Lewis Morris Jr. (September 23, 1698 – July 3, 1762) was a colonial American judge, politician and vast landowner who was the 2nd Lord of the Manor of

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 ...

Early life

Brooklyn Museum - Governor Lewis Morris - John Watson - overall

Morris was born on September 23, 1698, at

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

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 ...

. 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 Continen ...

(1671–1746) and Isabella (

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

Graham) Morris (1673–1752). His younger brother was

Robert Hunter Morris Robert Hunter Morris ( – 27 January 1764), was a prominent governmental figure in Colonial Pennsylvania, serving as governor of Pennsylvania and Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Early life and education Morris was born in ...

, 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 ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

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

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

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). ...

. 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 New York from 1683 to 1775 when the assembly disbanded after the outbreak of the American Revolution ...

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 Boar ...

. Graham, who was born in

Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, 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, ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, 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 and soldier, Lord Lieutenant, lord lieutenant and later viceroy and captain general of Scotland. Montrose initially joined the Covenanters in the Wa ...

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 and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. 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 ''oyer et terminer'', 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 ...

. 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 located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

(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 supreme legislative body of the Province of New York during its period of proprietal colonia ...

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

Adolphus Philipse Adolphus Philipse (1665–1750) was a wealthy landowner of Dutch descent in the Province of New York. In 1697 he purchased a large tract of land along the east bank of the Hudson River stretching all the way to the east to the Connecticut bor ...

, 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, Dr. Samuel Staats. Her paternal grandfather was

Abraham Staats Major Abraham Staats or Abram Staes (Amsterdam January 19, 1620 (baptized)– New York ca. 1694) was one of the first settlers of the New Netherland colonies and is the founder of the Staats family in New Amsterdam and the early American colonies. ...

, one of the first settlers of the

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

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 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 an innkeeper at t ...

, mayor of Philadelphia. *

(1726–1798), a signer 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 the ...

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 sat in the House of Commons representing the constituency of Elgin Burghs from 1774 to 1784. He also served as governor of Quebec f ...

(1728–1800), a Loyalist who served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

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 William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen (1679 – 30 March 1745), known between c. 1691 and 1720 as Lord Haddo, was a Scottish landowner and Tory politician who sat in the British House of Commons briefly from 1708 to 1709 when he was declared inelig ...

, 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 Abraham Gouverneur (1671 – June 16, 1740) was a Dutch born colonial American merchant and Leislerian politician who served as the Speaker of the New York General Assembly. Early life Gouverneur was born in 1671 "upon the Single, near the Kon ...

(who married Mary Leisler, daughter of

Jacob Leisler Jacob Leisler ( – May 16, 1691) was a German-born colonist who served as a politician in the Province of New York. He gained wealth in New Amsterdam (later New York City) in the fur trade and tobacco business. In what became known as Leisler's ...

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 exe ...

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

Isaac Wilkins Isaac Wilkins (1743–1830) was a judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Shelburne Township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1785 to 1793. He was born in Jamaica, the son of Martin Wilkins. He was educated at King ...

, who represented Shelburne township in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1785 to 1793. They were the parents of

Lewis Morris Wilkins Lewis Morris Wilkins (May 24, 1801 – March 15, 1885) was a lawyer, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Windsor Township from 1833 to 1838 and from 1852 to 1856 and Hants County from 1843 to 1847 in the Nova Scotia Hou ...

. *

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 U ...

(1752–1816), a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and U.S. Minister to France who married Anne Cary Randolph, a daughter of

Thomas Mann Randolph Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. (October 1, 1768 – June 20, 1828) was an American planter, soldier, and politician from Virginia. He served as a member of both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, a representative in the United States Congress, a ...

of Virginia. * Euphemia Morris (1754–1818), who married

Samuel Ogden Colonel Samuel Ogden (December 9, 1746 — December 1, 1810) was a colonial businessman in New Jersey who had an iron works. He fought on the winning side during the American Revolutionary War. Afterward, he became a developer and land speculator f ...

, the brother

Abraham Ogden Abraham Ogden (December 30, 1743 – January 31, 1798) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey from 1791 to 1798 and negotiated the Treaty of New York (1796). Early life Ogden was bor ...

, in 1775. After several years of declining health, Morris died at Morrisania on July 3, 1762. After his death, Governor

Robert Monckton Lieutenant-General Robert Monckton (24 June 1726 – 21 May 1782) was an officer of the British Army and colonial administrator in British North America. He had a distinguished military and political career, being second in command to General J ...

appointed his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

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

Gallery

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

, by

John Wollaston John Wollaston may refer to: * John Wollaston (priest) (1791–1856), Anglican clergyman and settler in Western Australia * John Wollaston (painter) John Wollaston (active between 1742 and 1775) was an English painter of portraits who was acti ...

File:Staats Long Morris (British Army general and Parliament member).jpg, Portrait of his son,

, by

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

, by

Pierre Henri Pierre Henri (born 25 February 1983) is a French swimmer, who specialized in individual medley events. He represented his nation France at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and also claimed a silver medal in the 400 m individual medley at the 2001 Europ ...

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 Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum. ...

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