348
��The First New Englmid Witch.
��MaiT, became the heiress of her aunt's property find her great uncle John's estate, and was accounted a lady of wealth, station, and beauty.
Meanwhile, the family of old Sam- uel Morse's playfellow had also reached the fourth generation. The name of that playfellow was Oliver Cromwell, who became Lord Protec- tor of the British commonwealth. Of course he forgot Samuel Morse, and was sitting in Parliament when Samuel died. He had children and grandchildren who lived as contempo- rary of his old playmate's children and grandchildren. Two or three years before Samuel's great grand- daughter, Mary, was born, a great grandson of the Protector saw the light. This boy was named Oliver, but was called " Rummy Noll." The ancestral estate of Theobald's became his sole inheritance, and as soon as he came into the property he began to live a wild, fast life, distinguishing himself as an adventurous, if not a profligate, gentleman.
He travelled much, and one day in a sunny English year came to the town of his great-grandfather's na- tivity. There he chanced to meet Mary Morse. The beautiful girl fas- cinated him, but would not consent to be his wife until all of his " wild oats " were sown. Then she became "Mrs. Cromwell, and was a happy wife, as well as a lady of eminence and wealth. Oliver and Mary Crom- well had a daughter Olivia, who mar- ried a Mr. Russell, and whose daugh- ters are the present sole representa- tives of the Protectorate family.
As was said above, William, An- thony, and Robert Morse, brothers of Samuel, Jr., emigrated to America,
��and became the ancestors of nearly all of their name in this country. William and Anthony settled at New- bury, INIass. The latter became a re- spected citizen, and among his de- scendants were such men as Rev. Dr. James Morse, of Nevvburyport, Samuel Finley Breese Morse, the telegraph inventor, Rev. Sidney Edwards Morse, and others scarcely less notable.
Robert Morse, Anthony's brother, left England at about the time of the beginning of the civil war, And locat- ed in Boston as a tailor. He was a sterling old Puritan ; of strict morali- ty, prudent and enterprising. He speculated in real estate, and after a while removed to Elizabethtown, N. J., which place he helped to settle, and where he amassed much wealth. He had nine children. Among his descendants were some men of emi- nence, as Dr. Isaac Morse of Eliza- bethtown, Hon. Nathan Morse of New Orleans, Isaac E. Morse, long a member of congress from Louisiana, Judge Morse of Ohio, and others.
None of these sons of Samuel, the mate of Cromwell, were great men themselves, but were notable in their descendants. Samuel's descendant came to represent a historical family ; Anthony's greatest descendant in- vented the telegraph; and the descend- ants of Robert were noble Southrons. William, alone of the five brothers, had notoriety. Samuel, Jr., was more eminent, but William made a mark in Massachusetts history.
William, brother of Anthony, was the father of ten children, — six sous and four daughters. Settling in New- bury, he led an humble and monoto- nous life. When he had lived there more than forty years, and had come
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