William W. Morrow (July 15, 1843 – July 24, 1929) was a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California and a United States Circuit Judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit.

Education and career

Born on July 15, 1843, in

Milton, Indiana Milton is a town in Washington Township, Wayne County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 490 at the 2010 census. History Milton was laid out and platted in 1824. The community was named for the presence of several watermills in t ...

, Morrow moved with his parents to Adams County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, in 1845 and attended the common schools and received private instruction. He moved to

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, La Pampa * S ...

, in 1859 and taught school and explored mining regions. He went east in 1862 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

to join the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

and served with the National Rifles of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, an independent militia, serving in the

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...

. He was a special agent for the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

from 1865 to 1869, and was detailed to California, where he undertook confidential assignments for the

United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1869. He entered private practice in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, from 1869 to 1870. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of California from 1870 to 1874. He assisted in organizing the San Francisco Bar Association in 1872 and served as its President in 1892 and 1893. He resumed private practice in San Francisco from 1874 to 1885. He was Chairman of the Republican state central committee of California from 1879 to 1882. He was an attorney for the California State Board of Harbor Commissioners from 1880 to 1883. He was also a special

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

before the French and American Claims Commission from 1881 to 1883, and before the Alabama Claims Commission 1882 to 1885. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884.

Congressional service

Morrow was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

from California's 4th congressional district to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

of the 49th, 50th and

51st United States Congress The 51st United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of R ...

es, serving from March 4, 1885, to March 3, 1891. As a member of Congress, Morrow was "at the forefront of the campaign" to make the federal laws restricting Chinese immigration "more severe." He was not a candidate for renomination in 1890. He briefly returned to private practice in San Francisco in 1891.

Federal judicial service

Morrow received a

recess appointment In the United States, a recess appointment is an appointment by the president of a federal official when the U.S. Senate is in recess. Under the U.S. Constitution's Appointments Clause, the President is empowered to nominate, and with the a ...

from President

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

on August 11, 1891, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California vacated by Judge Ogden Hoffman Jr. He was nominated to the same position by President Harrison on December 10, 1891. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on January 11, 1892, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on June 1, 1897, due to his elevation to the Ninth Circuit. Morrow was nominated by President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

on May 18, 1897, to a joint seat on the

and the United States Circuit Courts for the Ninth Circuit vacated by Judge

Joseph McKenna Joseph McKenna (August 10, 1843 – November 21, 1926) was an American politician who served in all three branches of the U.S. federal government, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, as U.S. Attorney General and as an Associate J ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 20, 1897, and received his commission the same day. On December 31, 1911, the Circuit Courts were abolished and he thereafter served only on the Court of Appeals. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on January 1, 1923. His service terminated on July 24, 1929, due to his death in San Francisco,

San Francisco County San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, where he resided. He was the last appeals court judge who continued to serve in active service appointed by President McKinley. He was interred in Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.

Precedent setting case

While serving on the district court, Morrow ruled in the case of '' In re Wong Kim Ark'' that Chinese children born in the United States were automatically United States citizens.Charles McClain, ''Of Medicine, Race, and American Law: The Bubonic Plague Outbreak of 1900'', 13 Law & Soc. Inquiry 447 (1988).

Other service

Morrow was one of the incorporators of the American Red Cross.

Personal life

Morrow's mother, Margaret Tilley Morrow (1805–1864), was, according to her obituary, widowed twice. Her second husband, Morrow's father, was an Irishman who died only eight years after they were married. Morrow married Margaret Hulbert (October 1, 1847 – August 26, 1926), a native of Iowa, on June 18, 1865 in

Sonoma, California Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma's p ...

. Together they had four children: # William Hulbert Morrow (1868–1930); married Katherine Dillon Hinkle (1870–1955) and had one daughter, Arabelle Morrow Mann (1893–1963). # Maurice Morrow (1869–1870) # Maud Morrow (1873–1926); married on October 13, 1893 to then Lieutenant (later Rear Admiral)

Augustus F. Fechteler Augustus Francis Fechteler (1 September 1857 – 26 May 1921) was a Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during World War I. He had two sons also served in the Navy, Admiral William Fechteler was Chief of Naval Operations and Lieutenant Frank C ...

, who served during the

Spanish-American War Spanish Americans ( es, españoles estadounidenses, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in th ...

, Philippine-American War, and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. # Eleanor Morrow (1879–1958); married

Henry Latrobe Roosevelt Henry Latrobe Roosevelt (October 5, 1879 – February 22, 1936) was an Assistant Secretary of the United States Navy and a member of the Roosevelt family. Early life Roosevelt was born on October 5, 1879 in Morristown, New Jersey, to Lieutenan ...

(1879–1936) on January 15, 1902. He served as a United States

Assistant Secretary of the Navy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (ASN) is the title given to certain civilian senior officials in the United States Department of the Navy. From 1861 to 1954, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy was the second-highest civilian office in the Depar ...

from 1933 to 1936.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrow, William W. 1843 births 1929 deaths People of Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Politicians from San Francisco People from Wayne County, Indiana United States federal judges appointed by Benjamin Harrison 19th-century American judges United States federal judges appointed by William McKinley Lawyers from San Francisco Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Burials at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park Assistant United States Attorneys