Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1920-05-21
LEVI P. MORTON
OF SHOREHAM

Levi P. Morton, former governor of
New York State and vice-president Of
the United States under President Ben
jamin Harrison, died at his home at
Ellerslie, Rhinebeck, Poughkeepsie, N.
Y, Sunday evening, May 10, at $50
o'clock on the Goth anniversary of his
birth
Mr.. Morton was taken ill with a
slight cold three or four days previous,
but his condition did not become ser
ious until Sunday morning, when bron-
chial pneumonia developed. He lapsed
into uncOnsciousness soon after and the
end came peacefully at $3.50 o'clock.
With him at his bedside when he died
were his daughter, Mrs. Helen Morton,
who had made her home with him at
Ellerslie, his country estate, since the
death of Mrs Morton in August, 1918;
his daughter and son-in-law, Mr.. and
Mrs William c. Eustis, of Washington
d. c., and his nephew, Morton Minot
Another daughter, Miss Mary Morton
OF Germantown, Pa, arrived Monday
morning. Mr.. Mortons Goth birthday
was formally celebrated Saturday when
the children of the Rhinebeck schools
held a field days He had returned to
Ellerslie from Washington, where he
made his residence on May s and had
been in apparently good health until
the middle of last week.
Mr.. Morton was born in Shoreham,
Addison County, May l6 1924. He
was the youngest son of Rev. Daniel
o. and Lucretia Parsons Morton. He
was named for his mothers brother,
the Rev Levi Parsons, the first Ameri-
can missionary to go to Palestine. His
father was pastor of the Congregational
church in Shoreham from May II, 1914
to October 1881. The house in which
the future vice president and iLterna-
tional banker was born is still stand
ing and occupied. 1t is situated about
mile north of Shoreham village and
is owned by B. w. Hall
Mortons early life was not one of
luxury His fathers small salary of
Sl00 a year did not allow for more than
bare necessaries But he inherited more
than worldly wealth. He was taught
to appreciate the value OF public spirit
and moral duty There were five other
children besides Levi to be supported
and the best education his father could
afford to give him was a short Latin
course at the Shoreham Academy T
wanted to 90 to college" Mr.. Morton
once said in referring to this first
great disappointment, "but my father
was too poor to send me. So | finished
my education as far as attending school
is concerned, in the little home school,.
When Levi was about eight years
old his parents removed to Springfield,
VT, and there the family remained
four or five years. The younger son,
now being an active sprightly boy left
his home and entered a country store
in Enfield, Mass.
His father had hoped to be able to
send him to Middlebury college but
did not feel able to sustain him for
the term of his education and the son
cheerfully consented to get at a trade
He won the hearts of his customers by
his politeness, truthfulness and strict
attention to business. The wages he
received were small even for those
days, but by practising the most rigid
economy the young clerk had saved
by the time he was twenty years
old sum sufficient to start in bust
ness for himself at Hanover, n. H.
There he remained about five years,
when he concluded to go to Boston,
the business Mecca for every Yankee
boy in those days He secured the start
he needed and before long had shown
his inherent business acumen and was
taken into the firm.
Levi Morton was cut out to be a
banker, and after he had acquired the
principles of business he started his
banking career at the age of 2S as a
partner of Junius S. Morgan, father of
the late ]. Pierpont Morgan, and ten
years later founded his own house of
L. P. Morton & Co., which became the
fiscal agent of the government. Under
his guidance, it conducted some Of the
largest negotiations in the history of
American finance. It's London branch
floated the five per cent loan, with other
European bankers, which enabled the
United States government to resume