Kingsley, Morton M.

WILLIAMS, LONG, VAN PATTEN

Posted By: BCGS
Date: 12/18/2009 at 20:30:00

Morton M. Kingsley, an able and successful representative of the legal fraternity in Bremer county, was for a number of years engaged in practice at Waverly as a member of the firm of Long & Kinsley but since his partner's death in 1912 has been alone. His birth occurred on the Kinsley farm north of Waverly on the 14th of September, 1875, his parents being Calvin and Mary W. (Williams) Kingsley, the former born in Rockford, Illinois, on the 6th of May, 1837, and the latter in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on the 19th of September, 1839. Calvin Kingsley, an agriculturist by occupation, came to Waverly, Iowa, in 1854, acquired land here and devoted his attention to farming pursuits throughout the remainder of his active business career. Since the spring of 1913 he has lived retired at Waverly and is now enjoying the evening of life in well earned ease. The period of his residence in this county covers almost six decades and he enjoys an extensive and favorable acquaintance within its borders.

Morton M. Kingsley, the fifth in the order of birth in a family of seven children, acquired his early education in Waverly and was graduated from the Waverly high school with the class of 1895. Subsequently he attended Knox College at Galesburg, Illinois, and was graduated from that institution with the class of 1900. In further preparation for a professional career he entered the law department of the University of Michigan and in 1903 won the degree of LL.B. In the fall of that year he began the practice of law at Waverly, and in the spring of 1904, the law firm of Long & Kingsley was formed, which association was maintained with mutual pleasure and profit until the demise of Mr. Long on the 27th of July, 1912. Since that time Mr. Kingsley has been in the practice alone, devoting his attention exclusively to a general law practice. He has acquired the reputation for being an able, careful and conscientious attorney. The matter of litigation is necessarily a part of his professional business, but he has a theory that it is the duty of a good attorney to save his clients from litigation in matters entrusted to him if he can consistently do so, and has already made a good record in his ability to get matters satisfactorily adjusted out of court.

On the 24th of January, 1905, Mr. Kinsgley was united in marriage to Miss Ethel Van Patten of Aurora, Illinois. They now have three children, as follows: Janet Miriam, who was born on the 28th of July,1909; Edgar Neil, whose birth occurred March 7, 1911; and Virginia, whose natal day was June 22, 1913.

Mr. Kingsley is the owner of valuable property in Waverly and has long been numbered among the substantial and respected citizens of his native county. Politically, he has given his allegiance to the republican party. Locally, he has served many years on the Waverly school board and is now a member of that body. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church, while fraternally he is identified with the Masons. He has cooperated in many movements for the general good, has cast his influence on the side of improvement and has advocated high ideals of manhood and citizenship as well as of professional service.

History of Bremer County, Iowa Vol. II 1914