Samuel F. B. Morse (1791 - 1872 )

Samuel Finley Breese Morse, as artist as well as an inventor, was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1791. He is best known for developing the telegraph and the Morse code. Morse spent time studying painting in England; while there he created several paintings and sculptures that were not well received.

When he came back to the United States, Morse began painting portraits as a means of support. His artistic abilities improved, and paintings such as his portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette, created in 1825-26 (City Hall, New York) are and were widely admired. Although Morse was one of the better portrait painters of his day, he ultimately received more recognition as an inventor.

It is Stephen Vail – the subject of the portrait below – rather than the painter who had a connection to the Garden State.

(JDC)

Stephen Vail (1780-1864)

Stephen Vail (1780-1864), n.d. Photograph courtesy Historic Speedwell, Morris County Park Commission (see link below).

Morse’s portrait of Stephen Vail is evidence of his participation in both artistic and scientific circles. Stephen Vail was a government contractor who made many innovations to the locomotive through his factory, Speedwell Works, in New Jersey. According to the Speedwell web site, Vail was “a well-connected tinkerer, inventor, lawyer, community leader, and investor in trailblazing schemes.”

Stephen Vail’s son, Alfred Vail, was Samuel F.B. Morse’s partner in refining and introducing the telegraph. His father Stephen was the main source of venture capital for their partnership; the elder Vail provided the funding and work space for their work on the telegraph, which was first demonstrated successfully at Speedwell in 1838.

The Vail family produced several important members. Davis Vail, a cousin of Stephen’s, came to Morristown, New Jersey with his family in 1847 to work at Speedwell Works. Davis’s son, Theodore Newton Vail, was founder of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) and the first well-known personality to be dubbed the "Great Communicator" by his contemporaries. Vail Mansion – the house Theodore Vail built in Morristown, New Jersey between 1916 and 1918 – is also discussed on this web site.

References:

Speedwell Village web site (see link below).

The Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art (New York: Simon and Schuster, Encyclopedia Britannica Educational Corporation).