Scholar, writer and clergyman. While studying towards his divinity degree at Yale, in 1783 he established a school for young women. In 1786, after receiving his degree, he continued to teach until his ordination at the end of that year. He saw the need for a geography textbook and he originally published in 1784 "Geography Made Easy." This was followed five years later with "American Geography." He continued to update and expand on these volumes which was widely utilized by schools. His interest and commitment to geographic education earned him the title of "Father of American Geography." Noah Webster assisted him in publishing the "Universal Geography of the United States" in 1797. Concurrently, he became a pastor in Boston beginning in 1789 and continued in this position until 1820. He received his Doctor of Divinity from the University of Edinburgh in 1795. In the following year he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was a staunch religious conservative and defended against Unitarianism. He aided in the financial support of Andover Theological Seminary. By assisting in the formation of the Park Street Church in Boston in 1808, he continued his lifelong dedication to defending the common orthodoxy of the religion. To that end, he published "The Panoplist" which later became "The Missionary Herald." In 1820, he was tasked by the U.S. Secretary of War to visit various Native American tribes to research means of assimilating them. This exposure led him to contradict racist views that implied Native Americans were inferior. He submitted his findings in "Report to the Secretary of War of Indian Affairs" in 1822. He was a member of the American Antiquarian Society, and the Massachusetts Historical Society. The "Dobson's Encyclopedia" was the first encyclopedia published after the American Revolution and Morse made significant contributions to it. He also published twenty-five sermons, "A Compendious History of New England," and "Annals of the American Revolution." His first born son, Samuel Morse went on to invent the telegraph.
Bio by: Winter Birds PA
Family Members
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Jedidiah Morse
1726–1819
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Sarah Child Morse
1724–1805
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Elizabeth Ann Breese Morse
1766–1828
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Dorothy Morse
1749–1755
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Jonathan Morse
1750–1835
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Jonathan Morse
1750–1835
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Amos Morse
1755–1755
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Lydia Morse Child
1759–1792
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Samuel Finley Breese Morse
1791–1872
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Sidney Edwards Morse
1794–1871
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Richard Cary Morse
1795–1868
Flowers
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See more Morse memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Jedidiah Morse
North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000
Jedidiah Morse
Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970
Jedidiah Morse
Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography, 1600-1889
Jedidiah Morse
Connecticut, U.S., Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934
Jedidiah Morse
10,000 Vital Records of Western New York, 1809-1850
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