Richard Morris (U.S. politician)
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.
Life
He was born on August 15, 1730,[1] in Morrisania, then located in Westchester County, New York, the son of Lewis Morris (1698–1762) and Katrintje (Staats) Morris (1697–1731). He graduated from Yale College in 1748. Then he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1752.
On June 13, 1759, he married Sarah Ludlow (1730–1791), and they had five children.[2] In 1762, he was appointed by Governor Robert Monckton to the New York Court of Vice-Admiralty. At the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War 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 and 3rd New York State Legislatures.[3]
On October 23, 1779, he was appointed by the Council of Appointment as Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and remained on the bench until September 1790 when he reached the constitutional age limit.[4] 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.[5]
In December 1794, he ran on the Federalist ticket for Congress in the Westchester–Richmond district, but was defeated by Democrtaic-Republican Philip Van Cortlandt.[6]
He died on April 11, 1810, in Scarsdale, New York; and was buried at the Trinity Churchyard in New York City.
Governor of New Jersey Lewis Morris (1671–1746) was his grandfather; Continental Congressman Lewis Morris (1726–1798) and Gen. Staats Long Morris (1728–1800) were his brothers; U.S. Senator Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816) was his half-brother; and Assemblyman Richard Valentine Morris (1768–1815) was his nephew. His granddaughter, Mary Morris, married James Alexander Hamilton, son of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
Sources
- ↑ "Chief Justice Richard Morris" at Long Island Surnames
- ↑ "Richard Morris Family Bible"
- ↑ The New York Civil List compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pg. 55, 110f and 346; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)
- ↑ "Richard Morris" at the Historical Society of the Courts of New York
- ↑ Oaths of Office Taken by the Chief Justices at U.S. Supreme Court
- ↑ Election result NY Westchester-Richmond at "A New Nation Votes", compiled by Phil Lampi, hosted at Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives
External links
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Jay |
Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court 1779–1790 |
Succeeded by Robert Yates |