Looking For Any Morrison Descendants! (Re Morrison Fountain Pen Co.)

[Mark_C]

Hello -- new member here!

 

Are there any family members here from the Morrison family that owned the famous pen company?

 

I just learned that Louis Morrison, who started the company in 1910 and invented some of the pen types, was related to my family.

 

There aren't many people from our family still around (never have been in the last 70-75 years!), and I'd love to make contact with any people from that Morrison family.

 

I figure it's a long shot that any members of that family are on here, but heck, this seems like the best place to try!!

And, maybe some of you might have hints about how else I might look for them.

 

Thank you in advance! I've enjoyed looking around on your site.

[AAAndrew]

I wish you luck. Have you tried ancestry.com? I've been doing a fair amount of research on the early steel pen (dip pen nib) manufacturers from the US and Ancestry.com has been very helpful, though I've been amazed that with all of the tens of thousands of family trees out there with millions of people in them, so many of these families aren't being tracked by anyone.

[inkstainedruth]

Good luck with your searches, and let us know how it goes. That would be fascinating to read.

I have a few Morrisons (mostly ringtops) although not all of them are working yet. They're considered a 2nd tier company, but my first one (a gold filigree overlay ring top with a juicy M or B nib) is a lovely writer. Somehow, though, they don't get a lot of love around here compared to some brands.

No, AFAIK there's no connection between the company and my husband's family (we don't know anyone not with 4 generations of his immediate family that spells it with more than one S -- although when people misspell it they invariably misspell it the same way... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Mark_C]

Thank you, Andrew and Ruth!

I may well try my luck on Ancestry.com.

 

BTW.......Ruth mentions that Morrison Fountain Pen was a 2nd tier company.

 

Out of how many?

Actually I'm serious. Is "2nd tier" a formal designation on pens, or just a generic thing meaning "not top-drawer"?

[AAAndrew]

You had the first tier companies that made the highest level of quality pens, like Sheaffer, Parker, Waterman, etc... then there was a second, and third, and even bottom tier (religious wars have been fought over designations) who were not the largest companies, but often made quite good pens as well. Often they were not as large, not as prolific and their pens were often not as fancy, but some "lower" tier pens, like the Morrison and the Esterbrook pens, have very loyal followings and their pens are still used today. The bottom tier were companies that made cheap pens in massed amounts sold in drug stores for very little money. ($0.99-cent pens vs. $5.00 Sheaffer, for example)

 

Think of it like automobiles where there are the big companies like Honda or Toyota which make solid, top-quality cars, and even some luxury lines. Then second tier might be companies like Hundai which make good, solid cars, but not as luxurious as some of the top-tier companies (e.g. stainless steel clips instead of gold or gold-filled clips). Then there was the bottom tier of the pen world. They may have a nib, a cap and a body so should be called a fountain pen, but using them was like driving a Yugo.

[Mark_C]

Andrew: Thanks for the extra reply -- interesting and helpful, and all new to me.

Thanks also to the member who sent me an extensive personal note!!

 

I remember when Toyota and Honda were considered low tier.

Maybe they never really were; maybe it's just that we Americans can be stupid.

Tiers can change right before our eyes. I remember not that long ago when Kia was considered way-low tier. Now they're winning awards.

 

BTW, none of this is defensiveness about Morrison being 2nd tier!

Or at least I don't think it is.

 

Since learning of this family relation, I've looked online for Morrisons that may still be available, and I've been impressed to see that many of them are still around and still in very good condition.