Robert H. Morris (mayor)

Robert Hunter Morris (February 15, 1808 in New York – October 24, 1855 in New York City) was an attorney and Mayor of New York.

Early political career

Morris attended Washington Seminary. He initially practiced law in Columbia County, New York before moving to New York to pursue a career in politics. He served as an assistant to U.S. Attorney James A. Hamilton and as a member of the New York State Assembly in 1833 and 1834. In 1838, New York Governor William L. Marcy appointed Morris to the position of recorder of New York. He served in that capacity until 1841, when Governor William H. Seward removed him from the office in connection with the Glentworth scandal.

Glentworth incident

The Glentworth conspiracy involved a plot by tobacco inspector James B. Glentworth to send workers from Pennsylvania to New York under the guise of laying pipes for the city, but in reality to cast votes for Whig Presidential candidate William Henry Harrison. Morris, the district attorney, and then-Mayor Isaac Varian feared that documents essential to the ensuing grand jury would be destroyed, and so went personally to seize the documents. Governor Seward removed Morris from office for his actions.

Election as New York mayor

Morris, a Democrat, became involved in the Tammany Hall political machine in the early 1840s. He was elected mayor in 1841 by a slim margin, and again in 1842 and 1843 by more substantial margins. While serving as mayor in 1841, Morris took part in the investigation and arrest of John C. Colt for the murder of Samuel Adams.^[1][2]

References

• Wilson, James Grant (1892). The Memorial History of the City of New-York: From Its First Settlement to the Year 1892. New York History Company. 
• "Death of Hon. Judge Morris". Obituaries (The New York Times). 1855-10-26.