TABLE OF CONTENTS
Descriptive Summary of the Collection
Biography of Charles Ansel Morse
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Inventory of the Morse-Keith Family Papers, 1833-1938, bulk 1864-1872
Machine-readable finding aid encoded by Marisa Bell-Metereau, 2009. ©2009. |
Descriptive Summary of the Collection |
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| Creator | Morse, Charles Ansel, 1835-1894 |
| Title | Morse-Keith Family Papers |
| Dates | 1833-1938 |
| Dates | bulk 1864-1872 |
| Extent | 0.4 linear feet (1 box) |
| Abstract | Papers centering around Charles Ansel Morse (1835-1894) who settled in Chicago in the early 1860's, establishing a wholesale clothing firm. The bulk of the collection consists of letters home to family in New Bedford, Mass. There are also calling cards of many early Chicago residents, genealogical documents, and a few photographs. |
| Language | Materials are in English. |
| Repository | Newberry Library, Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections |
| Collection Call Number | Midwest MS Morse-Keith |
| Collection Stack Location | 3a 44 10 |
Administrative Information
Cite As
Morse-Keith Family Papers, The Newberry Library, Chicago.
Provenance
Unknown, ca. 1998.
Processed by
Marisa Bell-Metereau, 2009.
Acknowledgements
This inventory was created with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this inventory do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Access
The Morse-Keith Family Papers are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Morse-Keith Family Papers are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
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Biography of Charles Ansel Morse
Chicago businessman.
Charles Ansel Morse was born on March 12, 1835. Charles’ father, Elias A. Morse (1806-1864) of Taunton, Massachusetts, served in various town and county offices. His mother, Mary Ann Small Morse (1810-1904), was born in Jay, Maine. Her grandfather, Samuel Small, served in the Revolutionary War and her father was a country doctor. Her mother, Elizabeth Barnard Small, lived to be over 100 years old.
Charles settled in Chicago in the early 1860s after working in Boston and in Springfield, Illinois. In Chicago he established a wholesale clothing firm on Michigan Avenue at Lake Street. In 1864 he married Helen Keith, the sister of Morgan L. Keith. Morgan L. Keith, who had arrived in Chicago in 1847, served as alderman, ran for mayor, and worked for the Stephen Douglas campaign.
Charles and Helen had two daughters, Helen and Mary. Charles Morse’s brother, Elias Morse, was also part of the household and in the family business as a clothing merchant.
Charles Ansel Morse died on June 4, 1894. Helen Keith Morse died on December 13, 1908.
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Scope and Content of the Collection
Most of the letters are from Charles Ansel Morse to his family in New Bedford, Massachusetts. There are also letters from Charles Ansel Morse to his wife, Helen Morse. The subjects touched upon in the letters include business and real estate ventures in Chicago, caring for low income and aging family members, social life in Chicago, and Oscar Wilde’s tour of America.
Also included are calling cards and “at-home” cards of many early Chicago residents. There are also several wedding invitations. There are genealogical notes of the Small and Barnard family and the marriage certificates of Elias A. Morse and Mary Ann Small for Jay, Maine and Taunton, Massachusetts. There are several pages from a family bible of the birth, marriage, and death records of the Morse family.
The collection also includes several photographs of Helen and her sister Mary Keith from infancy to adulthood. Included is a tintype of Morgan Keith. There is a photograph of “Grandmother Morse” and a photograph of Elias A. Morse, as well as several photographs of unidentified individuals.
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Arrangement
The letters are arranged alphabetically, followed by miscellaneous material.
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Selected Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Newberry Library's public catalog. Researchers desiring additional materials on a particular topic should search the catalog using these headings.
Names
- Barnard family
- Keith family
- Morse family
- Morse, Charles Ansel, 1835-1894
- Small family
Subjects
- Businessmen -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Chicago (Ill.) -- Genealogy
- Chicago (Ill.) -- Social life and customs
- Husband and wife -- Correspondence
- Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Parent and adult child -- Correspondence
- Photographs -- 1851-1900
- Photographs -- 1901-1950
- Tintypes -- 1851-1900
- Visiting-cards -- Illinois -- Chicago -- 1851-1900
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Container List |
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| Box | Folder | Contents | |||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Letters and papers, Keith, Morgan L., 1864-1896 | |||||||||
| 1 | 2 | Letters, outgoing correspondence, Morse, Charles Ansel, Boston, MA and Chicago, IL, 1857-1868 | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Letters, outgoing correspondence, Morse, Charles Ansel, Chicago, IL, 1869-1871 | |||||||||
| 1 | 4 | Letters, outgoing correspondence, Morse, Helen Keith, Chicago, IL, 1866-1872 | |||||||||
| 1 | 5 | Letters, outgoing correspondence, Morse, Mary Ann, Taughton, MA, 1904 | |||||||||
| 1 | 6 | Letters, outgoing correspondence and letter fragments, Taunton, MA, 1858-1894 | |||||||||
| 1 | 7 | Letters, outgoing correspondence, Morse, Nellie, Chicago, IL, 1882 | |||||||||
| 1 | 8 | Letters, outgoing correspondence, Small, Elizabeth Barnard, Livermore, 1895 | |||||||||
| 1 | 9 | Marriage certificates for Morse, Elias A. and Mary Ann Small, Taunton, MA, 1833 | |||||||||
| 1 | 10 | Miscellaneous caling cards and invitations, Chicago, IL, ca. 1858 | |||||||||
| 1 | 11 | Miscellaneous genealogical notes of the Small and Barnard family, n.d. | |||||||||
| 1 | 12 | Miscellaneous memorabilia, Morse, Charles A., 1835-1884 | |||||||||
| 1 | 13 | Miscellaneous Morse family Bible birth, marriage, and death notations, 1836-1938 | |||||||||
| 1 | 14 | Miscellaneous newspaper clippings about and obituaries from the Morse family, ca. 1860-1880 | |||||||||
| 1 | 15 | Miscellaneous public record transcriptions, ca. 1860 | |||||||||
| 1 | 16 | Miscellaneous unsigned letters, various locations, 1858-1933 | |||||||||
| 1 | 17 | Miscellaneous wedding announcements and at-home cards, Chicago, IL, ca. 1865 | |||||||||
| 1 | 18 | Photograph, "Grandmother Morse," ca. 1870 | |||||||||
| 1 | 19 | Photograph, tintype of Keith, Morgan L., ca. 1860 | |||||||||
| 1 | 20 | Photograph, Morse, Elias A., ca. 1870 | |||||||||
| 1 | 21 | Photographs, Morse, Helen, from childhood to adulthood, ca. 1840-1880 | |||||||||
| 1 | 22 | Photographs, Morse, Mary from childhood to adulthood, ca. 1840-1880 | |||||||||
| 1 | 23 | Photograph, Morse, Helen L. and Mary, ca. 1860 | |||||||||
| 1 | 24 | Photograph, "Rose Marie," 1925 | |||||||||
| 1 | 25 | Photographs, miscellaneous unidentified individuals, ca. 1860-1910 | |||||||||
| 1 | 26 | Photograph, tintype, unidentified young male, ca. 1860 | |||||||||