_Thomas SEARS ___
_Thomas Bartlett SEARS ___|
| |_Susanna MORTON _
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|--Thomas Bartlett SEARS
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|_Louiza Harlow CHURCHILL _|
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The Morton family had nine children: Mary, Helen, Katherine, Howard, Nathaniel, Jessie, Charlotte, Ruth and Lucie. The four parents ofthe two families all came form Massachusetts. The two men were first cousins, the two women were sisters. This and the fact that they lived close together and had at first great hardships to overcome, made them almost like one family in interest and affection. The Searses were much better off than the Mortons, for obvious reasons, namely smaller family and much larger farm. The three Sears men and the three Morton men toiled as only pioneer farmers those days did toil, from dawn to dark, sometimes by moonlight. No motor-driven machines or vehicles in those days, just hard grinding hand and horse labor. But when the day's work was done, both families enjoyed a fully cultured life. All four parents had known wealth and culture of the East in their youths, and somehow they achieved it for their children in their homes.
At first during the time of birth of all three Sears children and the older Morton children, the struggle was severe just to earn necessities; but by the time the older children were ready for higher education, the Searses were quite "well off" and the Mortons able to put their children through high school. The Sears children went away to college, and their father was able to pay for hired help. I believe that is the reason the present generation, even the older people of Tescott, know so little about the Sears family. As soon as the Sears boys had graduated (from KU at Lawrence and KSAC at Manhattan) they both married girls they had met in college and settled down wherever their work took them. Their parents (Tom and Kitty) and Kate who never married, sold their farm and moved to Lawrence. So the Sears family who, in my clear memory at the turn of the century were very prominent and influential around Tescott, regularly attending the "Army of the Republic" -(veterens of Civil War) the "Dorcas Society" -(wives of veterans), the WCTU and all civic gatherings close friends of Mr. and Mrs. T E Scott" "I siezed on the opportunity to make a big effort to revive the memory of the Searses inthat connection." "The main reason that I felt so very deeply about the Sears family is that from the time I was three to six years old, and that means my earliest recol- lections, -I lived with the Sears family. That was 1890-93. My father, Howard Morton, ran for Probate Judge of Ottawa Co. and was elected in 1890; rented out his farm and moved all of the family but me to Minneapolis for four years. Ruth was a baby-in-arms when they moved, and the Sears family offered to keep me with them for awhile. My folks in Minneapolis of course had no horses there and there was then no other way to travel than "horse-and-buggy"; the Searses were too busy to take the long trip, so I never saw my own family for several years, and as I did not remember them, I just thought I was a Sears! When, after several years, my Aunt and UNcle did make the (all day) trip to Minneapolis with me, and I played all day with my little relatives and neigh- borhood children, I was wildly excited; and when my Aunt said "Come on, Gusty, we are going home now," I burst into tears and sobs. Looking back now, I realize how that must have hurt my Uncle and Aunt, who had tenderly cared for me for three years and with whom I was really very happy and dearly loved them.B but the Searses are a notably "proud" people. My Aunt said, "Well, Tom, if thats the way Gusty feels, she can stay here. Lets go." and they quickly climbed intotheir buggy and drove off, leaving me standing there with my mouth open struck dumb! The shock was so great, I have no further memory of that time, or until some months later. By 1895 my family (Mortons) was back on the farm, the Sears children had not yet gone to college, or at least were home for summer vacations -(my memory is vague there) but they were all "grown up", as were the six older Morton children, and I wish I could give you a picture of the full, happy life of those two families on those two farms. Almost every Sunday forenoon, the Searses would all walk up the hill to our house, all dressed in Sunday best. We Mortons would also be "dressed up" too, and to- gether those sixteen people, now mostly adults, would sing hymns and have a regular program of readings, discussions of literary topics, and issues (civic and national) of the day. My sister Katherine, who by then was an accomplished pianist, would play on the square piano that my mother had bought when one of her eastern Uncles left her a little legacy; my sister Mary had a beautiful alto voice, Uncle Tom Sears had a fine bass voice, several of the young men good tenor and most of the girls good soprano voices. Those were lovely occaisons, held in the living room of this home, with its sunny bay window. !S.P. May p.494 Mr Sears was commissioned Act'g Master US Navy, 22 Jan 1862, and honorably discharged, 18 Feb 1866; now lives in Churchill, KA !T.B. Sears, Jr. (1834-1925) "The Journals of a Plymouth Seaman", edited by Marian Sears Chaffin, 1989 Pilgrim Society, ISBN 0-940628-50-3. Describes the voyage of the Nathan Hanau from the log of TB Sears from Plymouth to New Orleans to Genoa Italy. First he went to sea and then he went west. Some talk about myself: In 1848 I left the Grammar School for the Plymouth High School where I took the 3 year course. Afterwards took lessons in Geometry with Mr Nat Morton, and Father taught me navigation. I then clerked one year in Alvan Morton's grocery store, and in 1853 went to the Grand Banks in the schooner Speedwell.(just launched) with Capt TE Cornish. In 1854 I started to learn the carpenters trade with Mr Thomas Pay, but, after working 6 weeks, concluded that I wasn't a carpenter, and worked about home helping Father repair one of his fishing schooners. In 1855 I went to the Grand banks again. This time in the schooner "Albert", Capt Fred Bartlett.That winter was a very cold one, and Massachusetts Bay was full, or partly full of ice brought down from the north by strong North gales. When we left Boston the NW gale was still blowing, and before we were halfway across to Cape Cod, we found that the vessel was so crank, that is, so easily tipped by the wind, that it would be unsafe to go to sea, and the Capt. decided to put into Provincetown, and take in more ballast, but as we got near the entrance of the harbor, we saw that it was full of ice, which had drifted down there, and extended several miles out into the Bay. We then tried to get out around the Cape, + to go to sea anyway, safe or unsafe, but as soon as we brought the vessel up to the wind, she went right over on her side, so there was nothing to do but square away + run into the ice, as far as we could get. This we did but the rough ice, tossed by the gale, ground against her sides, so that we thought it would sink her, and we had to take fenders and hold themn down to make some protection. About midnight so much more ice had drifted in , outside of us that the motion, where we were, gradually ceased, so that we could go below and rest. The next morning the ice extended 2 or 3 iles outside of us,a nd the intense cold had frozen the big chunks, into a solid madd. Not far form us lay three vessels, all of which had got caught in the same trap. The steamer "Acorn" which was running between Boston + Provincetown, the fishing schooner Wyvern with a lot of fresh fish, and a schooner from Bath, Maine. We lay in that fix several days, then another heavy North West storm set in,a nd we could see the ice outside of us begin to break up + tumble about. The Captains of the vessels held a consultation and decided that the vessels might all go to thte bottom before morning, and that the only thing to do was try for the shore before the break up reached us. We started, dragging the baot from our vessel + a life boat from the steamer, as we knew we might strike some open places, before reaching shore, which was 5 or 6 miles distant. It was nearly dark, and a driving snowstorm. One of the Capts carried a compass, and another a lantern. There was an Irish chambermaid on the steamer + two men took her, one on each side by the arms, and so the procession started. About half way to the shore the work of dragging + lifting the boats over the rough ice became impossible and we left our boat + all took hold of the life boat. It was about midnight when we reached the shore, pretty thoroughly used up, and began to hunt for a house. Fortunatley we soon found one. A Mr Todd, who with his family turned out + did everything could be done for us. Gave us hot drinks + food, and fixed up beds on the floor, which we were very glad to occupy.