The Box . . .

Aletha Moore, my niece and God Child, graciously gave me a box of materials from her mother's house.  The family had gone through Herrise's possessions and these were family things, writings, letters, newspaper clippings and family history items. Herrise was my sister.

The box was a treasure trove to me because it had a lot of material on the Morrison, Seghers and deGraffenried families.  It had numerous writings and typed sheets of family history, dates of birth, marriages and deaths from the family bible.  Stuff my mother, Polly Morrison, tediously copied out of the family bible.  It had reference books on Louisiana portraits of which both Jacob Haight Morrison, his wife and the Seghers family portraits are shown.  Jacob Haight Morrison's portrait hangs in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D. C.  It had a bit of Swayze material from my mother's mother, who was a Swayze.

I have the Jacob Haight Morrison bible as well as the bible of my father and mother.  I have only casually gone through the bible, not thoroughly like my mother did.  For instance, I found pictures of Mike Morrison taken at the time of his death.  A tragic death.  I sent those to Walter, his older brother for keeping for his family siblings.  Mike was their brother.  And it was a hard and sad time for all of them.

In the box for some unknown reason were such documents as copy of Uncle Walter and Aunt Flea's marriage certificate from St. Ann's Catholic Church in Morganza, Louisiana.   I have letters from Chep Morrison on State of Louisiana Legislature writing materials to my grandmother, his aunt, regarding my grandfathers death.  Even some references to the Libby family which happen to be part and parcel of the Seghers family.  Lots of pictures some of which are hard to identify. but some like a photograph of my father and mother together late in their lives.  Photos of Aunt Edna, a beautiful young lady. that went to Sophia Newcomb College in New Orleans in 1927.

In the box were three receipts signed by President Boyd at LSU circa 1878 and 1879 were my grandfather, William Hyppolite deGraffenried, attended school in Baton Rouge.  The William in his name is whence my name William comes from.  The Christian in my name comes from my other grandfather, Walter Christian Morrison.  Thus I became one of the many "W. C." Morrison but not a Walter Christian Morrison.  To this day I must write out my name on legal documents to differentiate me from all my cousins that are all Walter Christian Morrisons.  That is a lot of name to cram into the bottom of a personal check.

I have but gone through the box but once, so must do it again and again to learn more about our family.  There is very little about the Campbell's up in Clarksdale, Mississippi.  I learned from Herrise that Uncle Sharky Campbell married my grandmother's twin sister.  So they are a distinct branch of the Seghers family and I know there are but a few of them left today.

So I owe a great shout out to Aletha and her brothers and sisters for giving me the "box."  I will treasure it and try to move some of it on to the Pointe Coupee Library for historical purposes.