Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S.

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

as a delegate to the Continental Congress from New York.

Early life and family

Morris was born on April 8, 1726, at his family's estate, Morrisania, presently part of Bronx County, in what was then the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the U ...

. He was the third Lewis Morris in the

Morris Morris may refer to: Places Australia *St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia Canada * Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry * Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba ** Morris, Manitob ...

family. He was the son of Lewis Morris (1698–1762) and Katrintje "Catherine" Staats (1697–1731). After his mother died, his father married Sarah Gouverneur (1714–1786). He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1746, and upon his father's death in 1762, he inherited the bulk of the estate. Morris' father had seven children, including his siblings,

Staats Long Morris General Staats Long Morris (27 August 1728 – 28 January 1800) was a British Army officer and politician who sat in the House of Commons representing the constituency of Elgin Burghs from 1774 to 1784. He also served as governor of Quebec fr ...

(1728–1800) and Richard Morris (1730–1810), and his half-siblings, Mary Lawrence,

Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to th ...

(1752–1816), Isabella, and Catherine. His uncle was Robert Hunter Morris (1700–1764), the governor of Pennsylvania. His cousin by marriage was William Paterson (1745–1806), the

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

and father-in-law of Stephen Van Rensselaer, the lieutenant governor of New York, who was the brother of Philip Schuyler Van Rensselaer,

mayor of Albany, New York From its formal chartering on 22 July 1686 until 1779, the mayors of Albany, New York, were appointed by the royal governor of New York, per the provisions of the original city charter, issued by Governor Thomas Dongan. From 1779 until 1839, may ...

. Anthony Walton White (1750–1803), a Continental Army general, was his cousin through Morris' aunt, Elizabeth Morris (1712–c.1784).

Family history

His great-grandfather, Richard Morris (died 1672), immigrated to New York through

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

after being part of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

's army in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

of 1648. He purchased the first tract of land in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

that became the basis for the Morrisania manor. Richard and his young wife died, leaving behind an infant son, Lewis Morris (1671–1746). Richard's brother, Colonel Lewis Morris, also of Barbados, came to Morrisania to help manage the estate owned by his infant nephew. Col. Morris and his wife were childless. When he came of age, Lewis Morris expanded and patented the estate. He married Isabella and went on to serve as the 8th colonial governor of New Jersey.Stellhorn, Paul A., and Birkner, Michael J
"Lewis Morris"
in ''The Governors of New Jersey 1664–1974: Biographical Essays''. (Trenton, New Jersey: New Jersey Historical Commission, 1982), 54–58. Retrieved 29 April 2013. Morris was a popular governor who championed land owning rights for the colonists. Morristown, New Jersey, was named for him.

Career

In 1769, he was elected to the

New York General Assembly The General Assembly of New York, commonly known internationally as the New York General Assembly, and domestically simply as General Assembly, was the supreme legislative body of the Province of New York during its period of proprietal coloni ...

. In 1774, as the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

drew near, he resigned from the Admiralty Court.

American Revolution

When active revolution began, he was a member of the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

, the revolutionary government, from 1775 until 1777. That body, in turn, sent Morris to the Continental Congress for those same years. While in Congress, he was an active supporter of independence and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776. When warned by his brother Staats Morris, who was a general in the British army, of the consequences that would follow his signing of the rebellious document, Morris stated, "Damn the consequences. Give me the pen." In 1777, Lewis returned to New York, became a county judge of Westchester County, and was appointed a member of the New York State Senate representing the Southern District, which consisted of Kings, New York,

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Richmond, Suffolk and Westchester counties. He served in the 1st New York State Legislature, which began on September 9, 1777, until the end of the 4th Legislature, on July 1, 1781. His eldest three sons served during the Revolutionary War and had distinguished military careers.

Post-Revolution

Beginning on July 1, 1783, he returned to the New York State Senate and served in the 7th Legislature through to the end of the 13th Legislature, ending on June 30, 1790. In 1788, when the New York convention met to ratify the U.S. Constitution, he was one of the delegates. Morris was a Federalist

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia app ...

in the 1796 election and cast his votes for

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

and Thomas Pinckney. In 1784, Morris was elected an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati. On May 1 of the same year, he was appointed to the first Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and served until his death, when he was replaced by

Simeon De Witt Simeon De Witt (December 25, 1756 – December 3, 1834) was Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and Surveyor General of the State of New York for the fifty years from 1784 until his death. Life ...

.Simeon de Witt
'' New Netherland Institute''

Personal life

History of Art for Beginners Vol 3 Architecture 131

On September 24, 1749, Lewis married Mary Walton (1727–1794), a member of a well-known merchant family. Maria was the daughter of Jacob Walton and Maria ( née Beekman) Walton. They had ten children: * Catherine Morris (1751–1835), who married Thomas Lawrence (1744–1823). * Mary Morris (1752–1776). * Col. Lewis V. Morris (1754–1824), who married Ann B. Elliott (1762–1848), sister-in-law of Congressman

Daniel Huger Daniel Huger (February 20, 1742July 6, 1799) was an American planter and statesman from Berkeley County, South Carolina. Early life His grandfather was Daniel Huger Sr (1651–1711), a French Huguenot who was born in Loudun, France and settle ...

. * Gen. Jacob Morris (1755–1844), who married Mary Cox (1758–1827) ( Morris, New York is named after him). * Sarah Morris (born 1757), who died young. * Lt. William Walton Morris (1760–1832), aide-de-camp to

General Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

who married Sarah Carpender. * Helena Magdalena Morris (1762–1840), who married

John Rutherfurd John Rutherfurd (September 20, 1760February 23, 1840) was an American politician and land surveyor. He represented New Jersey in the United States Senate from 1791 to 1798. Early life John Rutherfurd was born on September 20, 1760 in New York C ...

(1760–1840), a Senator from New Jersey * James Morris (1764–1827), who married Helen Van Cortlandt (1768–1812), daughter of

Augustus Van Cortlandt Augustus Van Cortlandt (August 3, 1728 – December 20, 1823) was an American lawyer who served as the last Clerk of the City and County of New York under British rule who hid the city records at his family's estate manor house in 1776. Early lif ...

and granddaughter of

Frederick Van Cortlandt Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699 – February 2, 1749) was an American merchant and landowner. Early life Van Cortlandt was born in 1699 and christened on April 23, 1699. He was the only surviving son born to Jacobus Van Cortlandt (1658–1739) and t ...

. * Capt. Staats Morris (1765–1826), who married Everarda van Braam Houckgeest (1765–1816), the daughter of Andreas van Braam Houckgeest and Baroness Catharina C.G. van Reeds van Oudtshoorn.Their offspring took the surname "Van Braam Morris" and they live in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. * Capt. Richard Valentine Morris (1768–1815), who married Anne Walton (1773–1858) After the war, Morris had to rebuild the family estate, which had been looted and burned by the British when they occupied New York. In 1790, he offered the land, now part of the South Bronx neighborhood of Morrisania, as the site of the U.S. capital. He died on the estate and is buried in the family vault beneath St. Ann's Church in the Bronx.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, Lewis V. Morris, he was grandfather to Lewis Morris (1785–1863) and Sabina Elliott Morris (1789–1857). Lewis Morris (b. 1785) was the father of Charles Manigault Morris (1820–1895), a Confederate officer. Sabina married her first cousin, Robert Walter Rutherfurd (1788–1852), the son of John Rutherfurd and Helena Morris, and was the mother of Lewis Morris Rutherfurd (1816–1892), a pioneering

astrophotographer Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1840, but it was no ...

who took the first telescopic photographs of the moon and sun, as well as many stars and planets. Through his son, Staats Morris, his great-grandson was Daniel François van Braam Morris (b. 1840), a Dutchman and governor of

Celebes Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sul ...

in the Dutch East Indies. A great-granddaughter of his grandfather, Lewis Morris, named Mary Antill was married to Gerritt G. Lansing, himself a brother of Congressman John Lansing. John Lansing's daughter, Sarah, was married to Edward Livingston, a great-grandson of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great B ...

In popular culture

Lewis Morris is portrayed by Ronald Kross in the 1969 Broadway musical ''

1776 Events January–February * January 1 – American Revolutionary War – Burning of Norfolk: The town of Norfolk, Virginia is destroyed, by the combined actions of the British Royal Navy and occupying Patriot forces. * Januar ...

'' and by

Howard Caine Howard Caine (born Howard Cohen; January 2, 1926 – December 28, 1993) was an American character actor, probably best known as Gestapo Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the television series ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–71). He also played Lewi ...

in the 1972 film. Although Morris was chairman of the New York delegation to the Second Continental Congress, he abstained ("courteously") on every vote, claiming that the

never gave Morris explicit instructions on anything. However, when

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

noted in a dispatch that Morris's estates were destroyed by the British, but his family was taken to safety in Connecticut, Morris abandons his lack of instructions and moves to sign the Declaration.

References

External links

*
Biography by Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, 1856
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Lewis 1726 births 1798 deaths Morris family (Morrisania and New Jersey) People from the Bronx American Episcopalians American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of Welsh descent American slave owners New York (state) Federalists Continental Congressmen from New York (state) 18th-century American politicians Members of the New York General Assembly Members of the New York Provincial Congress Signers of the United States Declaration of Independence New York (state) state senators 1796 United States presidential electors People of the Province of New York Yale College alumni Yale University alumni