Godfrey Morse (May 19, 1846 – June 20, 1911) was a German-born Jewish-American lawyer from Massachusetts.

Life

Morse was born on May 19, 1846 in Wachenheim,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

, the son of Jacob Maas Morse and Charlotte Mehlinger. His brother was American Congressman

Leopold Morse Leopold Morse (August 15, 1831 – December 15, 1892) was a United States representative from Massachusetts. Biography Morse was born in Wachenheim, Bavaria, in the German Confederation, the son of Charlotte (Mehlinger) and Jacob Morse. Hi ...

. Morse immigrated to America when he was eight and lived in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Brimmer Grammar School, the

Boston English High School The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...

, and the

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...

. He entered

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1867, and while there he was editor of ''The'' ''Harvard Advocate'' and manager of the first Harvard crew to be taken abroad and row against

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He graduated from Harvard in 1870 with an

A.B. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

, the first Jew from Boston to graduate from Harvard. He then went to

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, graduating from there in 1872. After graduating, he studied law in the office of law firm Brooks & Ball. He also taught English literature and arithmetic in the Boston Evening High School in the winter of 1872. He was admitted to the bar in 1873. He practiced law in Boston for the rest of his life, and his later became associated with Lee M. Friedman and Percy A. Atherton. Morse was a member of the Boston School Committee from 1876 to 1878. He served on the Boston Common Council from 1882 to 1883 and was elected its president in 1883. From 1882 to 1884, he was assistant counsel of the United States in the Court of Commissioners of

Alabama Claims The ''Alabama'' Claims were a series of demands for damages sought by the government of the United States from the United Kingdom in 1869, for the attacks upon Union merchant ships by Confederate Navy commerce raiders built in British shipyards ...

. In 1887, he was elected a trustee of the

Boston Dental College Tufts University School of Dental Medicine (TUSDM) is a private, American dental school located in the Chinatown neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and is connected to Tufts Medical Center. It is one of the 8 graduate schools that compri ...

. In 1890, he received an honorary M.A. degree from Tufts College. He was a delegate to the 1896 National Democratic Party Convention in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, and from 1897 to 1898 he was chairman of the Massachusetts State Committee and the Boston City Committee of the National Democratic Party. By 1904, he was vice-president of the Boston Home for Incurables and the Elysium Club, president of the Purim Association, the Leopold Morse Home for Infirm Hebrews and Orphanage, the Boston Federation of Jewish Charities, and the Boston Branch of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and a member and trustee of various charitable and semi-public organizations. Morse was a director of the Allouez Mining Company, a trustee of the American Surety Company of New York, Master of the local

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

lodge, and a member of the University Club of Boston, the Boston Athletic Association, the Criterion Club, and the Manhattan Club. In 1907, he married Janet Rosenthal Conrad. Morse died in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

while visiting there with his wife on June 20, 1911. His body was returned to America on the ''

SS Kaiser Wilhelm II The second SS ''Kaiser Wilhelm II'', named for the German Emperor, was a 19,361- gross register ton passenger ship built at Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin, Poland). The ship was completed in the spring of 1903. At the time of her launch she was ...

''. Rabbi Charles Fleischer conducted the funeral service at the Forest Hills Cemetery chapel, and it was attended by a number of people associated with him in the legal profession, politics, and various institutions and organizations. He was buried in

Forest Hills Cemetery Forest Hills Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery, greenspace, arboretum and sculpture garden located in the Forest Hills section of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery was established in 1848 as a public ...

References

1846 births 1911 deaths People from the Palatinate (region) 19th-century German Jews American people of German-Jewish descent Bavarian emigrants to the United States Lawyers from Boston 19th-century American Jews 20th-century American Jews Jewish American attorneys Boston Latin School alumni Harvard Advocate alumni Harvard Crimson rowers Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century American lawyers National Democratic Party (United States) politicians Boston City Council members {{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Godfrey Boston School Committee members American Freemasons Burials at Forest Hills Cemetery (Boston)