Morley, James Henry, 1824-1889

James Henry Morley, of Pacific, Missouri, traveled by boat from St. Louis to Fort Benton and then by trail to the gold fields in Montana, departing May 1862 and returning August 1865.

From the description of Diary of James Henry Morley in Montana, [19--?]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 77995997

From the description of Diary of James Henry Morley in Montana, [19--?]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702162745

James H. Morley was born in Westfield, Massachusetts on May 5, 1824. He attended Massachusetts Normal School and was a student of engineering with Adna Anderson, a Chief Engineer with the Northern Pacific Railway. Morley's first work in engineering was on the Connecticul River Railroad. He then worked with the Engineer Corps of the New York and Erie Railroad, the Pacific Railroad, and the Iron Mountain Railroad. He married Virginia F. Woodruff in 1855.

In 1862 Morley left St. Louis, Missouri, and traveled up the Missouri River on the steamer Spread Eagle. He arrived in Fort Benton, Montana, on June 20, 1862, to join the Montana gold rush. Morley, with a group of men, mined for gold mostly in western Montana south of present day Missoula, ranging almost as far south as Yellowstone. He arrived back in St. Louis on August 4, 1865.

In 1865 Morley returned to work for the Iron Mountain Railroad, first as Chief Engineer and then as Superintendent, completing extensive lines of that railroad before leaving in 1883.

Morley died in 1889.

From the guide to the James Henry Morley diary, 1862-1865, (University of Montana-Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)