Page 980. Capt. Elisha Morcom. A great deal of the history of ore mining in northern Minnesota might be written from the experiences of the Morcom family. The late Capt. Elisha Morcom had the distinction of opening the first iron mine in Minnesota. That was over thirty-seven years ago, and he and other members of the family have figured prominently in the districts around Tower ever since. Elisha Morcom was born in the Parish of Kenwyn, Cornwall, England, May 5, 1835, being son of a mining captain in Cornwall. When he was
Page 981. only fifteen years of age he voluntarily left school to go to work in a coal mine in Cornwall. While he had a limited amount of schooling, he never regarded his education as finished, and was a student and close observer of men and affairs all his life. He had the faculty of executive direction, and his abilities as a manager were as valuable as his technical skill in mining operations. Four years after going to work in a coal mine he came to the United States, in 1854, in company with an uncle, William Grose. He landed at Philadelphia, and from there went on to the copper mines of Keweenau County, Michigan, and after two years removed to Ontonagon County in the same state. He was given the responsibility of mining captain at Rockland, Michigan, in 1863. From 1865 to 1870 he was mine agent for the Norwich Mine, and then for two years mine captain at the Nonesuch Mine at Nonesuch. In 1878 he was given charge of the underground work at Quinnesec on the Menominee Range, with the rank of captain with the Menominee Mining Company, finally becoming superintendent.
It was in 1884 that Captain Morcom was chosen as superintendent for the Minnesota Mining Company and ordered to make preparations for the opening of the ore mines at Tower. His first work was to arrange for building homes for the miners. The first mines of the Range were opened under his direct supervision and the workers he imported largely from his wide acquaintance in the mining districts of Michigan. They came by way of Superior across the ice to Duluth, and thence were conveyed overland to Tower, which was then without railroad facilities. For several years after 1889 Captain Morcom also operated a brick plant at Soudan. His services as a mining expert were in great demand. S. P. Ely sent him on several occasions to open iron mines on the Island of Cuba. He also opened the mines at McKinley on the Mesaba Range and did much of a similar work in Michigan. He also explored the mines on the Mesaba Range at Coleraine. Many prominent mining officials in Michigan and Minnesota, some of those who hold responsible positions on the Range today, acquired their early training from the late Captain Morcom.
An important record of public service could also be compiled to his credit. While in Michigan he held such offices as state legislator and county supervisor, and at Tower was for many years a member of the School Board and mayor, had charge of the Minnesota state mining display at the World's Fair at Chicago in 1893, for many years was a member of the Board of County Commissioners of St. Louis County and chairman of the board. He was a master of Quinnesec Lodge of Masons, and was affiliated with the Knight Templar Commandery and the Shrine. In politics he was a Republican, and was a liberal contributor to the support of all churches. Captain Morcom, who died at Tower November 21, 1908, married at Rockland, Michigan, in October, 1858, Elizabeth Ann Wicks. They had journeyed side by side as husband and wife for just half a century. Mrs. Morcom, who is still living, was born in Cornwall, England, September 16, 1842, and was brought to America by her father, John Wicks, a mining captain who settled in Michigan. Captain and Mrs. Morcom had three daughters and two sons. Two of the daughters, Carrie and Harriet, are now living with their mother at Tower and were in charge of the postoffice at Tower for twenty-four years. The other daughter, Alvina, is the wife of Rev. Edward Bull, of Keithburg, Illinois. The two sons are Elisha, J., Jr., and Harry W., the latter a successful physician at Duluth. (Duluth and St. Louis County Minnesota, Their Story and People, Volume III, Edited by Walter Van Brunt, The American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1921)