Caroline (Wentworth) Morse: Teacher, Wife, Mother, and Friend
While trolling through local newspaper and census records, reading local histories, and wandering through graveyards I've come across many interesting local women. Many of these women lived lives that today we might think of as being ordinary, but in their times they were living out of the ordinary. In this series of posts, I'm going to introduce you to some women you should know from our local history.
After leaving Mount Holyoke, Caroline kept in contact with the seminary and was a member of the Memorandum Society. She would have paid $2.00 to be a life member and had to write a letter to the society in January of every fifth year containing facts pertaining to herself or other members of the society. A catalogue was published with this information and sent to the members. From the 1857 catalogue we learn that Caroline had taught in Cornwall, Connecticut, and at present, was living in Dover, New Hampshire. It was around this time that Handley Ebenezer Fitch of Clarence, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, wanted to establish a ladies seminary at his home and so he asked Caroline to come to Clarence. How he came to know Caroline is unknown, but there were several Nova Scotian women who had been to Mount Holyoke that were starting schools in the province at that time. With Caroline as principal, the Clarence Seminary was founded in 1858.
Caroline passed from this life on the 30th of October 1889, aged just 57 years, from cancer. The following obituary was published in the Bridgetown Weekly Monitor on the 9th of November:
From her obituary we can see how loved and respected she was in her family and community. Caroline left a legacy of education that impacted generations of children in Annapolis County. For example, one of the girls that attended the Clarence Seminary would go on to teach for over 30 years, eventually becoming a principal herself. In her own family, both of her sons graduated from Acadia University, and when her son Charles graduated in 1897, he was the winner of the Governor General's gold medal. Eldest son Ernest would go on to graduate from Harvard University in 1892. Both Ernest and Charles became teachers in the mathematical department of the Manual Training High School in Kansas City, Nebraska. In 1902, a book titled, History of the Baptists of the Maritime Provinces, was published. It included a mention of Caroline when talking of early female education in Nova Scotia and a short paragraph biography. On page 305 is the above photograph of Caroline which was included in loving memory by her children.
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| Caroline (Wentworth) Morse Posted by the Paradise Historical Society |
Caroline was born on the 27th of November 1832, in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire. She was the seventh of nine children born to Hall and Sophia (or Nancy) Wentworth. When she was about nineteen years of age, she entered Mount Holyoke Ladies Seminary, in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Mount Holyoke was founded in 1837, by Mary Lyon, a pioneer in female education. Caroline attended the seminary for three years, graduating in 1853. After graduating, she taught at Mount Holyoke for two years, from 1853 to 1855.
After leaving Mount Holyoke, Caroline kept in contact with the seminary and was a member of the Memorandum Society. She would have paid $2.00 to be a life member and had to write a letter to the society in January of every fifth year containing facts pertaining to herself or other members of the society. A catalogue was published with this information and sent to the members. From the 1857 catalogue we learn that Caroline had taught in Cornwall, Connecticut, and at present, was living in Dover, New Hampshire. It was around this time that Handley Ebenezer Fitch of Clarence, Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, wanted to establish a ladies seminary at his home and so he asked Caroline to come to Clarence. How he came to know Caroline is unknown, but there were several Nova Scotian women who had been to Mount Holyoke that were starting schools in the province at that time. With Caroline as principal, the Clarence Seminary was founded in 1858.
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| Home of Handley E. Fitch, Clarence. https://www.mapannapolis.ca/historical-houses |
The Clarence Seminary was under Caroline’s principalship for two years, as she resigned in 1860 to get married. She had met a local man, Capt. Edward Manning Morse, from the nearby community of Paradise. They went to her home state of New Hampshire to be wed and were married by the Rev. E. H. Richardson in her father’s house on the 2nd of September 1860. The couple settled in the Morse family home in Paradise. According to the Paradise Historical Society, Caroline continued to teach after her marriage in an outbuilding on the Morse property and local children attended. She probably stopped teaching by the time of the birth of her first child in 1863.
As with many households in the area, the Morse family household consisted of more than Caroline’s nuclear family. When she moved into the house after her marriage, her widowed mother-in-law, Sarah Ann (Bishop) Morse, and unmarried sister-in-law, Susan Amelia, were living there. On the 7th of February 1863, the Morse's first child was born, Ernest Roswell. He was followed by Ida Bell the next year on the 24th of September. A few years later, Narcisa joined the family on the 2nd of April 1868, but sadly, she only lived for eleven days. The next year Evangeline Mary was born on the 14th of August, followed by Jessie Lillian on the 14th of February 1871. Their last child, Charles Edward, was born on the 26th of August 1873. Edward's sister Susan married in 1872, and left the household and started a family of her own. His mother continued to live with the family until she died on the 10th of December 1881, aged 75 years. We know from the 1881 census, that Caroline had a maid, Euphemia Bent, to help her with the housework and looking after five children and an aging mother-in-law. Sadly, the household experienced tragedy again on the 3rd of August 1887, with the death of the Morse's daughter Evangeline at the age of 18 years.
As with many households in the area, the Morse family household consisted of more than Caroline’s nuclear family. When she moved into the house after her marriage, her widowed mother-in-law, Sarah Ann (Bishop) Morse, and unmarried sister-in-law, Susan Amelia, were living there. On the 7th of February 1863, the Morse's first child was born, Ernest Roswell. He was followed by Ida Bell the next year on the 24th of September. A few years later, Narcisa joined the family on the 2nd of April 1868, but sadly, she only lived for eleven days. The next year Evangeline Mary was born on the 14th of August, followed by Jessie Lillian on the 14th of February 1871. Their last child, Charles Edward, was born on the 26th of August 1873. Edward's sister Susan married in 1872, and left the household and started a family of her own. His mother continued to live with the family until she died on the 10th of December 1881, aged 75 years. We know from the 1881 census, that Caroline had a maid, Euphemia Bent, to help her with the housework and looking after five children and an aging mother-in-law. Sadly, the household experienced tragedy again on the 3rd of August 1887, with the death of the Morse's daughter Evangeline at the age of 18 years.
Despite being a busy mother of five, Caroline still had time to be involved in her community. On the 1st of November 1878, a Grange was organised in Paradise with two members of the Morse family as officers. Caroline was the Ceres (named for the Roman goddess of agriculture) and Ernest was an Assistant Steward. The Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, was a social organisation that was founded in the United States in 1867, with the goal of advocating for agriculture. Caroline was very involved with the Annapolis Division Grange, No. 49, Patrons of Husbandry, and would eventually become a leader of the women in the Grange and wrote on the topic of the female members' place and duties within the Grange.
Caroline was also involved with her local church and went through a change of denomination after her marriage. In her hometown, she had been a member of the congregational church and had remained a Congregationalist after moving to Paradise. In the 1871 census, Caroline and the children were listed as Congregationalists while Edward and his mother and sister were listed as Calvinist Baptists. Caroline would have attended the Baptist church with her husband, and she eventually was baptised by the Rev. A. Cahoon and became a member of the Wilmot Baptist Church. In the 1881 census, the whole family are listed as Baptists.
As we have seen in this short biography, education was a big part of Caroline's life and legacy. She seems to have instilled this in her children as both of her sons furthered their education and became educators themselves. Caroline would live to see her eldest son graduate from Acadia University in 1887. At the Convocation on the 2nd of June, Ernest was one of the graduates chosen to give an oration. His paper was titled, "The Influence of one Thinker on his Own and Successive Ages," illustrated by Plato. One can imagine her pride as she listened to her son. Sadly, she would not live to see what he and his younger brother Charles would achieve.
Caroline passed from this life on the 30th of October 1889, aged just 57 years, from cancer. The following obituary was published in the Bridgetown Weekly Monitor on the 9th of November:
"Many of our readers will, with emotions of deep sorrow and regret, read the notice in another column of the death of Mrs. Edward Manning Morse, of Paradise. It had been known to her intimate friends that she had been, for some time, suffering from the effects of a cancer, which must ultimately end in death, but scarce to say one believed the fatal event would come so soon. Mrs. Morse, whose maiden name was Caroline Wentworth, was a native of one of the New England States, and was trained for educational work in her youth. It was in this work she engaged herself during the first years of her residence in the county, and she did not retire from her labors in it until after her marriage. In her varied relations of teacher, wife, mother, and friend she never failed in gaining the love and affection of those around her. She was a lady of solid scholastic attainments, possessed of much simplicity of character, and was a warmhearted and pious christian woman, entirely devoid of ostentation, whose influence in the household, the church, and the world was always used for the pure and the right. She leaves a husband and several children, besides many friends, to mourn a loss not easily to be borne, nor readily to be estimated. May they find consolation in the reflection that she was worthy the love and regard she inspired in all with whom she was in any way associated."
From her obituary we can see how loved and respected she was in her family and community. Caroline left a legacy of education that impacted generations of children in Annapolis County. For example, one of the girls that attended the Clarence Seminary would go on to teach for over 30 years, eventually becoming a principal herself. In her own family, both of her sons graduated from Acadia University, and when her son Charles graduated in 1897, he was the winner of the Governor General's gold medal. Eldest son Ernest would go on to graduate from Harvard University in 1892. Both Ernest and Charles became teachers in the mathematical department of the Manual Training High School in Kansas City, Nebraska. In 1902, a book titled, History of the Baptists of the Maritime Provinces, was published. It included a mention of Caroline when talking of early female education in Nova Scotia and a short paragraph biography. On page 305 is the above photograph of Caroline which was included in loving memory by her children.
To end her short biography, I would like to point out that I could not easily find Caroline's final resting place. She was most likely buried in the Paradise Cemetery, but perhaps she does not have a headstone. May we remember Caroline (Wentworth) Morse.
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Information from the Paradise Historical Society on the Morse House:
History of the Baptists of the Maritime Provinces, page 305:
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