Frank C. Morse (April 8, 1859–after 1923) was a Washington state pioneer and state official. Morse was one of the first inhabitants of

Colfax, Washington Colfax is a city in and the county seat of Whitman County, Washington, Whitman County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 2,782 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making Colfax the second largest city in ...

, coming to the small village in 1879 or 1880. He worked in the Lippitt Brothers trade company for ten years, but later changed his career path to occupy a number of official positions. He was appointed as

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Colfax by President Harrison, and spent a few years as an assistant postmaster in

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

. Morse lived in Olympia for many years. In Olympia, he served as the state bookkeeper, secretary of the state tax commission, assistant state commissioner of public lands, and a member of the management board for the Monroe State Reformatory. In 1913 he became the only Republican member of the State Board of Control. He served at the position from 1913 to 1916, resigning before his term expired. From 1919 until at least 1923, he worked in

Fort Steilacoom Fort Steilacoom was founded by the U.S. Army in 1849 near Lake Steilacoom. It was among the first military fortifications built by the U.S. north of the Columbia River in what was to become the State of Washington. The fort was constructed due ...

as a deportation agent for non-resident insane, and was state asylums inspector.

Early life, family, and education

Frank Morse was born on April 8, 1859, on

Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait junc ...

in California, where the Navy shipyard was located. He spent all his life in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...

. Growing up at the Navy yard, Morse witnessed preparation for war and the troop homecomings. Morse's father, Charles A. Morse, came to San Francisco in 1856, appointed by

President Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War, defeating the Confederate State ...

to work as a Naval

storekeeper Storekeeper (SK) is an Enlisted rank, enlisted rating in the United States Coast Guard; until 2009 it was also a United States Navy rating, the most common supply rate in U.S. Navy vs. CS (Culinary Specialist (US Navy), culinary specialist) and ...

on the Navy yard. Charles married Caroline M. Sawyer from

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

. Charles died in San Francisco in 1889, and Carilone died in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

in 1901. Several generations of the family lived in America, but their earlier ancestors were from England and Ireland. Frank Morse attended St. Augustine College in

Benicia, California Benicia ( , ) is a city in Solano County, California, located on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the List of capitals in the United S ...

. He studied there from 1874 to 1877.

Career

Morse's first job was with Californian agency for the Centemerie kid gloves, made in Paris. He worked at the agency for a little over a year.

States of Oregon and Washington

In 1879, Morse moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, where he lived for seven months. Later, he relocated to

, a recently founded village. In Colfax, Morse worked for the Lippitt Brothers merchants for ten years. In May 1889, Morse was appointed

of Colfax by President Harrison. He worked at the position for five years. Afterwards, Morse became state bookkeeper, placed in the position by

State Auditor State auditors (also known as state comptrollers, state controllers, or state examiners, among others) are fiscal officers lodged in the executive or legislative branches of U.S. state governments who serve as external auditors, program eval ...

Grimes under the management of Governor McGraw. Upon acquiring the position, Morse moved to Olympia and served there for three years. In 1897, Morse moved to

. On September 17, 1899, he became assistant postmaster, working for John B. Cromwell.

Olympia

By 1908, Morse was back to Olympia, working as the secretary of the state tax commission. That year, he was offered a position of assistant state commissioner of public lands, and worked there under Commissioner E. W. Ross until 1913. During the State Board of Control reorganization in 1913, Morse succeeded A. E. Cagwin to the Republican membership. He became the only Republican member of the board; the law required that the board was

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...

and that the minority party was represented by one member. Morse began the position on June 11, 1913. The same year, he was a member of the management board for the Monroe State Reformatory. Morse resigned from the State Board of Control before his term expired. He left the office on December 31, 1916 and was succeeded by George Dowe McQuesten.

State deportation agency

In 1919, Morse was appointed to another state position: a deportation agent working with cases of non-resident insane. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, state government planned to "enter upon a vigorous policy" of sending people back to their native countries. Morse worked as a state deportation agent in

until at least 1923. He was also an inspector for state asylums at the time. Over the years in multiple official positions, Morse was known as a "very competent" specialist.

Personal life

In 1887, Morse married Mary Isabelle Sullivanin in

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's North Central Idaho, north central region. It is the third-largest city in the Idaho Panhandle, northern Idaho region, behind Post Falls, Idaho, Pos ...

. She was a sister of Judge Sullivan from Spokane and of Hon. P. C. Sullivan, a highly esteemed politician who was once a candidate for the position of Washington State governor. The Morses had one child, who died at the age of two. The family lived in their home in Tacoma until their move to Olympia.

References

Literature cited

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Frank C. 1859 births Washington (state) pioneers People from Colfax, Washington Tacoma, Washington Washington (state) postmasters People from Olympia, Washington Bookkeepers Year of death missing