The remarkable story of Jack and Frannie Morris

The story of Frannie, Wyoming, does not begin as a ranching story, a railroad story or an oil story. It begins as an immigration story.

In 1851, John and Sarah Morris left Fort Wayne, Indiana, filled with the hope shared by thousands of families traveling the Oregon Trail. With little more than a wagon, faith and basic supplies, the Morris family and their nine children packed up everything they could, said goodbye forever and headed west toward Oregon.

Just like the famous game, there was nothing about the Oregon Trail that was easy or kind. Dysentery was a cruel killer, and before they reached Oregon, two daughters, ages 9 and 18, died, as did the father, John Morris. The only record of his place of death simply reads: “The Plains, U.S.A.” The daughters’ place of death is listed only as “Nebraska Territory.”

Sarah Morris, newly widowed, had little choice but to press on with her remaining children to Oregon City, where the family eventually settled. Upon arriving, she quickly did what needed to be done, with or without a husband. Sarah Ann went claim hunting, and when she learned that land south of town was still available, she filed for it and moved out with her family.

In time, all but one of John and Sarah Morris’ surviving children spent the rest of their lives in the Pacific Northwest, raising 40 children of their own and helping build the communities that shape Oregon today.

The only child to wander out of Oregon was William Albert “Jack” Morris.

Jack had been only 5 years old when the family left Indiana for the West. Born March 6, 1846, in Fort Wayne, he likely picked up the nickname “Jack” after his father died, and it followed him into adulthood. It would become the name by which Wyoming history would remember him.

Sarah soon remarried and had one more child, bringing the family to an even ten children. Jack grew up in Oregon learning the skills of frontier life, clearing land, farming, raising animals and, most importantly, working hard.

In 1870, at the age of 19, Jack left home to seek his fortune along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. For the next 16 years he roamed the West as a trapper, prospector, trailblazer and occasional Indian fighter.

His travels carried him from the Black Hills through Yellowstone country and along the Union Pacific corridor. By the time he reached his mid-30s, he had seen much of the untamed West.

In 1886, at age 35, Jack Morris finally chose to settle. He selected a location along Sage Creek, about 75 miles south of Billings and less than a mile south of the Montana line. At the time the Crow Indian Reservation stopped at the Wyoming border.

For the rest of his life, Morris found the best policy was to respect and earn the respect of the Native Americans who crossed his path. There were many times he helped them in moments of need and a few occasions when they came to his rescue.

There he established what became known as the Morris Ranch.

The Morris place soon grew into one of the earliest white settlements in the northern Big Horn Basin. Located along the north–south travel route between Billings and Lander, known as the Billings Wagon Trail, the ranch quickly became a familiar landmark for travelers moving through the region.

Though he had reached 35 without marrying, Morris’s bachelor days did not last long. Less than a year after settling on Sage Creek, he married a 36-year-old widow named Delilah Spragg Shuck, who brought three children with her.

The Morris Ranch soon became more than just a home. It served as a wayside lodging house for cattlemen and cowboys traveling through the Basin in the years before rail access reached the region.

On June 28, 1888, a daughter was born to the Morris family. Her name was Frannie A. Morris.

Later accounts claim she was the first white child born in the Big Horn Basin, though that claim is difficult to verify. What is well supported is that the town of Frannie was eventually named for her.

The original log house, built from Pryor Mountain timber, stood for decades. Cottonwood trees were reportedly hauled from the Shoshone River and planted at the ranch to provide shade on the open prairie.

During these same years, Wyoming itself was changing dramatically.

When Morris first built his cabin on Sage Creek, the county seat was nearly 300 miles away in Rock Springs. As the territory developed and counties were reorganized, Morris would eventually pay taxes in courthouses in Green River, Lander, Riverton, Buffalo and finally Basin City.

In June of 1894, Morris applied to the Post Office Department to establish a new post office at his ranch, with himself as the postmaster. The proposed office would be called Frannie, after his 8-year-old daughter.

At the time the settlement served only about 25 residents. The nearest post offices were many miles away in Hyattville, “Prior” and Lovell. Mail for the new community would be routed through Lovell, which sat near the confluence of the Big Horn and “Stinking Water” rivers.

What we now know as the Shoshone River was called the Stinking Water River until 1901, when Buffalo Bill and other businessmen realized that the words “Stinking Water” did not make very appealing real estate advertisements in eastern newspapers.

When the railroad finally reached Frannie around 1900, Delilah Morris was serving as postmaster.

Travelers passing through the small settlement often talked about an energetic girl named Frannie. She was not the kind to sit quietly beside her mother in the post office. Instead, she could usually be found riding bareback across the prairie, a gun in hand, jumping ditches and fences as she went.

Frannie loved being compared to famous frontier women like Annie Oakley and Calamity Jane, and she seemed determined to live up to the reputation.

As Frannie grew into young womanhood, many men passing through town began to notice the grace and beauty of Jack Morris’ daughter. Jack, however, had very different ideas about his daughter’s future, and more than a few hopeful young men were sent packing on a late-night train out of town.

All of that changed in 1907 when a young man named Robert McFarland moved into town. He found work at one of Frannie’s two general mercantile stores. By then Frannie was 20 years old and not especially inclined to listen to her father’s advice.

Before long, Robert and Frannie began spending time together, sometimes openly and sometimes in secret. Their meetings quickly became the talk of the small settlement. McFarland was warned by nearly everyone in town, including Jack Morris himself, that courting the boss’ daughter might not be the wisest idea.

Like all the others, Morris’ men took McFarland and made sure that he and his belongings were put on the last train leaving town. But unsurprisingly, Frannie was ready this time. When the sun came up the next morning, Frannie was nowhere to be found. All anyone knew was that Frannie, her favorite horse and several of her best guns had gone missing.

Not to be outmatched, Jack Morris gave orders to nearly everyone in town to go find her. News quickly spread across Wyoming and Montana that Frannie Morris had gone missing. Men from around the basin saddled their horses and began searching the countryside, while others kept watch at railroad depots for any young woman traveling alone. News that she was missing soon became national headlines.

The Detroit Free Press carried the headline: “Frannie Morris, daughter of a wealthy Wyoming stockman, is missing.”

When we return to the story next week, we’ll find out what happened to Frannie Morris and whether she ever caught up with Robert McFarland.