Richard Morris (August 15, 1730 O.S. – April 11, 1810) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was chief justice of the New York Supreme Court from 1779 to 1790.

Early life

He was born on August 15, 1730, in

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 ...

, then located in

Westchester County, New York 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 ...

, the third son of Lewis Morris (1698–1762) and Katrintje "Catherine" ( née Staats) Morris (1697–1731). His paternal grandfather was Governor of New Jersey Lewis Morris. His brothers included Continental Congressman Lewis Morris and Gen.

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 fr ...

. His half-brother was U.S. Senator

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 th ...

and Assemblyman Richard Valentine Morris was his nephew. Morris was a graduate of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1748. Then he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1752.

Career

In 1762, he was appointed by 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 Ja ...

to the New York Court of Vice-Admiralty. At the outbreak of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

he sided with the Patriots, and resigned from the bench in 1775. On March 4, 1778, he was appointed by the New York State Assembly to the New York State Senate as one of the representatives of the Southern District, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr. John Jones. He remained in the State Senate until October 1779, sitting in the 1st,

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

and

3rd New York State Legislature The 3rd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from August 18, 1779, to July 2, 1780, during the third year of George Clinton's governorship, first at Kingston, then at Albany, ...

s. On October 23, 1779, he was appointed by the

Council of Appointment The Council of Appointment (sometimes also Council of Appointments) was a body of the Government of New York that existed from 1777 to 1822. History Under the New York Constitution of 1777, the Council of Appointment consisted of the Governor of N ...

as Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and remained on the bench until September 1790 when he reached the constitutional age limit. In 1788, he was a delegate to the New York Convention to Ratify the U.S. Constitution. On October 19, 1789, he administered the oaths of office to Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

. In December 1794, he ran on the Federalist ticket for Congress in the Westchester–Richmond district, but was defeated by Democratic-Republican

Philip Van Cortlandt Philip Van Cortlandt (September 1, 1749 – November 5, 1831) was an American surveyor, landowner, and politician from Westchester County, New York. Van Cortlandt was the son of Pierre Van Cortlandt and brother of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr. He ...

Personal life

On June 13, 1759, he married Sarah Ludlow (1730–1791), the daughter of Henry Ludlow (1701–1784) and Mary Corbett and the sister of William Henry Ludlow. Together, they had five children:"Richard Morris Family Bible"
/ref> *

Lewis Richard Morris Lewis Richard Morris (November 2, 1760 – December 29, 1825) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a United States representative from Vermont. Early life Morris was born in Scarsdale in the Province of New York to Sarah Ludlo ...

(1760–1825), who married Theodosia Olcott (d. 1800), who died soon after. He later married Ellen Hunt (1781–1865), daughter of Jonathan Hunt. * Robert Morris (1762–1851), who married Frances Ludlum (1766–1852). * Mary Morris (1763–1836), who married William Popham. * Catherine Morris (1765–1765), who died in infancy. * Catherine Morris (1766–1767), who also died in infancy. He owned estates in Westchester county at Mount Fordham and in Scarsdale. Mount Fordham was burned by the British during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. He died on April 11, 1810, in

Scarsdale, New York Scarsdale is a town and village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The Town of Scarsdale is coextensive with the Village of Scarsdale, but the community has opted to operate solely with a village government, one of several village ...

; and was buried at the

Trinity Churchyard The parish of Trinity Church has three separate burial grounds associated with it in New York City. The first, Trinity Churchyard, is located in Lower Manhattan at 74 Trinity Place, near Wall Street and Broadway. Alexander Hamilton, Albert Galla ...

in New York City.

Descendants

His granddaughter, Mary Morris (1790–1869), married James Alexander Hamilton (1788–1878), son of

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

Alexander Hamilton. His grandson, Lewis Gouverneur Morris (1808–1900), was married to Emily Lorillard (1819–1850), of the Lorillard Tobacco family.

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Richard 1730 births 1810 deaths Morris family (Morrisania and New Jersey) People from the Bronx New York (state) state senators New York Supreme Court Justices Yale College alumni People of the Province of New York