Morse family.

John Morse was born in Walpole, Massachusetts on November 13, 1752, the son of Obediah and Bethia (Ruggles) Morse. John Morse served in the Revolutionary War from New Hampshire. He married Abigail Chase (1759-1793) on January 1, 1779 in Cornish, New Hampshire. Abigail was a member of the prominent Chase family of Cornish, New Hampshire. Her father was Deacon Dudley Chase. Her brother, Dudley Chase (1771-1846) of Randolph, Vermont, was a U.S. Senator from Vermont for two terms, 1813-1817 and 1825-1831, among other accomplishments. Another brother, Philander Chase (1775-1852 ) was an Episcopal bishop in Ohio and Illinois. John Morse died April 25, 1822

John and Abigail had eight children. One of those children, Intrepid Morse, was rector of St. Paul's Church in Steubenville, Ohio, for 45 years. Their oldest daughter, Asenath, married Martin Flint (1782-1855). Flint was a representative of Randolph to the Vermont legislature in 1831-1834 and to the Council of Safety in 1835. From 1841-1844 he was an Assistant Judge for Orange County. Martin and Asenath Flint had seven children. Their son, James Tarbox Flint (1820-1868), served in the Civil War. One of his letters is in this collection. Their youngest child, Prudentia (1815-1906), married Levi Washburn (1815-1898).

Levi and Prudentia Washburn had four children. The youngest, Clara Morse Washburn (1842-1906) married Charles Edward Sawyer (1830-1879). Clara collected the documents in this collection. One of Clara and Charles Sawyer's daughters, Alice Clara Sawyer (1872-1946), married John Sabine Smith (1843-1900). Smith's grandfather, James Sabine, was an Episcopal clergyman who baptized Clarissa Morse Washburn, sister of Prudentia and aunt of Clara Morse in 1843 as is documented in the collection.

According to Abby Maria Hemenway's Vermont Historical Gazetteer, in 1820 there were only three Episcopalians residing in Randolph: Hon. Dudley Chase and his wife Olivia, and the wife of Dr. John Spooner Smith. Eventually the community grew and the Grace Church was founded in 1834 in West Randolph, Vermont. The first wardens were Edmund Weston and Dr. Smith; the first clerk was Hon. Dudley Chase. By 1847 there were 35 communicants residing in Randolph. A site for the church was donated by William Nutting Jr., and $500 and an organ were contributed by Hon. Isaac F. Redfield, chief judge of the Vermont Supreme Court and new resident of the town. The church building was erected and was consecrated by Bishop John Henry Hopkins in 1848. A separate parish and building, St. John's Church, was established in 1869 in Randolph Center, Vermont. The Grace Church membership gradually declined and the building was razed in 1969.