Oliver A. Morse

Oliver A. Morse
35th United States Congress
New York's 19th congressional district
In office
March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859
Preceded byJonas A. Hughston
Succeeded byJames H. Graham
Personal details
Born
Oliver Andrew Morse

March 26, 1815
Cherry Valley, New York, US
DiedApril 20, 1870(1870-04-20) (aged 55)
New York City, New York, US
EducationHamilton College
OccupationAttorney

Oliver Andrew Morse (March 26, 1815 – April 20, 1870) was an American politician and attorney. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from New York. He was also a founding member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

Early life

Morse was born in Cherry Valley, New York on March 26, 1815.[1][2] His parents were Mary G. and James O. Morse, an attorney and judge.[2][3][4] His uncle was Wiliam M. Oliver, a congressman for the state of New York and acting lieutenant governor of New York.[2]

Morse attended Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, graduating in 1833.[5][4] While at Hamilton, he was a founding member of the Alpha Delta Phi Literary Society in 1832.[6] He then studied law.[1]

Career

Morse was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Perryville, Ohio.[2][4] After a short time, he returned to Cherry Valley and practiced law there.[1][2]

He was elected as a Republican to the 35th United States Congress and served from March 4, 1857 to March 3, 1859.[1] He was opposed to slavery.[4] He did not seek re-election in 1858.[1]

Morse invested in several real estate ventures in Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin.[7] However, he claimed to have been swindled of $3,000 by his partner and New York attorney Samuel Campbell.[7]

Personal life

Morse married Anna Clark of Cherry Valley in 1839.[4] They had two daughters, Anna and Sarah.[3][8]

Morse died in New York City on April 20, 1870.[2][4] He was buried in Cherry Valley Cemetery in Cherry Valley.[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Oliver A. Morse 1815-1870". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed February 24, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Obituary". Memphis Daily Appeal. Memphis, Tennessee. 1870-05-04. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-02-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c Carpenter, Robin. "Cherry Valley Cemetery". theusgenweb.org. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Felton, Cyrus (1886). A Genealogical History of the Felton Family: Descendants of Lieutenant Nathaniel Felton, who Came to Salem, Mass., in 1633. Pratt Brothers, printers and publishers. p. 215 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ Morse, Abner (1850). Memorial of the Morses: Containing the History of Seven Persons of the Name, who Settled in America in the Seventeenth Century. With a Catalogue of Ten Thousand of Their Descendants ... Boston: William Veazie. p. 171 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ “Alpha Delta Phi Convention.” The Yale Courant, vol. 2, no. 2 (September 12, 1866): 10. via JSTOR, accessed February 25, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Bartel, Roger (2022-04-29). "In Search of St. Marie: The History". Bartel's History of Princeton. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
  8. ^ Sawyer, John (1898). History of Cherry Valley [N.Y.] from 1740 to 1898. Gazette Print. p. 137 – via Google Books.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 19th congressional district
March 4, 1857 – March 3, 1859 		Succeeded by