MORROW, FERISSA AND MALCOLM HARCOURT

by Ferrissa Phipps

Entry F300 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Ferissa Morrow and Malcolm Harcourt about 1914.

Ferissa Malcolm was born Feb. 15, 1858 on
a fruit farm along the Hudson River in Ulster
County, N.Y. She was the youngest ofseven
children and named for her father, Ferris
Malcolm.

At an early age she began sketching
pictures, usually of fruits and flowers. Or-
phaned before she was 10 years old, she went
to live with her older sister, and from that
home attended school at the Milton, N.Y.
academy and a few terms in Boston College.

Her oldest brother George Malcolm came
out west for his health, and met a man in
Omaha named Calvin Morrow, and became
close friends. Calvin made a trip to New York
with George to meet the family, where the
friendship of Ferissa Malcolm and Calvin
Morrow began. They were married 7 years
later on Sept. 10, 1879 in the Presbyterian
church at Milton, N.Y. They came to Omaha
to live, where Calvin was in charge of mail
service in Omaha.

She continued her paintings on canvas and
later took up painting china. She had a kiln
and fired her own china.

They had two children, a son and daughter
that died in infancy. Later Calvin became ill
with a nervous paralysis and died a few years
later in 1908. He was a civil war veteran and
an uncle to Dwight Morrow. Dwight Morrow
was the father of Ann Morrow Lindbergh.

After Calvins death Ferissas' great nephew
Malcolm Harcourt came from New York to
live with her in Omaha. In 1911 Mrs. Morrow
and her great nephew came to take up
homesteads in the Nebraska sandhils. With
Calvins record of Civil War service, one year
was all she had to live on her homestead. She
located about 12 miles N.E. of Whitman.
They later purchased the Dave Moyer ranch
and moved there.

John Hire had the Hire NE. Post Office
and when he moved away she was appointed
Post Master. They built a sod house and
sheds on the ranch properties. It became
known as the Pine River Ranch on the
Middle Loup river.

Malcolm married a girl from Omaha, Edith
Weir, in 1935. They had a daughter Harriet
in 1937. In 1939 Edith died from the flu and
Harriet went to live with her grandparents in
Omaha.

Mrs. Morrow and Malcolm continued
living on the ranch till Malcolm died on Oct.
1950.

The Russell Phipps family were close
friends of Mrs. Morrow and Malcolm. They
came often to visit and to help out when
needed. Russell's oldest son Leonard married
Ferrissa Malcolm, a great, great niece and
namesake of Mrs. Morrow in June 1949.

Leonard and Ferrissa lived on the ranch for
a couple of years with Mrs. Morrow after
Malcolm's death.

Mrs. Morrow then went to Mullen and
lived with Mrs. Smith until her death on July
30, 19957 at the age of 99 years.