Augustus Newbold Morris or A. N. Morris (June 3, 1838 – September 1, 1906) was a prominent American during the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Wes ...

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 Un ...

Early life

Morris was born on June 3, 1838 to William Henry Morris (1810–1896) and Hannah Cornell Newbold (1816–1842). His paternal grandparents were Helen ( née Van Cortlandt) Morris (1768–1812) and James Morris (1764–1827), High Sheriff of New York. His grandfather was a son of Lewis Morris (1726–1798), signor of the

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 ...

, from the prominent Colonial-era Morris family of the

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 161st Street to the south, and Webster Avenue ...

section of 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 ...

Career

Morris graduated from Columbia College in 1860, and later,

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

. He was considered a "man of leisure," but worked nevertheless. He was a manager of the Home for Incurables at Fordham, a director of the Zoological Society, and a vice-president of the Plaza Bank. While he did not hold office, he was considered an Independent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Society life

In 1892, Morris and his wife were both included in

Ward McAllister Samuel Ward McAllister (December 28, 1827 – January 31, 1895) was a popular arbiter of social taste in the Gilded Age of late 19th-century America. He was widely accepted as the authority as to which families could be classified as the cream o ...

's "

Four Hundred 400 (four hundred) is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401. Mathematical properties 400 is the square of 20. 400 is the sum of the powers of 7 from 0 to 3, thus making it a repdigit in base 7 (1111). A circle is divided into ...

", purported to be an index of New York's best families, published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. He was a governor, and one of the founders, of the

Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...

, a member of the Union Club of New York, member of

The New York Young Republican Club The New York Young Republican Club (NYYRC) is an organization for members of the Republican Party between the ages of 18 and 40 in New York City. The New York Young Republican Club is the oldest and largest chapter in the United States, founded ...

, president of the

Suburban Riding and Driving Club The Seaman-Drake Arch, also known as the Inwood Arch, is a remnant of a hilltop estate built in 1855 in the Inwood, Manhattan, Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City by the Seaman family. Located at 5065 Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway at ...

, president of the Ridgefield Club, a director of the Coney Island Jockey Club, a director of the National Horse Show Association, a member of the Riding Club, the Automobile Club, and the

Delta Phi Delta Phi () is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York consisting of ten active chapters along the East Coast of the United States. The fraternity also uses the names "St. Elmo," "St. Elmo Hall," or merely "Elmo" ...

fraternity.

Personal life

Morris Ridgefield CT AA&BN 18July1885 plate499

On December 10, 1862, Morris was married to Eleanor Colford Jones (1841–1906), daughter of General

James I. Jones General James I. Jones (August 25, 1786 – September 3, 1858) was an American general who was prominent in New York life in the 1800s. Early life Jones was born on August 25, 1786, in New York. He was the third son of John Jones (1755–1806) ...

(1786–1858) and Elizabeth (1817–1874), the older sister of

Caroline Schermerhorn Astor Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later in life as "the Mrs. Asto ...

(1830–1908), also known as "The Mrs. Astor," Mrs. Charles Suydam, and Mrs. John Treat Irving. Her father's country home became

Jones's Wood Jones's Wood was a block of farmland on the island of Manhattan overlooking the East River. The site was formerly occupied by the wealthy Schermerhorn and Jones families. Today, the site of Jones's Wood is part of Lenox Hill, in the present-day Up ...

. They had three sons and two daughters. His wife died at their home, 19 East 64th Street, in April 1906, and Morris died shortly thereafter on September 1, 1906, at his country home in

Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population of 25,033 at the 2020 census. The town center, which was formerly a borough ...

Descendants

Through his son Augustus, he was the grandfather of Augustus Newbold Morris (1902–1966), who was a lawyer, president of the New York City Council, and two-time candidate for mayor of

George Lovett Kingsland Morris George Lovett Kingsland Morris (November 14, 1905 – June 26, 1975) was an American artist, writer, and editor who advocated for an "American abstract art" during the 1930s and 1940s, and is best known for his Cubist sculptures and paintings. ...

(1905–1975), a painter who married Suzy Frelinghuysen, and Stephanus "Stephen" Van Cortlandt Morris (1909–1984), a diplomat.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Augustus Newbold 1838 births 1906 deaths American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of Welsh descent Cornell family Morris family (Morrisania and New Jersey) Van Cortlandt family People from the Bronx Columbia College (New York) alumni Columbia Law School alumni People included in New York Society's Four Hundred