Joseph W. Morton, Second Lieutenant,
7th Regiment, RI Volunteers
The
following information was provided by Robert Osborne of Tempe Arizona
Joseph W. Morton is a 1st
cousin of William Morrison Cleeland's mother,
Elizabeth Morrison. He is a grandson of Revolutionary War soldier Robert Slemmons, who through him Debbie Heasley recently was awarded D. A. R. membership.
His son Joseph W. Morton, Jr. was
the editor of the Blue and Gray Magazine
and his daughter Agnes H. Morton was on editorial staff of the Ladies' Home
Journal.
This
photo of Joseph W. Morton is taken from the book identified below.
The
Seventh Regiment of RI Volunteers in the Civil War, 1862 � 1865 by William P. Hopkins (Snow & Farmham
Printers, Providence, RI, 1903)
Personal
Sketches p. 368 - 370
JOSEPH W. MORTON. Second Lieutenant Joseph Washington Morton, son of William
and Hannah Slemmons Morton, was born near Rose Point,
Lawrence County, Penn., Jan. 3, 1821. His early
education was received from the schools in the neighborhood and from private
tutors under whom he studied the classics. He united with the Presbyterian
Church in 1837 and Beaver Academy in 1839, graduating from Brighton Seminary in
1841. He studied theology at the Western Seminary in Allegheny, Penn., and was
licensed to preach by the Beaver Presbytery April 13, 1843. He supplied the
pulpits at Freedom and Concord, Penn., during the next two years, marrying,
meanwhile (May 1, 1844), Mary Jane, daughter of Dr. M. M. Curry, of Beaver
Falls, Penn. Because of the failure of his church to testify against the
sinfulness of slavery, Mr. Morton left her (sic) communion and united with the
Reformed Presbyterians, being received as a licentiate by the Pittsburg
Presbytery May 29, 1845. November 27th, by the same authority, he was ordained
and installed pastor of the united congregations of Little Beaver, Jackson and
West Greenville, centering near New Galilee, Beaver County, Penn. He resigned
this charge June 3, 1847, having been unanimously chosen by the Synod to
inaugurate a mission in Hayti (sic), where he labored
diligently two years. His rapid mastery of the French language enabled him to
preach very soon after his arrival, and to prepare a translation of the
Westminster Shorter Catechism. Coming in contact with the missionary of the
Seventh Day Baptist Church at Port au Prince he changed his views in reference
to the Christian Sabbath. Consequently he was suspended from the ministry of
the Reformed Presbyterian Church May 29, 1849.
Soon after Mr. Morton united with
the Seventh Day Baptist Church, and began teaching Latin and Greek in the De Ruyter Institute, Madison County, N.Y. In the autumn of
1852 his family moved to Plainfield, N.J., where he was engaged in teaching
classes and private pupils in the ancient and modern languages, frequently
delivering sermons and lectures. In 1853 a business project called him to Paris
for a season. While residing in Plainfield he was a member of the Board of
Revisers of the American Bible Union and did valuable service in rendering the
Greek New Testament into English. Upon the Gospel of John he bestowed much
labor, and his first translation with critical notes was bound up separately by
the Union for distribution among learned critics.
In September, 1859, Mr. Morton came to Rhode Island as principal of the
Hopkinton Academy, a new institution, opening very successfully. But the
outbreak of the Rebellion and the call to arms made inroads upon the older
classes, so, in 1862, when the war cloud grew so dark nothing else seemed
visible, the majority of the young men laid aside their books and seized the
rifle, their preceptor going with them and enlisting in their ranks. He was at
once made lieutenant of Company A, but also frequently preached for the
chaplain of the regiment. He speedily became a victim, however, to malarial
fever, and, early in December, was brought home to a slow and uncertain convalescence.
Late in 1863 he removed to Vineland, N.J., and for the next ten years was
interested in developing that settlement and Rosenhayn,
the latter a project of his own. He also taught, founding the Vineland Academy,
and, later, the Rosenhayn School. He frequently
preached at Vineland and Bridgeton, but was for eight years pastor of the
Seventh Day Baptist Church at Marlboro. In 1873 Mr. Morton removed to
Philadelphia which became the home of his family for the next ten years. With
his son he published 'The Philadelphia Trade Journal'. He also taught at Shiloh,
N.H., for some months. In 1882 he was called upon to supply the pulpit of the
Pawcatuck Seventh Day Baptist Church at Westerly, R.I., but in February, 1884,
he was called home by an alarming change for the worse
in Mrs. Morton's health. She passed from earth March 13th. In June, having
concluded his engagement in Westerly, he was appointed general missionary for
his denomination in the Northwest, with headquarters in Chicago. For seven
years he filled this office, and 'proved most efficient in the service,
undertaking long journeys, sometimes on foot, with a courage and endurance that
but few younger men could be found to manifest.' In September, 1885, he married
Jane C. Bond, of Milton, Wis. The closing scene of his life was a pastorate of
nearly two and a half years at North Loup, Neb., to which he was called in the
spring of 1891. On April 13, 1893, he preached a sermon on the fiftieth
anniversary of his installation into the ministry. In May Mr. Morton suffered
from an attack of la grippe. Though ill, he continued to fill his pulpit and
perform extra work. In June, while yet very weak, he was attacked by a slight
stroke of paralysis from which he seemed to recover partially. With the hope of
benefit from the change he and Mrs. Morton went to St. Paul, Minn., to the home
of his daughters, where for a time there was a deceptive show of improvement,
but heart failure soon supervened, and, on the morning of July 27, 1893, he
passed from this earthly life to 'the sweet repose of the intermediate state'.
p. 37
Friday,
November 28, 1862, Lt. Joseph W. Morton, of Company A, resigned because of
ill-health. He was highly esteemed.