My Genealogy Hound

JOHN F. MORELL, an agriculturist of Amherst, was born in Lenox, Mass., December 16, 1837, son of Horace F. and Mary A. (Pierce) Morell and grandson of John Morell. The latter was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on January 9, 1753. He was a tanner, and successfully followed his trade while also engaged in farming. He lived in Lenox, Mass., during the greater part of his life, and was Captain of a company in the State militia. He was the father of eight sons and a daughter, all now deceased. His death occurred at Lenox on April 13, 1818. His wife, whose maiden name was Esther Fowler, died March 25, 1828.

Horace F. Morell was one of twins. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. With this exception he spent his life in Lenox in the occupation of a farmer. Besides the old Morell homestead, he owned a farm of seventy-five acres. He was a hard-working and successful man. He died when seventy-two years of age, and his wife’s death occurred when she was seventy-three. Both attended the Congregational church, and in politics he was a Whig. Of the eight children born of their union four reached maturity, while but one, John F., now survives. Those deceased were: Mary F., born in Lenox, October 30, 1821, who died November 24, 1857; John P., born February 7, 1823, who died September 12, 1823; Abigail P., born July 26, 1824, who died March 3, 1833; Catharine M., born August 31, 1827, who died March 15, 1890; William A., born November 13, 1831, who died October 31, 1885; Abigail J., born July 19, 1834, who died December 20, 1841; and George H., born October 17, 1841, who died August 31, 1851.

John F. Morell acquired a good practical education in the common schools and academy of Lenox, Mass. He remained on the old homestead until thirty-five years of age, devoting his attention to agriculture. He was also connected with the Central Berkshire Chronicle of Lee. He was editor of this paper for sixteen months. He was also a reporter on the Union and the Springfield Republican for some time. Later on he engaged in the coal trade in Lenox, and continued in it for several years. In 1882 he moved to his present farm in South Amherst. It contains two hundred and ten acres of land, and is one of the largest farms in that part of the town. He is now carrying on mixed farming with success, making a special feature of his dairying. His farm is in a good condition, and his residence is pleasant and attractive.

In 1861, on November 6, he was joined in marriage with Miss Martha J. Bradley, a native of Lee. She died in 1877, aged thirty-seven years, leaving a son and daughter, Cora D. and William B., both of whom are now living. In May, 1881, he married for his second wife Miss Alice G. Goodrich, who was born in Stockbridge, Mass. By this union he also has a son and daughter; namely, Edith G. and George F.

The Republican party numbers Mr. Morell among its faithful adherents. He was its candidate for the legislature in 1874, and, although running far ahead of his ticket, was defeated by the reactionary movement against prohibition in that election. For several years he has acted as chairman of the Republican Town Committee of Amherst. He has served his town most acceptably whenever chosen for any official capacity. He has been Assessor, and he is now a member of the School Committee. While a resident of Lenox, he served on the School Committee, and was chairman of that board for nine years. He served several successive years as moderator of the Lenox town meetings, and has long been President of the Village Improvement and Cemetery Associations. He is a member of the Amherst Grange. Though liberal in his religious views, he attends the Congregational church, of which he is one of the largest supporters, and of which his wife is an officer.