Elsie Armstrong wrote an epic poem that records the tragic deaths of four children and preserves a rare pioneer woman’s account of hardship, feeling, pride in the sons who founded Morris, and the importance of family. In 1831, she and seven of her sons, ages 3 to 19, came from Ohio to the Illinois frontier seeking a new life away from her drunken husband as plans were underway for the Illinois and Michigan Canal, which her sons soon helped build. Three of them became founders of Morris, and Armstrong Road bears their name. Her sons William and George Armstrong worked as canal contractors, hiring immigrant workers to hand-dig sections of the I&M Canal; William built Morris’s first courthouse, became sheriff, later went bankrupt amid the financial risks of canal construction, and died by suicide in 1850, while George served in the Illinois legislature and funded Morris’s first bridge over the Illinois River. Other sons also reflected both the hardships and opportunities of frontier life: Joel founded a bank, Jeremiah and Isaiah joined the California Gold Rush of 1849, and Perry Armstrong ran a general store, later became a lawyer, and represented Morris in the Illinois legislature. Elsie Armstrong is buried nearby in Evergreen Cemetery, and her descendants still live in the canal corridor and have preserved the family’s stories.