|
|
||||||||||
J. Sterling Morton and his wife, Caroline Joy French Morton, came to Nebraska in about 1855, and he went to work for the Nebraska City paper. He soon had the local townspeople planting trees all over the flat, treeless prairie. In the 1870's the first Arbor Day was held in Nebraska, and over a million trees were planted that day. The holiday soon became a national one, and went on to become an international phenomenon, the only truly American holiday adopted the world over.
J. Sterling was also Secretary of Agriculture under Grover Cleveland, and a member of the Nebraska Legislature. He and his wife built a small farmhouse into an enormous mansion, with is now called Arbor Lodge. It was given to the people of the State of Nebraska in 1923, and is open from April to October.
I've
heard from a direct relative of the Morton family that
both Joy Morton, the oldest son and the Morton who founded the Morton
Salt Company, as well as Mark Morton, are buried at the Morton Arboretum
in Chicago (Joy died in 1934 and I don't yet know the date for Mark, though,
with many more thanks to Albert, we're pretty sure he died sometime in
the 1940's). What is odd is that Joy's first wife, Carrie Lake Morton,
is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Omaha, with her family in the Lake
plot (see the Prospect Hill Listing page under M). When Carrie died in
1915 she was not buried in the Morton plot in Nebraska City, which seems
strange to me but could have been at the request of her family, or Carrie
herself. In 1917 Joy married Margaret Gray, who was over 20 years younger
than him but survived him by only five years. She died in 1939 and is
buried beside him in Chicago. Paul Morton died February 19, 1911, and
is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. My sincere thanks to the
person who sent me this information.
The Morton Family plot. Wyuka still has many old brick roads that are
in very good condition.
Steps leading into the plot, with "Morton" and "Arbor Lodge"
on the side
The individual markers of the family
Caroline Joy French and J. Sterling Morton
Caroline Joy French Morton's individual marker
J. Sterling Morton's individual marker
Emma Morton, J. Sterling's sister
Emma Morton's individual marker
Cynthia A. French, foster mother of Caroline Morton, Carl Morton, J. Sterling
and Caroline's son, and his wife, Boatie Payne Morton. Carl Morton founded
the Argo Starch Company. No one thinks of starch much today, in this era
of t-shirts and jeans, but he made a fortune in the late 1800's, when
people used starch to make their Victorian clothing stay stiff and smart-looking
for a long time. Starch is still used extensively, though, in cooking
for thickening soups and gravies.
Cynthia A. French's individual marker
Boatie Payne Morton
