Orville L. Morrow was born in Jay county, Indiana, in 1871. He is a son of S.P. and Elizabeth A. (Grisell) Morrow, both natives of Columbiana county, Ohio. The paternal grandfather was Eli Morrow, who followed the vocation of a farmer in Columbiana county, Ohio, the county in which he was born. On the maternal side, Orville L. Morrow is a descendant of Quakers, his mother being the daughter of Milo and Mary A. (Johnson) Grisell, of Preble county, Ohio. Her father was a farmer and a carpenter, and also engaged in teaching school in the early times. For seventeen years he served as a township trustee in Jay county, Indiana, having come to this state in 1850. In common with all who adhered to the Quaker faith, Mr. Grisell was conscientiously opposed to slavery, and he was ready at all times to declare the faith that was in him. Living at a time when the obnoxious fugitive slave law was in force, and when those aiding runaway slaves were liable to a severe penalty under that law, Mr. Grisell was one of those who dared to assume the risk in the interest of the bondmen seeking the liberty to which he was entitled, by "the laws of nature and nature's God." He was a member of the antislavery league, an organization effected for the purpose of aiding slaves to escape and his house in Jay county was on the route usually traveled by the runaway slaves between Richmond and Ft. Wayne. It was known as the "underground railroad," and Mr. Grisell's house was one of the stations on that route.

S. P. Morrow, father of Orville L., was educated in the common schools and has always been a farmer. His wife is still living and still adheres to the Quaker faith of her ancestors. He served three years and three months in the Army of the West during the Civil War.

Orville L. Morrow was educated in the common schools of Jay county, continuing his studies through the high school, from which he graduated. In 1899 he entered the State Normal School at Terre Haute and spent three years in that institution, and then attended the Indiana University for one year. Having thus thoroughly prepared himself he engaged in teaching and followed this vocation for fourteen years in Jay and Hancock counties. He was principal of the school at McCordsville for three years and at Fortvile for three years. He then gave up the business of teaching and organized the Citizens' State Bank at Fortville in 1906 and was cashier of this institution. This bank became a national bank in 1908 and Mr. Morrow continued as its cashier.

Mr. Morrow was married, in 1895, to Miss Elizabeth Stansbery, of Jay county. They have an adopted daughter, Margaret Ann. He is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Knights of Pythias. He has been superintendent of the Methodist Episcopal Sunday school in Fortville for nine years.

Transcribed from History of Hancock County, Indiana, Its People, Industries and Institutions by George J. Richman, B. L., Federal Publishing Co., Indianapolis, Indiana, 1916. Page 1051-1052.

Submitted by Sylvia (Rose) Duda, Laingsburg, MI November 8, 2001.

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