Joseph Robert Morris (April 24, 1828 December 6, 1885) was a metal worker, business owner, investor, and inventor. He briefly served as mayor of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Early life and family

Joseph Robert Morris was born on April 24, 1828 in Milton, Connecticut, now a part of Litchfield. He attended school through the age of fourteen, when he moved to

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, Connecticut for an apprenticeship to a tinner. He moved with his two younger brothers and his father to Bastrop, Texas around 1845.

Career

Morris established a tin shop in Bastrop that quickly failed. He relocated to Houston with his family, where he performed metal work for Alexander McGowan. The next year, in 1847, he set up his own tin shop in Houston, which later expanded into a general hardware business. His inventions included a furnace and a spark arrester, and he gained membership to the British Academy of Sciences. Morris co-founded two transportation companies: the Houston Direct Navigation Company and the Buffalo Bayou Ship Channel Company. According to the 1870 Census, he was one of the wealthiest persons in Texas.

Death

Morris died on December 6, 1885. His final resting place is

Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Glenwood Cemetery is located in Houston, Texas, United States. Developed in 1871, the first professionally designed cemetery in the city accepted its first burial in 1872. Its location at Washington Avenue overlooking Buffalo Bayou served as ...

in Houston.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Joseph Robert 1828 births 1885 deaths Mayors of Houston Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) 19th-century American businesspeople