The following appeared in The Quincy Patriot Ledger, July 3, 1945, mere weeks after VE Day, and weeks before VJ Day. It’s an article that describes a woman my own mother (mentioned at the end) knew well, but who as a young teenager had sewn gifts for Union troops fighting under President Lincoln.
I do this work for many reasons, but near the top of the list, I do it because I want to show present and coming generations that the people of the past, recorded as grainy black and white or sepia photos, or as primitive oil portraits, or without images altogether, were as real as you and I.
Reading this, several times over, and imagining myself at her party, listening to her words and seeing her good cheer, I am reminded of Masaccio’s fresco The Holy Trinity in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella. At the base, below the image of Christ, there is a skeleton, and above it the words: “Io fu’ già quel che voi sete, e quel ch’i’ son voi anco sarete” or “I once was what you are [now], and what I am [now] you will also be.”
Quincy Woman, 95, Has Done Her Share During Four Wars
Mrs. Mary Morrison, Great-Aunt of Former Mayor, Made Comfort Bags For Civil War Soldiers; Still Sews For Red Cross
Seated in her favorite rocking chair, Mrs. Mary L. Morrison, of 84 Bigelow street, who celebrated her 95th birthday over the weekend, looked back on almost a century of “good moderate living” as she told her family how she helped in each of the last four wars, what the town of Quincy was like in 1870, and all about the old Rodgers homestead in Marshfield Hills. Mrs. Morrison is the great-aunt of Clarence R. Burgin, president of the Quincy Savings bank, and Lt. Thomas S. Burgin, USN, four-times Mayor of Quincy.
Likes Progress
“I don’t believe in standing still,” Mrs. Morrison told her guests. “I like to see progress. The horse and buggy was nice—but the automobile is nice, too.”
After making sure that everyone had a piece of her birthday cake, baked for her by Mrs. Mary Melcher, with whom she makes her home, Mrs. Morrison described the work she has done for servicemen of the last four wars.
As a teen-age girl in the Marshfield Hills home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Luther Rodgers, she made “comfort” bags (small utility bags for needles, thread and soap), and wrote letters to the soldiers of the Civil War.
Men of the Spanish-American War also received equipment that Mrs. Morrison had helped to make. As a Red Cross worker in World War I, she sewed and knitted for the boys, and today, while going through her fourth war, she still writes her own letters and sews for the Red Cross.
The oldest living member of the First Parish church in Quincy square, Mrs. Morrison remembers this church as the one in which she married Ibrahim Morrison on Jan. 20, 1870. After the wedding a reception was held in the home of her brother, Henry C. Rodgers, of Washington street, Quincy.
Ibrahim Morrison, uncle of Mrs. Henry Faxon of Quincy, was connected with the Morrison Woolen mills in Braintree. He and his bride made their home with the Morrison family on Elm street in Braintree. In 1898, when her husband died, Mrs. Morrison went back to the Rodgers homestead in Marshfield Hills and lived with her other brother, Herbert T. Rodgers, and his wife until their death. She came back to Quincy two years ago.
“Quincy doesn’t look much like it did in 1870,” Mrs. Morrison said. “I used to know everyone in South Quincy. Now when I go riding I don’t even know where I am.”
A direct descendant of five people who came to this country on the Mayflower, Mrs. Morrison has eight great-great nieces and nephews. Claire Burgin, 14, daughter of Lt. Burgin, was also born on June 30, and she usually celebrates her birthday with her great-great-aunt. This year Claire was out of town and Mrs. Morrison had to celebrate the birthday for both of them.
Lt. Walton Rodgers, of the Army Air Forces, another great-nephew, was reported killed in action about six months ago while on a bombing mission in the Pacific.
Several years ago, at a friendship dinner given at the Neighborhood club in Quincy in honor of Lieutenant Burgin, then mayor of Quincy, Mrs. Morrison, being the oldest member in the room, was asked to stand up. To the surprise of everyone, she not only stood up, but gave a delightful three-minute speech.
Mrs. Morrison is the aunt of Mrs. Clarence Burgin of Quincy, and Mrs. Lewis B. Doane of New London, Ct. She is the great-aunt of Mrs. Emmet T. Calahan, wife of Commander Emmet T. Calahan, U. S. Coast Guard, of Washington, D. C.
Her eight great-great nieces and nephews are Claire Burgin and Jon H. Burgin, son and daughter of Lt. and Mrs. Thomas S. Burgin; Helen R. Burgin, Harriet Swain Burgin, Jane Skudder Burgin, and William Townsend Burgin, children of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence R. Burgin, and Mary Lucille and Priscilla Calahan of Washington, D. C.
Looking ahead to her 100th birthday, Mrs. Morrison prefers to handle her own business transactions. She keeps up with latest world developments, and although she likes to see progress and enjoys riding in automobiles, she wants to stay away from airplanes, believing it better always to “keep one foot on the ground.”
[Editor’s note: Aunt Mary Morrison died aged 99, in February 1950.—LSL]
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