Samuel Finley Breese Morse and the Electric Telegraph 1791-1872

American Leaders and Heroes by Wilbur F. Gordy Samuel, Finley, Brice, Morse and the Electric Telegraph 1791-1872 Great as was the power of the steamboat and the railroad in quickening the social life of mankind, of still greater influence in binding together remote communities was the invention of the electric telegraph. The steamboat and the railroad made travel and transportation easier, and frequent intercourse by letters and newspapers possible, but the electric telegraph enabled men to flash their thoughts thousands of miles in a few seconds. The inventor of this wonderful mechanism was Samuel, Finley, Brice, Morse. He was born, in 1791, in a house standing at the foot of Breeds Hill, Charlestown, Massachusetts. His father was a learned minister, who, as Daniel Webster said, was always thinking, always writing, always talking, always acting, and his mother, a woman of noble character, who inspired her son with manly purpose. When Finley was only four years of age, he was sent to a school kept by an elderly woman known as Old Ma'am Rand. She was lame, but no wise halting indiscipline, for she kept near at hand a long rattan stick, by means of which, when necessary, she could quickly reach her pupils in any part of the room. He did not remain long under Old Ma'am Rand's tuition, for when he was seven he went to school at Andover, and still later entered Phillips Academy in the same town. At fourteen he entered Yale College, where from the first he was a thoughtful and diligent student. Very soon Finley's two brothers joined him at college. As their father was poor, the boys had to help themselves along. Finley turned to account his talent for drawing. He made considerable money by painting on ivory likenesses of his classmates and professors, receiving, for a miniature, five dollars, and for a profile, one dollar. At the end of his college course he made painting his chosen profession, and planned to get the best instruction for his life work. Having made a friend of the great artist Washington Alston, Morse went with him to London, and there studied under Benjamin West, who, as you remember, was Robert Fulton's teacher. Morse was at this time a young man of modest, gentle, and sunny manner, and easily won the affection of his new teacher. West held his pupils to high standards, as the following instance shows. Upon one occasion, after spending much time in making what he considered to be a finished drawing, Morse laid it before West for criticism. Upon careful examination, the master praised it highly, and then added, Very well, sir, very well. Go on and finish it. It is finished, was Morse's reply. Oh, no, said Mr. West. Look here, and here, and here, pointing to defects in the drawing. After spending another week upon it, Morse took it to his teacher. Again Mr. West praised it, and added, Very well, indeed, sir. Go on and finish it. Is it not finished? Morse asked, with surprise and disappointment in his voice. Not yet, said his critic. Morse spent three or four days more in trying to perfect the work, and again handed it to his teacher, who, again after praising it, said, Well, sir, go and finish it. I cannot finish it, said Morse, by this time thoroughly disheartened. Well, replied Mr. West, I have tried you long enough. Now, sir, you have learned more by this drawing than you would have accomplished in double the time by a dozen half-finished beginnings. It is not numerous drawings, but the character of one which makes you a thorough draftsman. Finish one picture, sir, and you are a painter. After four years of study, Morse returned to Boston, but in the meantime, like Fulton, he had gradually turned his thought from painting to invention. His energies were now for many years divided between the two. During these years, Morse had to depend for a livelihood mainly upon drawing and painting. He traveled through New Hampshire and Vermont, and even as far as South Carolina, everywhere painting miniatures on ivory and establishing his reputation as an artist. In 1829, he went once more to Europe for study, and remained three years. But upon his return, although painting occupied much of his time, his career as an artist ended. His change of vocation turned upon an incident of his voyage home. On the ocean's steamer, the conversation at dinner one day was about recent experiments with electricity. The special question of inquiry was this. Does the length of wire make any difference in the velocity of the electric current passing through it? One of the men present, Dr. Jackson, said that so far as experiments yet indicated, electricity passed through any length of wire in an instant. Then, said Morse, thought can be transmitted hundreds of miles instantaneously by means of electricity. For if electricity will go ten miles without stopping, I can make it go around the globe. What a wonderful idea! In an instant, to send thought thousands of miles, and make a record of it there. That is what the telegraph was to do. When once the possibility of this great achievement entered Morse's mind, it took complete possession of him, and he could think of nothing else through the busy days and sleepless nights that followed. His notebook was ever at hand to outline the new instrument, and to jot down the signs in sending messages. In a short time he had worked out on paper the whole scheme of transmitting thought over long distances by means of electricity, and now began twelve toilsome years of struggle to devise machinery for his invention. To provide for his three motherless children, Morse had to devote to painting much time that he otherwise would have spent in perfecting the mechanical appliances for his telegraph. His progress, therefore, was slow and painful, but he persistently continued in the midst of discouraging conditions. His brothers, who owned a building in New York on the corner of Nassau and Beekman Streets, allowed Morse to have a room on the fifth floor. Here he toiled day and night, sleeping little and eating the simplest and scantiest food. Indeed, so meager was his fare, consisting mainly of crackers and tea, that he bought his provisions at night, lest his friends might discover his need. During this time of hardship he kept starvation from his door by giving lessons in painting to a few pupils. On a certain occasion, Morse said to one of them, who owed him a quarter's tuition, "'Well, Struthers, my boy, how are we off for money?' "'Professor,' said the young fellow, "'I'm sorry to say I've been disappointed, but I expect the money next week.' "'Next week!' cried his needy teacher. "'I shall be dead by next week.' "'Dead, sir,' rejoined Struthers. "'Yes, dead by starvation,' was the emphatic answer. "'Would ten dollars be of any service?' asked the pupil, now impressed with the seriousness of the situation. "'Ten dollars would save my life,' was the answer of the poor man, who had been without food for twenty-four hours. You may be sure that Struthers promptly handed him the money. But in spite of heavy trials and many discouragements, he had, by 1837, finished a machine, which he exhibited in New York. Among those present was a gifted and inventive young man by the name of Alfred Vale. Greatly impressed, he told Morse that he believed the telegraph would be successful, and later he joined Morse in a business compact. Alfred Vale's father and brother were wealthy men, the owners of large iron and brass mills, and he himself was skillful in working brass. Morse was therefore glad to accept him as a partner, especially on account of his good financial backing. Young Vale was full of hope and enthusiasm, and was of great assistance in devising suitable apparatus for the telegraph. But in spite of this substantial and timely aid, a patent was not secured until 1840. Then followed a tedious effort to induce the government at Washington to adopt and apply the invention. Finally, after much delay, the House of Representatives passed a bill appropriating $30,000 for a trial of the telegraph. As you may know, a bill cannot become a law unless the Senate also passes it, but the Senate did not seem inclined to favor this one. Many people believed that the whole idea of the telegraph was rank folly. They regarded Morse and the telegraph very much as people had regarded Fulton in the steamboat and ridiculed him as a crazy-brained fellow. Up to the evening of the last day of the session, the bill had not been considered by the Senate. Morse sat anxiously waiting in the Senate chamber until nearly midnight, when, believing there was no longer any hope, he withdrew and went home with a heavy heart. Imagine his surprise, therefore, next morning, when a young woman, Miss Annie G. Ellsworth, congratulated him at breakfast on the passage of his bill. At first he could scarcely believe the good news, but when he found that Miss Ellsworth was telling him the truth, his joy was unbounded, and he promised her that she should choose the first message. By the next year, 1844, a telegraph line extending from Baltimore to Washington was ready for use. On the day appointed for trial, Morse met a party of friends in the chamber of the Supreme Court, at the Washington end of the line, and sitting at the instrument which he had himself placed for trial, the happy inventor sent the message, as dictated by Miss Ellsworth, What hath God wrought? The telegraph was a great and brilliant achievement, and brought to its inventor well-earned fame. Morse married a second time, and lived in a beautiful home on the Hudson, where, with instruments on his table, he could easily communicate with distant friends. Simple and modest in his manner of life, he was a true-hearted, kindly Christian man. He was fond of flowers and of animals. The most remarkable of his pets was a tame flying squirrel that would sit on his master's shoulders, eat out of his hand, and go to sleep in his pocket. In his prosperity, honors were showered upon him by many countries. At the suggestion of the French Emperor, representatives from many countries of Europe met at Paris to determine upon some suitable testimonial to Morse as a world benefactor. These delegates voted him $80,000 as an expression of appreciation for his great invention. Before his death also a statue to his memory was erected in Central Park, New York. In 1872, this noble inventor, at the ripe age of 81, breathed his last. The sincere expression of grief from all over the country gave evidence of the place he held in the hearts of the people. End of chapter 23