Benjamin Wistar Morris (sometimes II; May 30, 1819 – April 7, 1906) was the second

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, which at the time incorporated the present-day episcopal dioceses of Olympia,

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

, and

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmos ...

Background

A descendant of Anthony Morris, one of the first colonists in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, Morris was born in

Wellsboro, Pennsylvania Wellsboro is a borough in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The borough was founded by Benjamin Wistar Morris. It is located northwest of Williamsport. The population was 3,472 at the 2020 census. Early in the 20th century, Wellsboro was the shipp ...

, which had been founded by his grandfather and namesake, the first Benjamin Wistar Morris. His father was Samuel Wells Morris, a district court judge and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Morris graduated from

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Commu ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1846, was ordained to the

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

and subsequently to the priesthood on April 27, 1847. From 1847 to 1851 he was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in

Sunbury, Pennsylvania Sunbury is a city and county seat of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna Valley on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and wes ...

. He subsequently served as rector of St. David's Episcopal Church, Manayunk Borough, Pennsylvania and as assistant and subsequently rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Germantown, Pennsylvania. While serving at St. Luke's, Morris organized an effort to supply food, medicine, clothing, and bedding to sick and wounded troops at the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of th ...

. On December 3, 1868, he was elected as the second missionary Bishop of Oregon, following

Thomas Fielding Scott Thomas Fielding Scott (March 12, 1807July 14, 1867) was the first missionary Episcopal Bishop of Washington and Oregon territories. Early life Scott was born in Iredell County, North Carolina, the son of James Scott and Rebekkah Worke Scott. ...

, who had died the previous year. He received the degree of S. T. D. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

in 1868, and also from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

the same year.

Bishop of Oregon

Morris was consecrated December 3, 1868, in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and arrived in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...

, on June 2, 1869. To reach Portland, Morris voyaged down the Atlantic coast, crossed the

isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...

on foot, and boarded a ship sailing up the

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the P ...

. He went on to serve one of the longest

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

s in the history of the Episcopal Church. In 1869 he founded St. Helen's Hall Girls' School, now known as the

Oregon Episcopal School Oregon Episcopal School (OES) is an American private, coeducational, college preparatory, day and boarding school in the Raleigh Hills area of Portland, Oregon. It was preceded by St. Helen's Hall, a day and boarding school for girls establishe ...

. In 1875, he founded Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland at a cost of $10,000. Eighteen

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the current Diocese of Oregon were founded by Morris during his tenure. By 1880 the missionary diocese of Oregon had grown too large for one bishop, and the missionary dioceses of Olympia in

Western Washington Western Washington is a region of the United States defined as the area of Washington state west of the Cascade Mountains. This region is home to the state's largest city, Seattle, the state capital, Olympia, and most of the state's residents. ...

and

Eastern Washington Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Ha ...

were formed. Morris remained bishop of the missionary diocese of Oregon, which was admitted as a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

of the Episcopal Church by

General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...

in 1889.

Family life

In 1856, Morris married Hannah Rodney, daughter of the Rev'd. John Rodney, who was then rector of St. Luke's, Germantown, Pennsylvania. Their son, Benjamin W. Morris, became a noted architect, designer of the interiors on the RMS ''Queen Mary'', the 1928 annex to the

Morgan Library The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...

, and the Bank of New York Building, among others. Bishop Morris died in Portland in 1906 and is buried in

Lone Fir Cemetery Lone Fir Cemetery in the southeast section of Portland, Oregon, United States is a cemetery owned and maintained by Metro, a regional government entity. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first burial was in 1846 with the ceme ...

in Portland.

References

External links

*
Documents by Morris, with photographs
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold Frank T ...

* wikisource:en:The Souvenir of Western Women/Bishop B. Wistar Morris * wikisource:en:Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders/Volume 1/Chapter 21#437 {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Benjamin Wistar 1819 births 1906 deaths American Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in the United States Clergy from Portland, Oregon People from Wellsboro, Pennsylvania Episcopal Church in Oregon Columbia University alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Olympia Episcopal bishops of Oregon 19th-century American clergy Burials at Lone Fir Cemetery

Background

Bishop of Oregon

Family life

See also

References

External links