"An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties."  Interstate
Publishing Company, 1906.  p. 593.
 
GEORGE A. MORRIS

     Few residents of Skagit county have had a more varied and interesting
career than he whose name initiates this biography, a retired farmer residing
two miles west and one-half mile north of Mount Vernon. He was born in
Huntingdonshire, England, February 6, 1844, and his parents were Daniel and
Frances (Holdrich) Morris. His father was a native of Peterboro,
Huntingdonshire, England, born February 7, 1805. After attending the common
schools he learned his trade of journeyman miller, following it till his death,
in August, 1866. The mother, born in Dog's Thorp, near Peterboro, received her
education in the schools of her native town, where she spent her entire life,
her death occurring in 1895.  She was married in 1831 and was the mother of
twelve children. Like many of our great men, George A. Morris early assumed the
practical duties of life, working with his father on the farm, and in the
meantime, by diligent study, acquiring an education. At the age of twenty-one he
was married and followed various occupations for the next ten years, until he
became organizer for the National Association of Farm Laborers, at that time
presided over by the late Joseph Arch. A personal friend and conferee of John
Burns, he at one time, together with the Right Honorable W. E. Gladstone,
Charles Bradlaugh and others, addressed a meeting at the memorial hall in
Farringdon street, London. In 1877 he was brought to Mobile, Alabama by Mr.
Murdock, at that time president of the Mobile and Ohio railroad, as a special
delegate to the National Association of Farm Workers, that he might investigate
that locality and determine its suitability as a location for immigrants. This
trip of about a month was a very delightful one. Accepting a position in the
warehouse of S. E. Hackett, wholesale paper dealer in Nottingham, England,
he remained there for six and a half years, establishing for himself a
reputation for faithfulness and ability that was the envy of his associates in
the business. He has still in his possession recommendations yellow with age,
signed by Mr. Hackett, that would bring a thrill of pride to any man. Favorably
impressed with this country on his previous visit, in 1887 he came to the United
States, landing at Avon, Washington. The following August he took up a homestead
at Mount Vernon, comprising eighty acres, all of which were densely timbered.
After clearing off thirty acres of it he sold the property, and is now living on
a rented farm.
     Mr. Morris was married in 1865, to Sarah O'Donnell, a native of Boston,
England, born April 11, 1844. Her parents were Roger and Sarah (Chandler)
O'Donnell, the father born in Donegal, Ireland, and the mother in
Huntingdonshire, England. The date of her mother's birth was 1819. Both are long
since deceased. Eleven children were born in Nottingham, England, to Mr. and
Mrs. Morris, as follows: Elizabeth Spink, Amos, Harry and Hugh, all of whom died
in youth; John Charles, born July 23, 1871; Mrs. Sarah Esther Mondham, born
April 13, 1873, and George O'Donnell, born March 13, 1876, now residing in Avon,
Washington ; Mrs. Emma M. K. Alien, of Arlington, Washington, born May 10, 1878;
Mrs. Gertrude Axelson, of Fir, born August 14, 1882; Nellie Frances, born August
5, 1883, at home, and William.
     Mr. Morris is a member of the Order of Yeomen, and a staunch
Prohibitionist.  The Salvation Army claims him as a loyal member. Earnest,
thoughtful, always true to his convictions, Mr. Morris enjoys the unbounded
confidence of his associates.

     
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Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in May 2008 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.