A thorough practical training in woodworking and long experience have eminently qualified Morris Addison Bennett for his present position as superintendent of the production planning in the Ilion plant of the Library Bureau. Mr. Bennett began life as carpenter's apprentice, working under the direction of his father at an early age. Since then he has risen steadily and consistently until he now holds a responsible office in a great industrial organization of more than nation-wide importance. The secret of his success is found in his devotion to his work, his determination to advance his own interests in life and his ability to concentrate his efforts along a constructive line. The son of Oram W. and Frances Ann (Byran) Bennett, he was born in the town of Richfield, New York, November 29, 1878. His father, who is now living a retired life in Ilion at the age of seventy-seven, was a farmer, carpenter and builder and at one time operated a sawmill at Richfield. He was born in the town of Springfield, New York, which was likewise the birthplace of his parents, Elijah and Charlotte (Kennie) Bennett. Elijah Bennett was a farmer by occupation. Both he and his wife passed away in the town of Richfield. Mr. Bennett's mother was born in the town of Exeter, New York, and is living at Ilion, at the age of seventy-four. She is the daughter of Addison Bryan, a cabinetmaker, who was also born in Exeter and died in Cape Vincent, New Jersey, as did his wife, Mary (Robinson) Bryan.
Morris Addison Bennett obtained his education in the district and high schools of Richfield Springs. When he was only fifteen he started to learn the carpenter's trade under the guidance of his father, with whom he worked for four years. He was next associated with A. N. Russell & Sons of Ilion, working for this firm in the lumberyards for a period of some five years. From the lumber company he went to the Clarke & Baker Company, which has since been taken over by the Library Bureau. Starting in the superintendent's office as a draftsman, Mr. Bennett rose to the superintendency of the wood factory and thence to his present position at the head of the production planning department.
Mr. Bennett is a member and a trustee of the First Baptist church of Ilion; a member of Ilion Lodge, No. 591, F. & A. M.; and belongs to the Royal Arcanum of Herkimer. His political affiliations are with the republican party. He is now serving on the board of sewer commissioners of Ilion and in various other tangible ways manifests his interest in civic progress and the cultural advancement of the village.
Mr. Bennett has been twice married. On May 1, 1901, he was married to Miss Mattie Deih, who was born in the town of German Flats in 1876 and died May 3, 1902, leaving a little son, Francis Frederick Bennett. The baby, who was born April 7, 1902, did not long survive the mother, dying in July of that year. Mr. Bennett was married in Jordansville, New York, on September 11, 1904, to Miss Carrie L. Whitney, who was born August 2, 1885, and is the daughter of Charles Whitney, a native of Greenfield, New Hampshire, and a painter and paper-hanger by trade. Her mother, who bore the maiden name of Ida A. Myers, was born in Mohawk, February 6, 1857, and died there on September 8, 1914. She was the daughter of Andrew and Mary (Edick) Myers, the former of whom was a farmer by occupation. He was born in Williamstown, New York, and passed away in Mohawk in 1891, at the age of sixty-nine. His wife, a native of Columbia, New York, died in Mohawk in 1908. Mrs. Bennett was educated in the public schools of Mohawk, where she grew to young womanhood. She is a member of the First Baptist church of Ilion, and belongs to Evening Star Chapter, No. 82, O. E. S., of Ilion; to W. R. C. Chismore Relief Corps, also Amaranth Court, No. 91. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have one daughter: Mary Elizabeth, who was born August 18, 1906, in Ilion, graduated from the local high school in 1924 and is now taking a course in the Cortland Normal School for Physical Education.