Cressy Morrison

Abraham Cressy Morrison (December 6, 1864 – January 9, 1951) was an American chemist and president of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Abraham Cressy Morrison was born in Wrentham, Massachusetts on December 6, 1864 to Abram B. Morrison. His sister was the writer, Cora Linn Daniels.

He traveled extensively with his parents (California, Isthmus of Panama) before they were “met with reverses” and he had to “give up all educational advantages and devote himself to the serious problem of life” at age 13. “He drifted from retail dry goods to machinery and tools, from wholesale dry goods to work in a hotel, from a lawyer’s office to syrups and molasses, from coals and wood to hard rubber and from there to a proprietary [business] called Maltine.”

“The proprietary business with the Maltine Manufacturing Company was not satisfactory in some respects, but during the short time he remained in their employ he was called upon to interview, on the subject of their wares, some seven thousand physicians and five thousand druggists.” This provided him with a foundation into the technique of advertising and landed him a job with the Pabst Brewing Co., where he eventually became in charge of advertising/publicity, at the age of 23. He worked for Pabst Brewery from 1895-97. It appears that Morrison was hired by Pabst principally to market Pabst's 'Malt Tonic' which was sold as the 'Best Tonic.'

Morrison was an avid ‘wheelman’ (bicyclist). He was an official in the League of American Wheelmen, serving as president of the Milwaukee Wheelmen, and eventually being named vice president in the national organization. He participated in long distance races and finished “within the money” in several 100-mile contests. He worked in Milwaukee and had a cottage in the Village of Whitefish Bay. The Milwaukee to Whitefish Bay ‘run’ was described by bicycling enthusiasts of the day as perhaps the most popular short run in Wisconsin. An early magazine for bicycle enthusiasts stated, “The road is always in prime condition and during the summer months good entertainment may be found at the Bay. The famous road begins in the extreme northeastern part of the city and follows a winding course of 5 miles along the lake shore.”

Morrison led local and national campaigns to improve roads and was appointed by the governor of Wisconsin to the ‘Committee on Good Roads.’

While in Milwaukee, Morrison had many other interests. He wrote a history of Milwaukee for a publication by the local real estate companies, and a chapter on the brewing industry that was itself included in the History of Milwaukee County.

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