Worth A Repeat

Post by **marilyn morning** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:51 pm

Anne, I have a copy of a copy

http://www.talkingscot.com/gallery/thum ... ?album=134

Post by **AnneM** » Thu Oct 23, 2008 7:11 pm

Sorry. Thought you were wondering where it was originally published. There does not seem to be a newspaper name on your clipping. Frustrating when people do that is it not.

Anne

Post by **marilyn morning** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 1:53 am

Hi Alan,

I forgot to thank you for these results. I still have no idea how these gentlemen connect to my family?

My gg gf, Matthew Morning sailed into Castle Garden on 8 May 1883 with his two younger sisters-in-laws.
My gg gm, Matthew's wife, Maggie Morning followed a few months later traveling along with their two
young children, Janet & John Morning. John being my great grandfather and he really was a great man indeed!!
This is the only connection to New York that I have with my Morning family.

Pure speculation on my part, but I have a very strong feeling that Matthew may have worked for the Flax Mills of Finlayson, Bousfield & Co of Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, which also owned the Grafton Flax Mills of Grafton, Massachusetts. According to a local historian of Grafton, Massachusetts, the Grafton Flax Mill burned down in the 1950's and the town hall of Grafton, Massachusetts had a fire in the 1970 which destroyed most of their records. What I can tell you is that the Grafton Mill was located on was is now referred to as Rt. 30 and only a short distant up the road from where Matthew is buried in Pine Grove Cemetery. Back then Matthew would have walked to work or hopped onto the train which ran through the town.

Grafton Massachusetts is a rural part of the state and remains so today. Although, I have no resource to confirm my belief, I have a strong feeling that Matthew worked for Finlayson in Johnstone and perhaps they offered him some sort of incentive to move his family from Johnstone, Scotland to Grafton, Massachusetts? His wife, Maggie’s brother in law married to her younger sister, Annie was an overseer at a mill in Grafton, so maybe he offered Matthew a position here in the US?

Here is a copy of an advertisement for the Finlayson mills, that I found in a street directory for the City of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA 1890. Worcester is only a hop, skip and a jump from Grafton, Massachusetts. You'll also notice the listing for David Morning, who was the younger brother of my gg gf, Matthew Morning.

http://talkingscot.com/gallery/displayi ... ?pos=-1674

Based on my past Google searches, the Finlayson, Bousfield & Co had factories up and down the East Coast of the USA. From memory they had two different locations in New York and one across the state line in New Jersey. I remember this because Matthew's younger brother, David Morning's family lived in Lowell, Massachusetts abt 1895 (confirmed by his gg gd) and then moved to New Jersey, had two more sons and David passed away in NJ between 1895-1900. His widow, Marion Christy Morning moved her family back to Lowell, Massachusetts after 1900. I do have a great picture of her and the children, but not of David himself.

The only connection to Charles Smithurst that I can think of at the moment, would be connected to Matthew's younger sister, Elizabeth Morning Lyle who lived in Allegany County, PA around the same time.

Marilyn

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:11 pm

That’s okay Marilyn,

I had a bit of a look around in newspapers etc for some of the people you mentioned but didn’t really do any good at all. Morning would be an easy name to research if it wasn’t also the time of day the sun comes up. It reminded me a bit of when I was looking for someone by the name of Corner and kept getting a long string of false hits.

I came across some mention of the Company in Johnstone in the UK newspapers but that was mainly to do with accidents and other incidents. A search for Grafton Flax didn’t find anything in the US papers although there were some interesting snippets about Grafton Mass. to do with a movie they made there back in the 30s. “Ah Wilderness”, or something like that, it was called.

Let me know if you’re interested in that sort of thing and I’ll round them up and send them.

All the best,
Alan

Post by **marilyn morning** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 3:32 pm

Alan wrote

Morning would be an easy name to research if it wasn’t also the time of day the sun comes up.

Tell me about it

came across some mention of the Company in Johnstone in the UK newspapers but that was mainly to do with accidents and other incidents.

accidents at the Finlayson? If you still have that saved, could you e-mail it?

there were some interesting snippets about Grafton Mass. to do with a movie they made there back in the 30s. “Ah Wilderness”, or something like that, it was called.

Oh that's interesting

By 1899 my Morning family had moved from Grafton, North abt 45 miles to Chelmsford/Lowell, Massachusetts. I still pass through Grafton now and again, much of it it still wilderness.....maybe next time I'll find out where the movie was filmed? Would you send me the info, please.

Regards
Marilyn

Post by **marilyn morning** » Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:58 am

Hi Alan,

Thanks for forwarding those articles to me! I was amused by the fact that other New England States were upset the movie wasn't being filmed in their "old" towns. I know exactly where parts of that film was shot in Grafton. What surprised me was that factories were moving down South for cheaper labor back then. I didn't think that happened until the 1970's?

Regards
Marilyn