Representative women of New England/Deborah N. Morton
DEBORAH NICHOLS MORTON, Preceptress of Westbrook Seminary, Portland, Me., was born in the town of Bristol, on the coast, in 1857. The daughter of Leander and Deborah Rogers (Nichols) Morton, she is a descendant on her father's side of Captain James Morton, of Muscongus, who is mentioned in the History of Bristol and Bremen, Me., as one who took part in the expedition against Quebec under General Wolfe in September, 1759, he being employed as pilot on a transport. On her mother's side Miss Morton is descended from Lieutenant Alexander Nickels, who commanded Fort Frederick at Pemaquid in 1756, and some time later was known a-s Captain Nickels. He is said to have come to New England with his wife and children from Londonderry, Ireland, in 1721. In his will, dated in January, 1758, and proved on October 2, 1758, he "calls himself Alexander Nickels, of Newcastle in the county of York, gentleman. Miss Morton's paternal grandparents were John Morton and his wife, Anna Bryant, the former son of James Morton above mentioned, and the latter belonging to the Scituate family of Bryants.
Thomas and Deborah (Rogers) Nichols, Miss Morton's maternal grandparents, were persons of importance in the town of Bristol, where they lived. They were married in 1813. Their daughter, Deborah R. (Mrs. Morton), named for her mother and grandmother, was born in 1822. Thomas Nichols was a son of James Nichols by his wife, Deborah Bradford, whose name is .suggestive of early colonial ancestry, but whose lineage has not been traced.
Miss Morton's father, Leander Morton, born in Bristol in 1814, was a public-spirited man, active in the religious, social, and political affairs of the community. Her mother, Mrs. Deborah R. Nichols Morton, born in 1822, was a woman of strong and beneficent influence.
Miss Morton was graduated from Westbrook Seminary, Dr. James P. Weston principal (now deceased), in 1879. She afterward studied in Lincoln Academy and in Oswego, N.Y. In 1883 she was called to Westbrook Seminary as teacher of English, and the following year was appointed Preceptress of that institution, which position she has since held. The years 1888 and 1889 she spent in Europe, continuing the study of French and German, and upon her return to the seminary was made the teacher of modern languages. One who knows her well thus speaks of her: "A noble woman, she has a high ideal of her profession, and is a devoted, conscientious, efficient teacher. Sympathetic, unaffected, and genial, she wins the affectionate regard of all who know her. From the combined qualities of her parents she has inherited self-poise, self-reliance, integrity of purpose, and a calm, clear judgment. Her ability and consecration make her the prized co-operator with the committee on teachers in the earnest efforts to make Westbrook Seminary a blessing to all its pupils."
Miss Morton is well known in Portland and the vicinity, not only in educational affairs, but also as a woman of progressive thought and wide and liberal interests. She is an active member of the Woman's Literary Union of
Portland, and is the president of the W. S. German Club of that city.