George H. Morse (January 3, 1839 – March 4, 1905) was businessman and local government official in

Burlington, Vermont Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located south of the Canada–United States border and south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he served as mayor of Burlington from 1883 to 1885.

Early life

George Henry Morse was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

on January 3, 1839, a son of Aaron Morse Jr. and Eliza (Bradley) Morse. He was educated in the public schools of Boston and the academy in

Northfield, Massachusetts Northfield is a New England town, town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Northfield was first settled in 1673. The population was 2,866 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts ...

, from which he graduated in 1859.

Business career

After graduating, Morse was hired at Flint & Hall, a Boston lumber dealer. He spent three years with the company, during which he received training in all facets of the lumber business. In 1862, Morse moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, where he was employed by Pope & Talbot, then the largest lumber company on the Pacific coast. He returned to Flint & Hall in 1866, and in 1867 he moved to Burlington to serve as Flint & Hall's agent in the sale of a Vermont subsidiary. Morse successfully concluded the sale to Otis Shepard & Co. and decided to remain in Burlington. In 1868, Otis Shepard & Co. joined with Lawrence Barnes & Co. in a new company that included Morse as a partner. Morse and William A. Crombie (who served as Burlington's mayor from 1889 to 1891) became the managing partners of the new corporation, Shepard & Morse. Shepard & Morse grew to include branches in Boston and in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Morse also served on the board of directors for several other companies, including Saginaw Lumber and Salt, American Milk Sugar, Vermont Life Insurance, and Vermont Shade Roller.

Political career

, Morse served in local offices including member of Burlington's board of fire commissioners. In 1879 he was elected to a one-year term representing Ward 4 on Burlington's board of aldermen. In 1881 he was again elected as an alderman and he served until resigning in February 1882, shortly before the end of his one-year term. In March 1883, Morse was the successful Republican nominee for a one-year term as mayor, defeating Democratic nominee Charles J. Alger 873 votes (57.7%) to 640 (42.3%). In March 1884, he was reelected without opposition, and received 1144 votes (99.6%) to four blank and write-in ballots. He served from April 1883 to April 1885.

Later life

In 1893, Morse relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where he was a partner in another lumber business, W. M. Crombie & Company. He died in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on March 4, 1905. Morse was buried at

Lakeview Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a Private property, privately owned, Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Rural cemetery, garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland, Ohio, East Cleveland ...

in Burlington.

Family

In 1867, Morse married Kate Russell (1843-1890) of

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. Up throug ...

. They were the parents of two children, Harold Russell (1872-1965), who was sales manager of the A. C. Crombie Lumber Company of New York City, and Herbert William (1876-1948), a vice president of the

New York Trust Company The New York Trust Company was a large trust and wholesale-banking business that specialized in servicing large industrial accounts. It merged with the Chemical Corn Exchange Bank and eventually the merged entity became Chemical Bank. History On ...

References

Sources

Books

Newspapers.com

* * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, George H. 1839 births 1905 deaths Politicians from Burlington, Vermont Vermont Republicans 19th-century American politicians Mayors of Burlington, Vermont Burials at Lakeview Cemetery (Burlington, Vermont)