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JOHN HENRY MORLEY was born January 3, 1840, at Hartford, Connecticut, and was
the second son of the Rev. Sardis Brewster and Anna Clarissa (Treat) Morley. He was
fitted for college by his father, who was himself a graduate of Williams in the Class of 1829.
Morley entered the Class of 1862, and remained with it one term, when he was obliged to
leave on account of ill health caused by a previous attack of typhoid fever. Morley reports
that he joined our Class in January, 1860, but his name appears on our Class roll in the
autumn catalogue of 1859. It is very likely that he was put on the Class roll, being a
resident of the college town, before he began work with us in the classroom. He was a
member of the 'Technian Literary Society, one of its secretaries, and library inspector with
Armstrong of '62 during Junior year, and one of its presidents during Senior year;
represented our Class as disputant in the Adelphic debate, October, 1862, and as debater
in the Adelphic Union exhibition, July, 1863; a member of the Lyceum of Natural History;
a member of the Greylock Baseball club; on the committee of arrangements for the Biennial
Celebration; a "Moonlighter," Junior year; received appointment of English oration on
Junior exhibition, April, 1862; had appointment of historical oration on the Commencement
program, and was made a member of the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity.
In the autumn of 1863, Morley entered Andover Theological Seminary, graduating
in 1866. He spent several months during the early vacations of his theological course with
the army, as an agent of the Christian Commission, and was drafted into the army during
his college years, but was rejected on account of the effects of the attack of typhoid fever.
While in Andover, Morley was our Class secretary, and issued three reports, 1864, '65, and
'66.
After graduation at Andover, he offered to go into the foreign field as a missionary
of the American Board, but finally went as a home missionary to western Iowa, in
November, 1866, and was ordained at Magnolia, of that State, January 2, 1867. He
remained in Magnolia until June, 1869, when he accepted a call to the pastorate of the First
Congregational Church of Sioux City, Iowa. November 15, 1876, he resigned as pastor of
this church to accept the call of the First Congregational Church of Winona, Minnesota,
where he remained until April, 1883. During this pastorate the church made great progress,
a fine stone edifice being built and paid for in full. After leaving Winona, Morley at once
accepted a call to St. Paul, and organized Park Church, now the leading Congregational
church in the city, being instrumental in erecting a stone chapel. He resigned in 1884, and
became superintendent of home missions, under the auspices of the Congregational Home
Missionary Society, which position he filled for fifteen years, and for a considerable portion
of this time was the Congregational bishop of the State of Minnesota. During his
administration, the prestige of Congregationalism and the number of churches were largely
increased.
In January, 1900, he was elected to the presidency of Fargo College, Fargo, North
Dakota, a position which had been tendered to him several years before, but which he had
declined. This time he accepted, and threw himself at once into an energetic canvass for
an endowment fund, which was completed December 31, 1902, giving the college an endowment of $200,00, and opening the way for its full equipment in buildings and in a
sustentation fund. During our classmate's administration there has been a notable increase
in the development of the college, and the ideals of "Old Williams" are held in high esteem.
In what other position on earth could the spirit and methods of our grand instructor,
Hopkins, find a better opportunity to work out their inspiring and beneficent results. Could
we all have gone from graduation day to college presidencies, instead of being a Ten Times
One Club we might have become a Forty-seven Times One Club, each member of which,
to adopt Garfield's quaint comparison, would only have asked for a log with the wide-awake
boys of the coming West on one end while his quickened mind fed and guided them from
the other end.
Morley is a member of the Congregational Club of Minnesota, and of Red River
Valley Congregational Club; has been a director of Carleton College, Chicago Theological
Seminary, Windom Institute, and Fargo College. Morley received the M.A. degree, in
regular course, from his Alma Mater, in 1866; and LL.D., Williams, 1900.
Our classmate has published several pamphlets, notably, "A History of the First
Church, Winona;" his "Inaugural Discourse" at Fargo College; and "Sermons Delivered at
the Annual Meetings of the State Associations of Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota."
On the 12th of October, 1871, Morley married Edith Theodosia Johnson, daughter
of George and Edith (Baxter) Johnson, at Mendota, Illinois. They have had three children:
Frank Johnson, born June 5, 1875; a graduate of the North Side High School,
Minneapolis, and of the academic department and the law school of the University of
Minnesota.
Edward Treat, born December 22, 1876; a student in the Minneapolis High School
and Minneapolis business College. He married, June 27, 1902, Evna Grace Whitcomb,
daughter of Luke Penfield and Arminda Dunning (Stringham) Whitcomb. He is part owner
of a large stock farm at Jordan, Minnesota, which he manages.
Clara Edith, born October 12, 7879; a graduate of the North Side High School,
Minneapolis, and of the University of Minnesota. She has taught one year in the high school
of Caledonia, Minnesota.
Source:
Class of Sixty-Three Williams College Fortieth Year Report, by
the Class Historian, Thomas Todd Printer, Boston, 1903
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