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Mary Lane Morrison research materials
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Mary Lane Morrison was born August 15, 1907, in Savannah, Georgia, the daughter of Mills Bee Lane, Sr. and Mary Comer Lane.
Mary graduated from Smith College in 1929. She married Howard J. Morrison on May 10, 1941, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Savannah, with the Rev. William Brady of St. Paul’s and the Rev. Ernest Risley of St. John’s Episcopal Church officiating. Dr. Morrison was born on October 8, 1905, and served as a Lt. Commander in the United States Navy. Mary and Howard Morrison had two sons, Howard, Jr. and Mills, and a daughter, Mary.
Mrs. Morrison served on the Board of Curators of the Georgia Historical Society, as a member of the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia, and as a director of the Victorian Society in America.
She was very active in the preservation community in Savannah and received an award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Preservation from the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. The Trust praised her work as having “a major impact in documenting the architecture of Savannah. Virtually every building’s date of original construction is known as well as the name of the builders, with specific reference to date of construction and appropriate architectural style.”
She was the author of John S. Norris: Architect in Savannah 1846-1860 (Beehive Press, 1980) and the editor of Historic Savannah: A Survey of Significant Buildings in the Historic and Victorian Districts of Savannah, Georgia (Historic Savannah Foundation, 1979).
Mrs. Morrison died on July 16, 1994, at age 86. Her husband, Dr. Morrison, died on June 13, 1965, age 59. They are both buried in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia.
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This collection consists of Mary Lane Morrison's research for two publications, "John S. Norris", and "Historic Savannah". Research materials include correspondence, notes, wills, research notes and notebooks, clippings, and photographs.
The research for "John S. Norris" contains papers concerning the building of the U.S. Custom House in Savannah and Norris' life. John S. Norris (1804-1876) was born in New York City. He lived and worked in Savannah, 1846-1861. He designed many public buildings in Savannah. He spent the last years of his life in Blauvelt, New York. The research includes information on the Cockspur Island Lighthouse; Wilmington, North Carolina Custom House; Gaudry building; Georgia Historical Society's old building; Charleston Custom House; Unitarian Church, Savannah; Charles Green's residence (Green-Meldrim house); First Presbyterian Church, Savannah; Massie School House, Savannah; Abrahams Home, Savannah; William F. Brantley; Screven House Hotel, Savannah; Mercer-Wilder House, Savannah; Manse for Independent Presbyterian Church, Savannah.
The collection also includes research materials, including correspondence and a research notebook, on the life and work of Charles B. Cluskey. Cluskey (circa 1803-1871) was born in Ireland and arrived in Savannah in October, 1829. He designed many public buildings in Savannah and other regions of Georgia. He left Savannah for Washington, D.C. in 1848, where he was retained to survey the government buildings.
In addition, the collection contains photocopies of materials pertaining to Amos Scudder, builder, and his family, especially his sons, John and Ephraim. The materials include wills, genealogical information, legal documents (including papers on R & J Bolton vs. William Camp), and papers on Scudder's building projects, notably the Greene Monument, Savannah Theater, and City Hotel. Included are architectural drawings of City Hotel.
Most of the materials pertaining to Norris, Cluskey, and Scudder are photocopies of originals in the National Archives. There are also typed copies of extracts from Savannah newspapers and Savannah City Council minutes in the notebooks.
The research for "Historic Savannah" includes photographs, clippings, and research notes on many historic buildings in Savannah. The research has been organized by ward, and within each ward by building address. Information on the buildings includes architects, year the buildings were built, history of the building, previous owners, etc. This research information has been organized into binders. While these binders are comprised of research for "Historic Savannah", they include more information on individual buildings than was incorporated into the publication. Also included are binders containing research on Savannah parks and squares, Forsyth Park, Savannah's southward expansion, fires in Savannah, and demolished buildings in the city. The wards included in the binders are: Anson; Barry; Bartow; Berrien; Brown; Calhoun; Charlton; Chatham; Columbia; Crawford; Cumming; Currietown; Cuthbert; Davis; Decker; Derby; Elliott; Estill; Falligant; Flannery; Franklin; Gallie; Gaston; Green; Gue; Guyton; Jackson; Jasper; Lafayette; Heathcote; Lee; Lester; Liberty: Lloyd; Mercer; Monterey; Norwood; Percival; Pulaski; Railroad; Reppard; Reynolds; Riverfront; Shoppell; Solomons; Stephens; Thomas; Troup; Trustees Gardens; Waring; Warren; Washington; Wesley; Wharf Lots, East and West; and White. These binders are frequently referred to as the 'Ward Notebooks.'
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Copyright has not been assigned to the Georgia Historical Society. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Division of Library and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Georgia Historical Society as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.
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GHS 1320, Mary Lane Morrison research materials, 1845-1978. Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Georgia.
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Location & Availability of Originals
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Original documents pertaining to John S. Norris and Charles B. Cluskey in the National Archives.
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