Lewis Morris Jr. (September 23, 1698 – July 3, 1762) was an American judge, politician and landowner who served as

speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in Province of New York, New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of ...

from 1737 to 1738.

Early life

Brooklyn Museum - Governor Lewis Morris - John Watson - overall

Morris was born on September 23, 1698, at

Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...

, his family's manor in the southwest section of today's

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. He was the eldest son of

Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Conti ...

(1671–1746) and Isabella (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Graham) Morris (1673–1752). His younger brother was Robert Hunter Morris, who served as the deputy governor of New Jersey. His father was very prominent in public life and variously served as Chief Justice of New York and as the 8th Colonial Governor of New Jersey. His paternal grandparents were Sarah (née Pole) Morris and Richard Morris, who was originally from

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. His grandparents bought Morrisania from Samuel Edsall in 1670 and moved there from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

. His mother was the eldest daughter of James Graham, who served as the first

Speaker of the New York General Assembly The Speaker of the New York General Assembly was the highest official in the New York General Assembly, the first representative governing body in Province of New York, New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of ...

and the first

Recorder of New York City The recorder of New York City was a municipal officer of New York City from 1683 until 1907. He was at times a judge of the Court of General Sessions, the Court of Special Sessions, and the New York Court of Common Pleas; Vice-President of the Boa ...

. Graham, who was born in

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, was a grandson of

James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose (1612 – 21 May 1650) was a Scottish nobleman, poet, soldier and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, but subsequ ...

Career

Upon his father's death in 1746, he inherited the manor, becoming the 2nd Lord of the Manor of Morrisania which eventually became over 2,000 acres. He also owned between forty and sixty

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. Lewis is considered "representative of those colonial-born politicians who came to dominate public life in eighteenth-century British America, during a time of frenetic colonial economic and demographic growth." Morris served as Judge of the High Court of the Admiralty of New York from 1738 until his death, with jurisdiction over New Jersey and Connecticut, and Judge of the

Court of Oyer and Terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...

. During his twenty-four year tenure as New York's vice-admiralty judge, he personally condemned more than 260 prize ships captured by colonial privateers, worth over £2 million. In 1722, he became a member of Governor William Burnet's council. From 1732 to 1750, he represented

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

(which today is Westchester and Bronx counties) in 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 Parliamentary sovereignty, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the Province of New York d ...

. He served alongside his father in the Assembly. In 1737, was chosen to succeed Adolphus Philipse as

, in which he served until 1738. While speaker, he replaced virtually all of the judicial and militia officers in Westchester.

Personal life

Morris was twice married. His first wife was Katrintje "Catherine" Staats (1697–1731), a daughter of New York surgeon, Samuel Staats. Her paternal grandfather was Abraham Staats, one of the first settlers of the

New Netherland New Netherland () was a colony of the Dutch Republic located on the East Coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. Settlements were established in what became the states ...

colonies. Together, they were the parents of: * Mary Morris (1723–1804), who married Thomas Lawrence, Esq., a son of

Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

, mayor of Philadelphia. *

(1726–1798), a signer of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration 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 the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

who married Mary Walton. *

Staats Long Morris General Staats Long Morris (27 August 1728 – 28 January 1800) was a British Army officer and politician who represented Elgin Burghs in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1774 to 1784. He also served as governor of Quebec from 1797 ...

(1728–1800), a Loyalist who served as a Member of Parliament during the Revolutionary War who married Lady Catherine, Duchess of Gordon, widow of

Cosmo Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon Cosmo George Gordon, 3rd Duke of Gordon KT (27 April 1720 – 5 August 1752), styled Marquess of Huntly until 1728, was a Scottish peer. Life Gordon was the son of the 2nd Duke of Gordon and was named after his father's close Jacobite friend ...

and daughter of William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen, in 1756. After her death in 1779, he married Jane Urquhart (1749–1801) in 1780. * Richard Morris (1730–1800), a prominent judge who married Sarah Ludlow in 1759. After his first wife died in 1731, he married Sarah Gouverneur (1714–1786), a daughter of Isaac Gouverneur and Sarah (née Staats) Gouverneur. Sarah was a niece of Speaker Abraham Gouverneur (who married Mary Leisler, daughter of

Jacob Leisler Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born politician and colonial administrator in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the North American fur trade and tobacco business. In what became k ...

and the widow of

Jacob Milborne Jacob Milborne (''sometimes'' Milburn) ( – 16 May 1691) was an American clerk living in the Province of New York who was an ally, secretary and son-in-law of the rebel Jacob Leisler, served briefly as Attorney General of the province, and was ex ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Isabella Morris (–1830), who in 1762 married Rev. Isaac Wilkins, who represented Shelburne township in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 1785 to 1793. They were the parents of Lewis Morris Wilkins. *

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 the ...

(1752–1816), a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

and U.S. Minister to France who married Anne Cary Randolph, a daughter of Thomas Mann Randolph of Virginia. * Euphemia Morris (1754–1818), who married Samuel Ogden, the brother Abraham Ogden, in 1775. After several years of declining health, Morris died at Morrisania on July 3, 1762. After his death, Governor

Robert Monckton Lieutenant general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was a British Army officer, politician and colonial administrator. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in com ...

appointed his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

to his place on the New York Court of Vice-Admiralty.

Gallery

File:Lewis Morris painting.jpg, Portrait of his son,

, by John Wollaston File:StaatsLongMorris.jpg, Portrait of his son,

, by John Wollaston File:Gouverneur Morris MET DP162129 (cropped).jpg, Portrait of his son,

, by Pierre Henri File:Coat of Arms of Lewis Morris.svg, Coat of Arms of the Morris family

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

*
Portrait of Lewis Morris
by Thomas McIlworth at the

New-York Historical Society The New York Historical (known as the New-York Historical Society from 1804 to 2024) is an American history museum and library on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. It ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Lewis 1698 births 1762 deaths People from the Bronx Morris family (Morrisania and New Jersey) American people of Scottish descent Slave owners from the Thirteen Colonies American people of Welsh descent Members of the New York General Assembly Speakers of the New York General Assembly People from colonial New York