Page 42 - Sympoisum 2013 FLAG

Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation
The foundation was established in May 1959, in honor of Mrs. Elizabeth Morse Genius, who was the mother of the founder, the late Mrs. Jeannette Genius McKean. The Foundation was established exclusively for recognition of religious, charitable, scientific, educational, literary or educational pur- poses, and to promote the welfare of mankind.
Elizabeth Morse Genius was the first child and only daughter of Charles Hosmer Morse. Charles Hosmer Morse was a prominent industrialist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a founder of the Fairbanks Morse Company. Elizabeth inherited a profound family tradition of industry and philanthropy.
Though she spent time in Florida, Elizabeth Morse’s life was rooted in Chicago, where she was born in 1872. Her family home was filled with custom-made arts and crafts furniture, Tiffany glass, and paintings by artists ranging from Albert Bierstadt to American impressionists such as Edward Duffner, Guy Wiggins, and John Carlson.
After graduating from school, where she studied music and painting, Elizabeth spent a year in Europe. She followed this with studies at Wellesley College, from which she received a degree in art. Elizabeth married Dr. Richard Genius in 1905. She gave birth to two children, Richard and Jean- nette. The children spent summers on a Vermont farm where they enjoyed the simple pleasures of the countryside. The family “wintered” in Florida, but Chicago was considered their home.
The Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation was established in 1959 by Jean- nette Genius McKean in memory of her mother, Elizabeth Morse Genius.
42