George W. Morey

The second son of Jay and Susannah (Redman) Morey, George Morey was born on the family homestead in Liberty Township on June 16, 1857. George Morey spent his early life attending the rural schools and helping his father on the farm. In 1877 he received a license to teach in the rural schools of Henry County.

On August 24, 1879 George married Elizabeth J. "Lizzie" Martin. They were married at the home of her parents Dr. Elton T. and Dorcas (Crawford) Martin in Liberty Township. Her father was a prominent doctor at Liberty Center. Lizzie Martin was born on October 3, 1861 at Marion County, Ohio and she accompanied her parents to Henry County in 1863.

After their marriage they lived on a farm in Liberty Township. George was very successful at farming and he began acquiring farms in Liberty and Damascus Townships. Because of this success he retired from active farming and moved to Napoleon in 1893. At Napoleon, George Morey had purchased the Justin Tyler property on West Clinton street. This beautiful house, which stood next to the Napoleon Public Library, boasted of curved glass windows, parquet flooring, and many large rooms. The house was razed by the Library several years ago.

When he came to Napoleon, George Morey became very active in the civic and business affairs of the town. The Black Beauty Harness Oil Company was formed at Napoleon in 1903 and Mr. Morey became a director and served as president of the company for several years. Later Mr. Morey served as a director of the former Napoleon State Bank.

The Morey's were one of the early automobile owners of Napoleon. They often spent their summers driving to the family cottage at Lakeside, Ohio. By 1913 the house on Clinton street became too large for the aging couple and so they built a new house on West Washington street. This house was located across the street from the home of their in-laws, the Dr. Maerkers.

Lizzie Morey was very active in the Women's Foreign Missionary Society and she was an active member of the St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church. She was also involved with the Napoleon chapter of the W.C.T.U. After a short illness, Mrs. Morey died at Napoleon on January 9, 1918.

George Morey married his second wife on May IA, 1921, Mrs. Lucy Ferguson. She was the daughter of Calvin C. and Amanda (Eldredge) Young and she was born at Liberty Center on January 7, 1864. Her father had been of the early developers of Liberty Center. Mr. Morey lived at Napoleon until the time of his death on November 16, 1941. George and Lizzie Morey are buried on the Martin family lot in Young's Cemetery at Liberty Center.

George and Elizabeth Morey had one son, Ray Edmund Morey, who was a prominent Napoleon businessman.

Submitted by: Robert Barnes