Call Number:

17

Repository:

Radnor Historical Society

Extent:

2.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1870-1906

Creator:

Morrison family

Abstract:

John W. Morrison, born in 1842, worked in a Photo Supply House as a youth before he joined the Union Army during the Civil War, served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and was appointed to posts as State Treasurer of Pennsylvania and Deputy Commissioner of Banking for the State of Pennsylvania. His family home in Wayne, Delaware County, Pennsylvania was located at 425 Chestnut Lane. The Morrison family glass plate negatives, circa 1870-1906, consist of about 100 plates depicting Morrison family members or buildings and scenery in Wayne or other locations along the Main Line.

John W. Morrison was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1842, and moved to the village of North Liberty, Mercer County, Pennsylvania as a boy. At age 16, he went to Pittsburgh, PA to work as a clerk and general assistant in a Photo Supply House owned by his brother-in-law, John Haworth. He worked there until the outbreak of the Civil War, at which point, in 1861, he enlisted in the Union Army, Company E, 100th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the "Roundhead" Regiment. In the early 1880s, while living in Bellevue, PA (just outside of Pittsburgh), he was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He served as Journal Clerk of the House (1885-1887), and later, Chief Clerk of the House (1889-1891). In 1891 he was elected State Treasurer of Pennsylvania, and soon after the end of his term (1894), he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Banking for the State of Pennsylvania. After assuming the position in 1895, he served in the role for over 20 years.

John W. Morrison and his wife, Jerusha, had four children: Mary B., Katherine H. (later Johnston), Alice T., and James B. Around 1892, Morrison purchased a home in Wayne, Delaware County, Pennsylvania at 425 Chestnut Lane and moved there with his family. The home was designed by architect F.L. & W.L. Price, and built by Wendell & Smith.

Bibliography:

Henderson, George. The Civil War Diary of Henderson George, ed. by Robert Luoma. "Morrison and Taylor Families: John W. Morrison." Accessed March 26, 2014. http://www.100thpenn.com/GeorgeDiary/postwar4.html.

This collection consists of about 100 glass plate negatives that were found at 425 Chestnut Lane, the home of Captain John W. Morrison in Wayne, Pennsylvania. Most of the photographs depict Morrison family members or buildings and scenery in Wayne or other locations along the Main Line. This collection was formerly known as the "425 Chestnut Lane Collection."

1. Union Army Captain John W. Morrison and friend 2. U.S. Grant and George W. Childs Families in Elberon, NJ 3. J. W. Morrison lighting a cigar, 2 negatives 4. General Wayne Monument at Old St. Davids Church 5. Mrs. Johnston's Wedding Reception, Oct. 18, 1899 6. Mrs. Johnston's Wedding Reception, Oct. 18, 1899 7. Washington's Headquarters, Valley Forge, Pa. 8. Looking east from Eagle Road taken from the 3rd floor window of 425 Chestnut Lane 9. J. W. Morrison, 425 Chestnut Lane - interior 10. Methodist Church 11. Old Eagle School 12. Village Blacksmith with hammer and anvil 13. Old St. Davids Church 14. Eagle Road near Paul's Estate 15. Spring House, Sugartown Road, Hecksher Estate 16. Spring House, on William's Woods, Estate is now a nursing home in Wayne, Pa 17. Washington's Headquarters, Valley Forge, Pa. 18. Bridge in Mott's Woods, Radnor, Pa. 19. Eagle Road entrance to Paul's Estate, now Cabrini College 20. Mott's Estate, Radnor, Pa. 21. Bryn Mawr College 22. Newtown Square, Pa. 23. 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 24. 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 25. Morrison Family at round porch, 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 26. Morrison Family at round porch, 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 27. Mott's Woods, Radnor, Pa. 28. J. W. Morrison and Family at Washington's Headquarters, Valley Forge, Pa. 29. House in North Wayne, Pa., probably 419 Chestnut Lane 30. Catholic Church, Wayne, Pa. 31. Stone Church 32. Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 33. Train Signal Tower, out house, shed, building in rear 34. Old Barn at 425 Chestnut Lane, Woodie Cook House 35. William Burchfield, brother of Jerusha Morrison, 1898 36. Miss. Alice Taylor Morrison, daughter of Capt. J. W. Morrison, 425 Chestnut Lane 37. Spring House, unknown 38. Cathcart Home in Devon, Pa. In 2011 is New Seasons nursing home 39. Morrison Family, 425 Chestnut Lane, possibly Mrs. Robert C. Johnston 40. Duplicate of Aunt Alice, Miss Alice Taylor Morrison 41. Wedding Reception, Oct. 18,. 1899 on porch of 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne 42. Anthony Wayne Monument erected in 1898 by the Pa. Society of the sons of the Revolution 43. Miss Alice Taylor Morrison in her room at 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 44. Belview Hotel burned down in 1900 45. J. W. Morrison and Granddaughter Mary M. Johnston, about 1905 46. Mary M. Johnston, 425 Chestnut Lane, about 1906 47. Family gathering on lawn 48. Hotel, unknown 49. House, unknown 50. Washington's Headquarters, Valley Forge, Pa. 51. Old Mill (?) 52. Grave of Rachel Macome Wethehill, May 16, 1831-Nov. 18, 1801, location unknown 53. Photo taken on a 1898 Bulletin newspaper of a man in 1800's garb 54. Large burned out brick building with a round "tower" section 55. Baby in a perambulator 56. Woman (may be Alice T. Morrison) 57. Woman with her back to the camera (probably Alice T. Morrison) 58. Waterfall 59. Pastured cows 60. Elegant stone estate entrance 61. Girl sitting in a window reading 62. Small house with fence 63. Wooded dirt lane 64. Church interior 65. House with metal fence and cabana in front yard 66. House interior with tall clock 67. Ducks in a wooded yard 68. Old woman 69. Horse drawn buckboard with people 70. Two story house on wooded lot with people 71. House on wooded lot 72. Entrance gate on wooded lane 73. Woods with cloudy sky 74. Large dog laying on grass 75. "Sheep's" shed with corral (broken slide) 76. Mansard style house (broken slide) 77. Trees 78. Dirt road through trees and shrubbery 79. Lovely lady with long braid in a field holding flowers 80. Pond and trees 81. Tunnel under rail road 82. Prince: St. Bernard belonging to Mrs. R.S. Johnston, 425 Chestnut Lane, Wayne, Pa. 83. Colonial garbed mannequins posing with yarn 84. Colonial scene of man and woman sitting in front of a fireplace 85. Wooded lot 86. Wooded lane 87. Wooded, rocky hillside 88. Road with woods and high berm on right side 89. Little house (church ?) in the woods with a stone wall 90. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's dining ornate dining room 91. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's dining room, window details 92. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's dining room, window details 93. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's dining, structural details 94. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's dining room, table set 95. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's sitting room with ferns 96. Jane M. Taylor's Aunt Kate's bedroom with fireplace 97. House interior with tall clock (slide deliberately scratch out) 98. 134 Walnut Ave. at corner of Woodland Ave. , 1st home of the Red Cross? donated 1/5/1993 by B. Tease