Edward H. "Ed" Morrell (October 22, 1868 – November 10, 1946) was an American convict, activist and a writer.

Biography

Morrell was an American prisoner who became known for withstanding cruelty and torture. He was accomplice to the Evans and Sontag gang that robbed the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was ...

in California's

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

in the 1890s. According to his memoir, "The 25th Man", the robberies were after revenge for the large railroad corporation's mistreatment of local ranchers of the San Joaquin Valley. Morrell was sentenced to life imprisonment in

Folsom State Prison Folsom State Prison (FSP) is a California State Prison in Folsom, California, U.S., approximately northeast of the state capital of Sacramento. It is one of 34 adult institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Reha ...

in 1894. He was eventually transferred to

San Quentin San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is th ...

(1899 at the latest), and pardoned in 1908. Five of his years were spent in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use addit ...

; he was known as the Dungeon Man of San Quentin. Author

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

championed his pardon and Morrell became a frequent guest at London's

Beauty Ranch Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, ...

Glen Ellen, California Glen Ellen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Par ...

. London used Morrell as a character in his 1915 novel ''

The Star Rover ''The Star Rover'' is a novel by American writer Jack London published in 1915 (published in the United Kingdom as ''The Jacket''). It is science fiction, and involves both mysticism and reincarnation. Plot summary A framing story is told in the ...

''. Morrell had been subjected to severe physical abuse in prison. After his release, he lectured widely on his experiences and advocated

prison reform Prison reform is the attempt to improve conditions inside prisons, improve the effectiveness of a penal system, or implement alternatives to incarceration. It also focuses on ensuring the reinstatement of those whose lives are impacted by crim ...

. He lectured with former San Quentin prisoner and author Donald Lowrie. Morrell's lectures included addresses to the California and Pennsylvania legislatures. He advocated the abolition of corporal punishment. In 1914, he wrote a one-act play, ''The Incorrigible'', based on his experiences (and one of his nicknames). In 1924, he published his memoirs, ''The 25th Man: The Strange Story of Ed. Morrell, the Hero of Jack London's Star Rover''. Morrell was born in Thomaston, Pennsylvania on October 22, 1868. He came to California in 1891. "In his later years, he was a colorful habitue of

Gower Gulch Gower Gulch is a nickname for the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. History Since the days of silent film, the surrounding area had contained several movie studios, including the Christi ...

and a frequenter of Hollywood and Vine, the crony and pet of Hollywood film people." He died, age 78, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

on November 10, 1946.Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Prisons'', Edward Morrell entry pp. 169-171,

Facts on File, Inc. A flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) is a system composed of static equipment used for the alternating current (AC) transmission of electrical energy. It is meant to enhance controllability and increase power transfer capabi ...

, 2003.

Selected publications

''The Twenty-Fifth Man''
(1925)

References

External links

The Twenty-Fifth Man
- biography {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, Edward 1868 births 1946 deaths 1894 crimes in the United States Criminals from California Criminals from Pennsylvania People from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Outlaws of the American Old West Prisoners and detainees of California

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References

External links