Troubles continued to mount for the family. An 1871 fire struck the South Pass City newspaper office owned and operated by Esther Morris' son, Archibald Slack, forcing him and his wife Sarah to move to Laramie in Albany County. Perhaps it was case of cabin fever after being cooped up all season during a particularly bad winter of 1871–1872 that spurred Morris to action. She left the camp and her husband. Morris traveled to Laramie, where she briefly lived with her son Archy; however, the former judge remained unsettled. She moved to Albany, New York, then to Springfield, Illinois, where she spent her winters, according to Massie. Summers saw her returning to Wyoming, where she spent time with her sons. Morris' wandering ended in the 1880s when she returned to Cheyenne to live with her son Robert.