Morse, Willard S. (Willard Samuel), 1856-1935

Morse was born on June 12, 1856 in Ware, MA; at age 15 he began an apprenticeship in a machine shop in Taunton; moved to the West, where he first worked as a clerk in the Denver post office, and then in the office of the Consolidated Virginia mine at Virginia City, NV; later became a mining executive in the West and Mexico; moved to New York City in 1906, where he was made a director and member of the executive committee of the American Smelter Securities Co., Chilean Exploration Co., and Braden Copper Co.; withdrew from active business in 1919, serving in an advisory capacity until 1922; wrote many articles for technical society publications; devoted much of his retirement to the collection of Americana; published works include Howard Pyle : a record of his illustrations and writings (comp. with Gertrude Brinklé, 1921) and Francis Bret Harte first editions and manuscripts : the Willard S. Morse collection (1939?); he died on Oct. 4, 1935 in Santa Monica, CA.

From the description of Collection of material about Bret Harte, 1850-1935. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 41359011

Biography

Morse was born on June 12, 1856 in Ware, Massachusetts; at age 15 he began an apprenticeship in a machine shop in Taunton; moved to the West, where he first worked as a clerk in the Denver post office, and then in the office of the Consolidated Virginia mine at Virginia City, Nevada; later became a mining executive in the West and Mexico; moved to New York City in 1906, where he was made a director and member of the executive committee of the American Smelter Securities Company, Chilean Exploration Company, and Braden Copper Company; withdrew from active business in 1919, serving in an advisory capacity until 1922; wrote many articles for technical society publications; devoted much of his retirement to the collection of Americana; published works include Howard Pyle: a record of his illustrations and writings (comp. with Gertrude Brinklé, 1921) and Francis Bret Harte first editions and manuscripts: the Willard S. Morse collection (1939?); he died on October 4, 1935 in Santa Monica, California.

From the guide to the Willard S. Morse Collection of Material About Bret Harte, 1850-1935, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)