Mr. Morse and John Q...

It's probably evident from many of my posts,that I have a real love of history,and especially for the history of wherever I happen to find myself living at the time.

The Partner,who has lived right here in O-Town for sixty years,has proven to be a valuable resource when it comes to enhancing my appreciation for the color and flavor of the area.

During a recent conversation at his kitchen table,he asked me if I would like to take a look at some documents he'd retrieved from an old house he was remodeling over 30 years ago,most of which were over 100 years old!..Count me in!
He brought out a ragged shoe box,and set it on the table for me to peruse at my leisure.

It soon became apparent that I was looking at pretty much all of the paperwork that several generations of the family Morse sought to keep secure.
There were deeds to several pieces of property in Kansas..A lovely stock certificate from 1906..


..as well as an invoice for carpeting from 'Thos. Bicknell..Undertaker and dealer in Furniture and Carpets' (Don't you just love the entrepreneurial spirit),dated July,1894.


I loved this letter from a debtor to Mr. Morse in 1903..
'Dear Sir..I have delayed writing to you thinking each week would put money in my hands to pay your note,but so far it has not been so..I had a good crop of oranges,but prices realized were very low,and it seemed impossible to meet it..If you can let it go another year,I shall surely give it early attention,and pay it in full'.


I was enjoying my little voyeuristic look into this life past,however mundane,when I unfolded this!
..Hello!
'The United States of America..To all to whom these Presents shall come,Greeting'..Lord he'p me,that kind of talk makes me a little wet.
I did a quick search for the date..April 1st,1825!

Apparently,Grand Patriarch Morse had purchased some public land in 'The Detroit Michigan Territory' from the U.S. government.
Reading on,the document proceeded to lay out the specific boundaries,that the purchase price had been paid in full...Like that.

Then I came to the line which read,'In testimony thereof,I,..John Quincy Adams'...HOLY CRAP!
And there it was,in the lower right corner,in his own hand.


I have no doubts about it's provenance,given the wealth of the Morse family documentation contained in that unassuming shoe box.
Still,..I lickity-split on over to the interweaves to do a little research.
I found three samples of this very sort of transaction,the best of which,dated 1828,is pictured below,and offered up for sale at $1350.00.


I tried really hard to convince The Partner that this should be preserved in a more suitable fashion,but for reasons that are unfathomable to me,he wasn't very receptive to the idea.
So for now,a lovely and historic piece of Americana lies dormant,in a shoe box,in a closet in O-Town..