Representative Elmer Addison Morse - Contact Information

Elmer Addison Morse (May 11, 1870 – October 4, 1945) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin who served three consecutive terms in Congress from 1907 to 1913. Born in Franksville, Racine County, Wisconsin, he spent his early years in that rural community and attended the common schools of Racine County, receiving a basic education typical of late nineteenth-century Midwestern public schooling. His upbringing in southeastern Wisconsin helped shape his familiarity with the concerns of small-town and agricultural constituencies that he would later represent at the county and national levels.

After completing his early education, Morse enrolled at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, an institution known for its liberal arts curriculum and ties to the state’s emerging Republican tradition. He graduated from Ripon College in 1893. That same year, at the age of twenty-three, he entered public service when he was elected county superintendent of schools of Racine County, a position that placed him in charge of overseeing the administration and standards of the county’s public schools. He was reelected to this office in 1895, indicating local confidence in his management of educational affairs and giving him early experience in public administration and elective office.

Seeking to expand his professional opportunities, Morse pursued legal studies after his tenure as county superintendent. He attended the law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he received training in the law and exposure to the broader political and legal debates of the Progressive Era in Wisconsin. Upon completion of his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar in 1900. That same year he moved to Antigo, in Langlade County, Wisconsin, where he commenced the practice of law. In Antigo he quickly became an active figure in local civic life, serving as city attorney from 1900 to 1906. Alongside his legal practice, Morse also engaged in the insurance and real estate business beginning in 1900, enterprises he continued to pursue for the rest of his life, reflecting a professional career that combined law, business, and public service.

Morse’s growing prominence in Antigo and his alignment with the Republican Party led to his election to the United States House of Representatives. He was elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth, Sixty-first, and Sixty-second Congresses, serving from March 4, 1907, to March 3, 1913. During this period he represented Wisconsin’s 10th congressional district, a largely rural and small-town region in the northern part of the state. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history marked by the Progressive Era, debates over regulation of business, conservation, and political reform. As a member of the House of Representatives, Elmer Addison Morse participated in the legislative process, contributed to the work of the Republican majority for much of his tenure, and represented the interests of his constituents in Wisconsin in the national legislature.

Morse’s three terms in office coincided with the administrations of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft, when issues such as tariff policy, railroad regulation, and conservation were at the forefront of congressional activity. Within this context, he took part in the democratic process as a voting member of the House, aligning with the Republican Party’s positions while also reflecting the concerns of his district, which included farmers, small business owners, and residents of growing northern Wisconsin communities. Although specific committee assignments and legislative initiatives are less documented, his repeated reelection indicates that his performance in office met with the approval of his constituents during his first six years in Washington.

In 1912 Morse sought another term in the House but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Sixty-third Congress. The election took place in a year of intense division within the Republican Party, as former President Theodore Roosevelt’s Progressive (“Bull Moose”) candidacy split the Republican vote in many states, including Wisconsin. After leaving Congress on March 3, 1913, Morse returned to Antigo, where he resumed the practice of law. He continued his involvement in the insurance and real estate business, maintaining his role as a prominent professional figure in the community and remaining active in Republican politics at the state level.

In his later years, Morse remained engaged with party affairs and was selected as a delegate to the Republican State conventions in 1934 and 1940, demonstrating his continued influence and standing within Wisconsin Republican circles well into the mid-twentieth century. He lived in Antigo for the remainder of his life, continuing his legal and business activities until his health declined. Elmer Addison Morse died in Rochester, Minnesota, on October 4, 1945, a city known for its medical facilities, suggesting he was there for treatment at the time of his death. He was interred in Elmwood Cemetery in Antigo, Wisconsin, returning in burial to the community where he had built his legal career, conducted his business affairs, and from which he had risen to serve in the United States Congress.