Lewis Morris

Already living well, Morris got involved in the cause.

The tiresome British annoyed him with all of their flaws.

           Richard Morris, an ancestor of Lewis Morris, was an officer in England at the time of Cromwell.  He came to New York in the 1650s and purchased from the Indians over 3,000 acres in what is now "Morrisania," in the Bronx.  He died in the year 1673, leaving an infant child Lewis (1671-1746) who grew and became active in the New York and New Jersey political world.  He (grandfather to the signer) was known as a godly man:

         "Not only did he receive no salary as Chief Justice, but as Governor of New Jersey, which was not a rich province, he personally defrayed all extra expenses, to prevent increased taxation.    

        He was active in the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel; a vestryman and benefactor of Trinity Church, New York, to which he gave "for the service of God," the very best timber obtainable. For this he was voted by the vestry, the signal honor of a square pew.   

         He recognized Christianity as the only hope of curing existing evils."   Hamm's Famous Families of New York, Letter to the Lord Bishop of London, Whitehead's Papers of Gov. Lewis Morris, Wilson's Memorial Hist. of City of New York, Drake's Amer. Biog.

 

        "For many years Lewis Morris was an active churchman, serving from 1697 to 1700 as a vestryman of Trinity Church and encouraging the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in its missionary enterprises."  The Papers of Lewis Morris, Governor of the Province of New Jersey," NJ Hist. Soc. Colls., vol. IV (1852)

        Lewis's sons followed his footsteps into the political arena, one a judge of the court of vice admiralty, another chief justice of New Jersey, and the third became lieutenant governor of the state of Pennsylvania.
 

        The next generation Lewis Morris, great grandson of Richard Morris and subject of this biography, was born at Morrisania as the eldest of four brothers, all of whom entered public service.  Of his brothers, Staats became an officer in the British service and a member of parliament.  Richard was judge of the of the vice admiralty court and Governeur was chief justice of the state.  They have been identified as an Episcopalian.  Robert G. Ferris (editor), Signers of the Declaration: Historic Places Commemorating the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, published by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service: Washington, D.C. (revised edition 1975), page 105.  

        Lewis graduated from Yale College in 1746 as a scholar of distinction; and when his father passed on, he, too, became engaged in politics. 

        When the revolution began, he was a member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1775 until 1777 and was sent to the Continental Congress.  The Congress wanted to find a peaceful way to deal with Britain's encroachments.  However, compromise seemed unlikely after an address of complaint, to both the king and to the people of Great Britain, was poorly received.
       Lewis Morris became visible as an active supporter of independence, siding, in many cases, against his wealthy neighbors and at the risk of his own domestic comfort and tranquility.  At one time he preferred that the controversy be settled without bloodshed, but he was not about to be a lickspigot and give up rights which God had given all men as a part of their nature.  The tyrannical measures of the British ministry came to be beyond peaceful endurance. 

       During the war, the British swarmed all over New York.  Their ships were within cannon shot of Lewis Morris's domain, and his signature to the Declaration of Independence insured his home's destruction.  It wasn't long into the war when Morrisania, including a beautiful forest of more than a thousand acres, was looted and burned.  His fences were knocked down, his stock driven away, his house shot up into a sieve, and his family forced into exile.

        When peace returned, Morris worked to rebuild the family estate.  He also served his community in various ways, often as a member of the state legislature; and he rose to the rank of major general of the militia. 

       The latter part of his life was spent at home with friends, family, and land, he being filled with the happiness of life and honor. 

 

      

        Lewis's brother Gouverneur (only child of his father's second marriage) graduated from King's College and became an American statesman who represented Pennsylvania in the Constitutional Convention of 1787.   Like his brother, he also died at the family estate of Morrisania and is buried at St. Anne's Church.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gouverneur_Morris

Americans need never fear their government because of the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation.
Gouverneur Morris (pictured right)

Religion is the solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward God.
Gouverneur Morris

       Spooner's Historic Families of America, see also Smith's History of New York, and Smith's History of New Jersey.  

Descendants of governor Lewis Morris   Governor Lewis Morris - Descendants of Grandson Signer

HISTORY: Manor of Morrisania and the Early Morrises; Westchester Co., NY
submitted by W. David Samuelsen   Copyright.  All rights reserved.    http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htmLewis Morris 1671-1746: A Study in Early American Politics by Eugene R. Sheridan J.Hopkins Univ., Press       Rev. Charles A. Goodrich Lives of the Signers to the Declaration of Independence. New York: William Reed & Co., 1856. Pages 193-197.

Wives of the Signers: The Women Behind the Declaration of Independence, by Harry Clinton Green and Mary Wolcott Green, A.B. (Aledo, TX: Wallbuilder Press, 1997). Orignaly Published in 1912 as volume 3 of The Pioneer Mothers of America: A Record of the More Notable Women of the Early Days of the Country, and Particularly of the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons). Pages 126-132.        http://www.iment.com/maida/familytree/morris/lewismorris.htm "The Papers of Lewis Morris, Governor of the Province of New Jersey,"
NJ Hist. Soc. Colls., vol. IV (1852)

    Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase. 
    A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just. 

Proverbs 13:11&22

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