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Chase County Obituaries


1863 - 2005



Morris, Alice Marie Roberts

The people of Chase county were shocked Saturday afternoon as the word went around that Mrs. Dave Morris, of Elmdale, had been found dead in Diamond Creek near the Morris farm.

While Alfred Ballew and Jake Edmunds were returning from Elmdale, where they work on trail No. 50S, Saturday shortly after the noon hour they found their way blocked when they reached the Diamond Creek bridge south of the Thompson and Wiebrecht farms by a car which was parked in the middle of the highway on the bridge.

After a hurried investigation they discovered the body of Mrs. Morris floating in Diamond Creek a short distance below the bridge. Coroner Jacob Hinden, of Strong City, was notified as well as Ernest McKenzie, undertaker. Coroner Hinden made an investigation but deemed an inquest unnecessary. He found that Mrs. Morris had come to her death as the result of a fall from the bridge to the water, a distance of about 25 feet. There were no iojuries on the body and the lungs were full of water, showing that death was due to drowning. It is probable, according to Coroner Hinden, that Mrs, Morris might have been stunned when she struck the water and that she drowned before recovering. There were only three or four feet of water in the creek at the paint where she fell.

Mrs. Morris had left the Morris ranch about 10:30 o'clock Saturday morning on her way to Elmdale. In the car she had a suitcase of clothes and a lock box which she kept in the bank, a purse containing ten or fifteen dollars, and some checks. These together with her hat were found in the car just as they apparently had been left by her.

Whether or not her fall from the bridge was accidental or contemplated may never be known. Since the death of her husband, which occurred last August, Mrs, Morriss had worried much and was despondent at times. Mr. Morris died last August as the result of a kick from a horse after a lingering illness.

Recently Mrs. Morris sold a portion of the large Morris farm including the bottom land and the improvements She was negotiating a sale for a block of about 1,300 acres of pasture land. Since the sale of her farm she had been spending a part of her time in Emporia and had reserved a room at the farm house until she could complete move.

She told Mrs. Davis (Mr. and Mrs. Davis recently moved to the Morris farm) before she left the place Saturday morning that she was going to drive to Elmdale. She did not appear despondent as she talked with Mrs. Davis just before her departure.

Mrs. Morris was 58 years of age. She was born Nov. 27th., 1874, in Wisconsin. Her maiden name was Alice Marie Roberts. Her parents were of Welch descent and soon after her birth the Roberts family went to Wales. There they resided about ten years but returned to America in 1884. They located on Eagle Creek in Lyon county. The death of Mrs. Morris father occurred about two years later. After his death Mrs. Roberts and daughter moved to Emporia where the latter received her education and fitted herself for a school teacher.

She began teaching school in Elmdale in 1897 but was soon after married to Dave Morris. Mr. and Mrs. Morris resided on the Morris farm north of Elmdale with the exception of a few years until his death last fall.

Mrs. Morris is survived by four cousins, Mrs. S. E. Prytherech, of Grantville, New York; Mrs. Pierce Griffith, of Flintshire, North Wales; Williams Edwards, of Lyon county, and Dr. W. E. Owen, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is also survived by three brothers-in-law, John, Dick, and Joe Morris, of Emporia.

The funeral services were held from the Second Presbyterian church in Emporia Monday afternoon. Mrs. Morris was a member of this church. The funeral services for Mrs. D. C. Morris, which were held at the Second Presbyterian church in Emporia Monday afternoon, were attended by a very large number of people from this county. Rev. E. S. Roberts, pastor of the church, conducted the service. Rev. Rowe, Methodist pastor, of Elmdale, preached the sermon and Rev. H. P. Morgan, of Kansas City, led in prayer. Miss Mysanwy Rees sang a solo and a quartet composed of Miss Rees, Mrs. Spencer Griffith, E. J. Roberts, and J. W. Lewis, also sang, accompanied by Miss Mary Lewis.

Interent was in the Evergreen cemetery, where Mr. Morris is buried.

Chase County Leader News, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, May 10 1933.



Chase County Death Notices and Obituaries,
compiled and abstracted from the Chase County Courant and Chase County Leader Newspapers
by your Chase County Host, Lorna Marvin.
Please submit your obituaries and death notices.




Chase County Host
Lorna Marvin



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