in the Wilmington Light Infantry 
at the time of the Wilmington Riot of 1898.

The Galena Oil Company produced a lubricant that was used by most of the 
railroads of the time.  The company was eventually incorporated into the larger 
Standard Oil Company.

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