Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798

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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 Continental Congress from New York.

Born at his family's estate, Morrisania, presently part of Bronx County, in what was then the Province of New York, he graduated from Yale College before returning to Morrisania. In 1769, he was elected to the New York General Assembly. In 1774, as the Revolution drew near, he resigned from the Admiralty Court. When active revolution began, he was a member of the New York Provincial Congress, the revolutionary government, from 1775 until 1777. That body, in turn, sent Morris to the Continental Congress for those same years. While in Congress, he was an active supporter of independence and signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

In 1777, Lewis returned to New York, became a county judge of Westchester County, and was appointed a member of the New York State Senate. He served in the 1st New York State Legislature, which began on September 9, 1777, until the end of the 4th Legislature, on July 1, 1781. Beginning on July 1, 1783, he returned to the New York State Senate, and served in the 7th Legislature through to the end of the 13th Legislature, ending on June 30, 1790. In 1788, when the New York convention met to ratify the U.S. Constitution, he was one of the delegates. Morris was a Federalist presidential elector in 1796, and cast his votes for John Adams and Thomas Pinckney.

After the Revolution, Morris had to rebuild the family estate, which had been looted and burned by the British when they occupied New York. In 1790, he offered the land, now part of the South Bronx neighborhood of Morrisania, as the site of the U.S. capital. He died on the estate and is buried in the family vault beneath St. Ann's Church in the Bronx.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Thomas Addis Emmet collection, 1483-1876 (bulk:1700-1800) New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. Autograph letter signed : Williamsburg, to Gen. Greene, 1781 Sept. 23. Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. Letter, 1781 January 24, [to] Captain Abraham De Peyster. United States Military Academy, USMA Library
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. Lewis Morris (1726-1798) waste book, 1738-1772. New-York Historical Society Library
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Collection of documents concerning the American Revolution, 1740-1866 Houghton Library
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. Receipt, 1792 July 24. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Bamberger, Louis, 1855-1944,. Autograph collection, 1683-1929. New Jersey Historical Society Library
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. DS, 1778 June 30. : Receipt. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Frederick M. Dearborn collection of military and political Americana, Part I: The Revolution and the Administration, 1669-1958. Houghton Library
referencedIn W. B. O. Field portrait collection, ca. 1600-1900. Houghton Library
referencedIn Sparks, Jared, 1789-1866. Jared Sparks collection of American manuscripts, 1582-1843 Houghton Library
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. ALS, 1788 August 23 : Morrisania, to his son, Jacob Morris, Susquehannah. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Stewart, Charles, 1729-1800. Family papers, 1768-1877 Houghton Library
referencedIn Churches collection, 1764-1941. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Niagara expedition collection. New Jersey Historical Society Library
creatorOf Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), 1876-1952,. Signers of the Declaration of Independence autograph collection, 1756-1818. Rosenbach Museum & Library
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. Autograph letter signed : to Jeremiah Wadsworth, 1790 Aug. 31. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Greene, Nathanael, 1742-1786. Papers, 1777-1780 American Philosophical Society
creatorOf Morris, Lewis, 1726-1798. Receipt, 1777 Jan. 11, Fishkill, N.Y. Rosenbach Museum & Library
referencedIn Greene, Nathanael, 1742-1786. Nathanael Greene papers, 1774-1793 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Floyd, William, 1734-1821. Autograph letter signed : to Major Gen'l Lewis Morris, 1796 Jan. 2. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Letters and documents of signers of the Declaration of Independence, 1750-1933. Houghton Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bamberger, Louis, 1855-1944, person
associatedWith De Peyster, Abraham, fl. 1781. person
associatedWith Field, William B. Osgood, collector. person
associatedWith Floyd, William, 1734-1821. person
associatedWith Greene, Nathanael, 1742-1786 person
memberOf Morris family. family
sibling of Morris, Gouverneur, 1752-1816 person
associatedWith Morris, Jacob, 1755-1844. person
grandchildOf Morris, Lewis, 1671-1746 person
childOf Morris, Lewis, 1698-1762 person
sibling of Morris, Richard, 1730-1810 person
nieceOrNephewOf Morris, Robert Hunter, approximately 1700-1764 person
sibling of Morris, Staats Long, 1728-1800 person
associatedWith Murray, William Vans, 1760-1803. person
associatedWith Museum of the City of New York. corporateBody
associatedWith Rosenbach, A. S. W. (Abraham Simon Wolf), 1876-1952, person
correspondedWith Stewart, Charles, 1729-1800 person
associatedWith United States. corporateBody
associatedWith Van Cortlandt, Pierre, 1721-1814. person
associatedWith Wadsworth, Jeremiah, person
associatedWith Willard, Henry A. (Henry Augustus), 1902- person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Yale University. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
New Haven CT US
New Rochelle NY US
White Plains NY US
Morrisania NY US
Morrisania NY US
Subject
Childbirth
Money
Occupation
Delegates, U.S. Continental Congress
Farmers
Jurists
State Representative
State Senator
Activity

Person

Birth 1726-04-08

Death 1798-01-22

Male

Britons,

Americans

English

Information

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