Capt. Richard Morris

Capt. English army, from England to Barbados, 1650 thence to New York; obtained a land grant, 1668, with manorial privileges, 3000 acres near Harlem, which became known as "Morrisania".

   Captain Richard Morris was among the bravest of Cromwell's warriors. 

   Their most famous exploit was the capture of Chepstow Castle, which they 

   carried by fire and sword. From this feat they took as a crest a castle 

   in flames on a rock, with 

   the motto, Tandem vincitur. After buying an estate in Barbadoes Richard 

   and his brother Lewis still yearned for the excitement of war, and urged 

   Cromwell to attack Spain in the West Indies. He was apparently 

   unsuccessful, because he sailed 

   for his plantations as a settler and not a soldier. His action seems to 

   have been a ruse of some sort, as he had scarcely arrived in his new 

   home when Cromwell organized an expedition to attack Hispaniola (now 

   Hayti and San Domingo), and 

   with the announcement came a commission for Colonel Lewis Morris. For his 

   gallantry in this little war, the Colonel received many pressing 

   invitations to return to England, and, just before the Restoration, had 

   begun to arrange for the 

   voyage. The advent of Charles II. changed his plans. Instead of 

   returning, he sent post-haste for his brother Richard, who came out by 

   the next sailing vessel. Subsequent events showed the wisdom of the 

   course. The two brothers had made 

   many enemies during the wars, and proceedings had been begun against 

   them, when Richard left home forever. There were many 

   ex-Parliamentarians in Barbadoes, so that Richard had a hearty welcome 

   when he arrived. Here he met, wooed, and won 

   Sarah Pole, an heiress and belle. He remained in Barbadoes several years, 

   attending to his brother's estate and the one he had secured by 

   marriage. The brothers were dissatisfied with the slow life of the West 

   Indies, and determined upon a 

   change. In pursuance of this, Richard in i668 sailed for New York. He 

   took with him a large amount of money, which he invested sagaciously in 

   New York and New Jersey real estate shortly after his arrival. The New 

   York property consisted of 

   three thousand odd acres near the Harlem, which he named Bronxland from 

   the River Bronx lying to its north. This purchase made Richard Morris 

   one of the largest landed proprietors in Westchester County. In 1671, 

   Richard had a son whom he 

   named Lewis, after the great Chlef Justice Colonel. Captain Richard was 

   very active in public affairs and served upon many bodies during the 

   administrations of Lovelace, Evertse, and Colve. He died suddenly about 

   1675. There must have been a 

   deep love between the two brothers, because the death disclosed a 

   singular contract between them to the effect that if Captain Richard 

   died Colonel Lewis would come on and become a father to the former's 

   child or children. The Colonel was 

   true to his word. When the news reached him of his brother's death, he 

   disposed of most of his estates in Barbadoes and came on to New York (I 

   676). In October of that year he invested his wealth in New Jersey 

   property, purchasing 3540 acres 

   in East Jersey, which he named Tinton, and another tract in the same 

   neighborhood. He called the entire territory Monmouth, and from this 

   name Monmouth County took its title. It seems quite odd that the English 

   shire which had produced so 

   many fearless opponents to the British Crown in the days of Cromwell 

   should give its name to an American county on which again the British 

   Crown was to meet opposition and defeat. The first opponents transported 

   the name across the sea, and 

   in the course of years their descendants renewed the wars of a previous 

   century. Captain Richard Morris was among the bravest of Cromwell's 

   warriors. Their most famous exploit was the capture of Chepstow Castle, 

   which they carried by fire 

   and sword. From this feat they took as a crest a castle in flames on a 

   rock, with the motto, Tandem vincitur. After buying an estate in 

   Barbadoes Richard and his brother Lewis still yearned for the excitement 

   of war, and urged Cromwell to 

   attack Spain in the West Indies. He was apparently unsuccessful, because 

   he sailed for his plantations as a settler and not a soldier. His action 

   seems to have been a ruse of some sort, as he had scarcely arrived in 

   his new home when Cromwell 

   organized an expedition to attack Hispaniola (now Hayti and San 

   Domingo), and with the announcement came a commission for Colonel Lewis 

   Morris. For his gallantry in this little war, the Colonel received many 

   pressing invitations to return to 

   England, and, just before the Restoration, had begun to arrange for the 

   voyage. The advent of Charles II. changed his plans. Instead of 

   returning, he sent post-haste for his brother Richard, who came out by 

   the next sailing vessel. 

   Subsequent events showed the wisdom of the course. The two brothers had 

   made many enemies during the wars, and proceedings had been begun against 

   them, when Richard left home forever. There were many ex-Parliamentarians 

   in Barbadoes, so that 

   Richard had a hearty welcome when he arrived. Here he met, wooed, and 

   won Sarah Pole, an heiress and belle. He remained in Barbadoes several 

   years, attending to his brother's estate and the one he had secured by 

   marriage. The brothers were 

   dissatisfied with the slow life of the West Indies, and determined upon 

   a change. In pursuance of this, Richard in i668 sailed for New York. He 

   took with him a large amount of money, which he invested sagaciously in 

   New York and New Jersey 

   real estate shortly after his arrival. The New York property consisted of 

   three thousand odd acres near the Harlem, which he named Bronxland from 

   the River Bronx lying to its north. This purchase made Richard Morris one 

   of the largest landed 

   proprietors in Westchester County. In 1671, Richard had a son whom he 

   named Lewis, after the great Chlef Justice Colonel. Captain Richard was 

   very active in public affairs and served upon many bodies during the 

   administrations of Lovelace, 

   Evertse, and Colve. He died suddenly about 1675. There must have been a 

   deep love between the two brothers, because the death disclosed a 

   singular contract between them to the effect that if Captain Richard died 

   Colonel Lewis would come on 

   and become a father to the former's child or children. The Colonel was 

   true to his word. When the news reached him of his brother's death, he 

   disposed of most of his estates in Barbadoes and came on to New York (I 

   676). In October of that 

   year he invested his wealth in New Jersey property, purchasing 3540 

   acres in East Jersey, which he named Tinton, and another tract in the 

   same neighborhood. He called the entire territory Monmouth, and from 

   this name Monmouth County took its 

   title. It seems quite odd that the English shire which had produced so 

   many fearless opponents to the British Crown in the days of Cromwell 

   should give its name to an American county on which again the British 

   Crown was to meet opposition 

   and defeat. The first opponents transported the name across the sea, and 

   in the course of years their descendants renewed the wars of a previous 

   century. 

   [1.GED] 

   Originally commisioned as a Capt. in a regiment of the Commonwealth Army 

   (later promoted to Lt. Col.). Left for Barbadoes after Charles II 

   returned as king. 

   COLONIAL FAMILIES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, vol. 1; DICTIONARY OF 

   AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY (ed. Dumas Malone), vol. xiii, p. 213. 

↑ Source: #S03870 Page: p. 213.

   ↑ Source: #S03873 Page: Vol. III, pp. 113-114

The Morris family of Tintern and Piercefield in south Wales. Riven by the Civil Wars of the 17th century, the family was to leave its memorials in Wales and in distant America. In Wales In America Three brothers, Lewis, William and Richard Morris were of Tintern in Monmouthshire. William's son John took part in the Parliamentary expedition to Barbados in 1652. The Morris family of Tintern had been aggrieved by the actions of King Charles I. Lewis Morris raised a regiment for Parliament in which his brother Richard also served. In 1660 they left for Barbados and afterwards America . Lewis was granted 3,540 acres in New Jersey and set about founding an iron works. (Iron production had been a tradition in the Tintern area.) From John descended Col. Valentine Morris who served in the Island of St. Vincent. He retired to Wales and bought the Piercefield estate in 1736. Richard Morris "bought" from the Indians 3,000 acres near Harlem. He was to die in 1673 but his son became Judge of the New Jersey Superior Court and a member of the Council. Col. Morris carried out modest improvements but his son, another Valentine, made the estate famous. From Lewis Morris descended the Lewis Morris who was Governor of New Jersey from 1738.

Richard rose to the rank of Capt. under King Charles I/Cornwallis. He later became a New York merchant. Richard married Sarah nee—Pole Morris b abt 1649 in NY/d 1672/married in Barbados and had a son, Lewis. Lewis’s parents died when he was one year old. (Richard’s son Lewis was raised by his uncle, Col. Lewis Morris).

Richard Morris had married in Barbadoes, 17 August, 1669, Sarah Pole, of distinguished birth, gentle breeding and ample fortune. Their only child Lewis was born 15 October, 1671. (6) He had the misfortune to lose his mother when about six months old, and his father not long after. Governor Nicolls in writing to Colonel Morris calls Mrs. Morris "a virtuous "young woman in the prime of life," and Captain Morris . "a man full of strength and vigor, inured to hardships," and bewails their untimely death. (7) On 10 August, 1670, Richard Morris was styled "a merchant of the City of New York, and his brother Lewis, "a merchant of Barbadoes." In a written agreement between the brothers,if either died without issue, the other was to inherit the estate. Lewis Morris agreed to come to New York to reside but did not reach here till after his brother's death in 1672, which Dunlap in his History of the New Netherlands errs as placing in 1673. Captain Morris having died intestate Letters of Administration on his estate were issued September, 1672.(8) The infant Lewis Morris became the ward of the Dutch Government, who appears to have dispossessed his uncle, though the latter eventually became sole owner of the property, returned to Barbadoes, wound up his affairs, and settled in Bronxland, "where he lived in a handsome house, and dispensed liberal hospitality."

He received a patent from Governor Andros 25 March, 1676, with additions to the original estate, the whole amounting to 1920 acres.(9)

On 25 October, the same year, he had granted to him and his associates in the iron works at Navesinck, N. J., 3840 acres, (resurveyed as 3540), between Swimming River and Falls River, with 6o acres south of the larger tract, the whole to be called Tinturn Manor. He purchased a section of land from the Indians for a barrel of cider. (10)

Colonel Morris was a member of the Council in Barbadoes, and of Governor Dongan's Council, 1683-86, and died 14 February, 1691. (11) He was executor to the will of Nathaniel Sylvester, in 1680, who left him part of Shelter Island. (N. Y. Hist. Soc. Col., N. Y. Wills I, p. 104-5.)

Colonel Morris' second wife Mary survived him only about a week. She was not a daughter of Christopher Almy of Rhode Island, who gave a power of attorney 14 April, 1679, to his son-in-law, Lewis Morris of Shrewsbury, N. J.,(12) nephew of Colonel Morris above, probably son of Thomas Morris, and who must not be confounded with Lewis, son of Richard Morris of Morrisania.

After many legal difficulties the whole Morris estate, both in New York and in New Jersey was granted to Lewis, son of Richard Morris, afterwards Governor, whose titles were con-firmed 14 June, 1701, and 10 December, 1702. (13)

Colonel Lewis Morris, although a man of ample fortune, had never taken any steps to have his estate made into a manor. When it passed to his nephew the Calendar of Council Minutes, 1668-1783, (Bulletin 58,p. 102, in the New York State Library), declares that "the plantation of Lewis Morris at Harlem, was erected into a manor, 9 December, 1694, to be called Morrisania."

Lewis Morris received a patent for it 8 May, 1697, from Governor Fletcher, with ancient privileges, such as "the "authority to hold a court in leet and court baron, to exercise jurisdiction over all waifs, estrays, wrecks deodands goods or felons happening and being within the manor limits, and to enjoy the advows on and patronage over all the churches of the "Manor."(14) The full text of the patent is given in. De Lancey's Manors of New York and Westchester County.

The six Westchester Manors were respectively erected: Fordham, November 1671; Pelham, October, 1687; Philipseburgh, June, 1693; Morrisania, May, 1697; Van Cortlandt, June, 1697; and Scarsdale, March, 1701.

Mr. De Lancey shows exactly what these manors were, and what they were not, the patents being granted to existing owners of land.

"The Manors were not, as often popularly supposed, English Feudal Manors, for those all antedated 1290, A. D., a statute of King Edward I of that year forbidding the creation of any new Feudal Manors."

"Those of New York, 400 years later were all freehold "manors. As we use the term, manor corresponds to the French "Manoir," or a mansion in which the owner of the property dwells permanently.

"The New York Manors were all erected after the statute of King Charles II in 1660, which abolished military tenures, and made them into free and common socage, and never possessed, nor were they ever invested with the powers, rights, privileges, duties and burdens of the old feudal manors.

"The title Lord of the Manor was synonymous with owner, but Lord, as a prefix to the possessor's name, was never used either in England or in New York."

And here let us ask who were the Morris brothers who made the original Morris purchase? Two authorities answer. Their coat of arms which they brought with them to America, and the eighteenth century mss. compiled by their kinsman, Valentine Morris.(15)

This Mss. frequently quoted by Bolton and others, states that Lewis and Richard Morris the earliest proprietors of Morrisania, or Bronxland, were two of the sons of William Morris, Esq., of Tintern, Monmouthshire or Gwent, England. His other sons were William and Thomas. All four are said to have been officers in the Parliamentary Army. Thomas had a son Lewis Morris of Shrewsbury, or Passage Point, N. J., called by the Indians Norramsont, and in our day, Black Point, near Seabright. It was once owned by Christopher Almy.(16)

William Morris, of Tintern, the Mss. goes on to say, was a lineal descendant of Rhys Fitz Gerald, or Fitz Rhys, brother to Rhys, Prince of Gwentland, or Monmouthshire, who with Richard, Earl of Striguil and Pembroke, called Strongbow, took part in the conquest of Ireland, 1172, A. D. The name of Fitz Rhys was changed to Mawr Rhys, or the Great Rhys, (which in time became Morris), on account of his heroism in Ireland.

One of the family of the Earl of Pembroke founded Tintern Abbey.(17)

The name Fitz Rhys suggests Norman blood, but Maurice Fitz Gerald, of Pembroke, the companion of Strongbow in Ireland, who is perhaps the Morris ancestor of whom Mr. Valentine Morris wrote, was, according to Burke, son of Gerald Fitz Walter the Castellan of Windsor Castle, and the beautiful Nesta, the Helen of Troy of Wales, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdr, or Rhys ap Gruffyd, Prince of South Wales, the last King of the Deheubarth.(18)

An indispensable part of the education of every Welshman of quality, consisted in being able to recite the list of his ancestors to the seventh and eighth generations," (19) but the testimony of the ancient seal of the Morris family is more valuable than an eighteenth century Mss. These arms from the seal of Governor Lewis Morris are, as engraved by Bolton: "Quarterly first and fourth gules, a Lion Rampant, reguardant, or, for Morice, second and third argent, three torteaux gules. "The crest, a castle in flames, ppr., is a crest of assumption "only, with the motto, Tandem Vincetur,' "(20) to commemorate 'tis asserted, the burning of' Chepstow Castle, (in Welsh, Camguimt Castle), besieged by the Parliamentary Army in 1648, where Col. Lewis Morris was second in command.(21)

Bolton gives an account of the property said to have belonged to the Morrises at Tintem, to have been confiscated by Charles I, and for which Cromwell indemnified Col. Lewis Morris.

The writer has been unable to verify the references, or to find any trace of Colonel Morris's service at Chepstow, yet it is beyond. question that Tinton Falls, (a corruption of Tintern), and Monmouth County, N. J., were named for their foremost inhabitant, Col. Lewis Morris, as were Morristown, and Morris County, N. J., for his nephew, Gov. Lewis Morris. Doubltess also, Colonel Morris named Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, for the ancient capital of Powys, Wales.(22)

Various spellings of the name Morris are given by different authorities, Morys, Moris, Morres, Morrice, Maur-rice, Mawr, Rhys, etc., and say it was often compounded with Fitz, Clan, de, Mount, etc. One eminent genealogist derives it from Mars, Mayors, Mawr, the god of war, and rwyce, warlike, powerful in war, and says it was given to ancient chieftains preeminent for valor.(23)

Of the English Families of the name there were two classes, native and foreign. One section of a foreign class had a Moorish origin, crossing from Africa into Spain whence they introduced into England and other countries Morrice dancers. From the same source is derived Montmorency, i. e. from the Moorish mountains. 2
The various native Welsh Morris families are of great antiquity, and can be traced in lineal descent from Elystan Glodrydd, Prince of Ferlex, or Ferlis, who sprang from the ancient Princes of Powys, and was a powerful British chieftain, founder of the fourth royal tribe of Wales, b. 933 A. D., and named for his god-father King Athelstan (Elystan) of England, and whose appellation of Glodrydd, or the. illustrious, was acquired by his force of character, personal prowess, rank, and extensive possessions, which comprised nearly all the land between the Rivers Wye, and Severn.

From his mother Rheingar, daughter and heir of Gronwy ap Tudor Trevor, Elystan

Glodrydd was eighth in descent from Caradoc Vriechfras, Lord of Hereford, the sometime capital of Mercia, and one of the knights of King Arthur's famous Round Table.(24)

The Morris Lion is the lion of the ancient Princes of Powys, sometimes blazoned "or" sometimes "Sable," and called "the Black Lion of Powys." It was the Lion of Tudor Trevor, Lord of Hereford, Whittingham and both Maclors, founder of the tribes of the Marches. The Welsh heralds blazon his arms as "Ensigns parted per bend sinister ermine and ermines, "over all a Lion Rampant Sa." which, as chief arms or quartered "have been borne by all his descendants."(25)

There is no known connection between the Morrises of Morrisania and several other well known Morris families in America, as that of Robert Morris, the financier of the American Revolution, of Anthony Morris, of Philadelphia, of Col. Roger Morris of the British Army, and the so-called, Jumel Mansion. Colonel Morris was of the Morrises of Netherby, Yorkshire, and also bore for his paternal coat the Lion Rampant of Elys tan Gloyrydd.(26)

Tudor Trevor married Angared, daughter, of Howel Dha, (the Good), King of Dyfed, and afterwards of Gwynedd, the celebrated codifier of Wales, who d. 950, A. D.

Thus the four ancient divisions of all Wales, Gwoynedd, Powys, Dyfed, and Gwent, corresponding roughly to the modern Dioceses of Bangor, St. Asaph's, St. David's and Landaff were all represented in the Morris ancestry.

When Wales was divided into shires in 1536, Gwent became English for the administration of justice, but by geographical position, dialect, and the character of its inhabitants, it is still essentially Welsh.

"The Iberian race, the first that came to Wales, or, at least, "the oldest that has survived, were short, dark haired, and "long skull ed. "(27) Gov. Lewis Morris was noted for his long skull, which still survives in some descendants, as does the shortness of stature, in others.

The Morrises, however, were generally men of superb physique, Governeur Morris resembling General Washington so closely in stature that he sat to Houdin the sculptor for the figure of Washington.(28)

So although we cannot definitely seat the family, apparently their roots were in every part of fascinating Wales, especially on the banks of the Wye, which seems almost too idyllically beautiful to be real, and which no one who has seen can ever forget.

Wales is essentially the land of mountains, and its inhabitants necessarily partook of the mountain gloom and the mountain glory, as they "lifted up their eyes unto the hills."

Ancient legend and romance brood over it, its nightingales flood the summer air with song, and its flowery meadows with sweetness, "while Taliesin, the marvelous child bard, still "sings beyond the mountain peaks."(29)

Morrisania ceased to be a Manor during the Revolutionary War. It had but three Lords of the Manor, Gov. Lewis Morris, Judge Lewis Morris, and Lewis Morris, the Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Were it still a Manor, its Lords, (whose pictures are included in this pamphlet), in unbroken succession from father to son, would have been:

Col. Lewis Morris, of Charleston, S. C., born November, 1752, died 22 November, 1824, married Ann Elliott. He was Aide to General Sullivan in the Indian Campaign, and to Major-General Nathaniel Greene in the American Revolution.

Col. Lewis Morris, married first Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Manigault, of Charleston, was born 10 March, 1785, and died 30 September, 1863.

Capt. Charles Manigault Morris, of the U. S. Navy, born 7 May, 1820, died 22 March, 1895, married second Clementina McAllister.

Capt. Lewis Morris, son of Capt. Charles M. Morris, Medical Director, U. S. N., third Vice President of the Order of Colonial Manors in America, Member of the Order of the Cincinnati, married first Mary Gibbs Murphy, who died, second Ella Bingham. (Amer. Hist. May., Vol. I, 1906.)

The Morrises were by birth, breeding, position and wealth, aristocrats of the aristocrats, by predilection intensely democratic up to a certain point, but always upholders of the law, in which they were unusually well versed.

All were men of great natural gifts heightened by education, positive characters, men of affairs, able administrators, born leaders, dignified, grave, cultivated men of letters, whom it would have been a delight to know.

They were amusing, having an inexhaustible fund of humor, bon raconteurs, acute debaters, uncompromisingly truthful, with a shrewd insight and a keen knowledge of men, and of such marked originality of thought and action, that they were ever creators, never followers of precedent.

Note that their careers were all political, to serve the state was to them as the breath of life. When they believed a certain course right they followed it, flinging caution and expediency to the winds.

They all had a certain Welsh whimsicality of nature, and were sometimes brusque, hot headed and passionate, for from the days of Tudor Trevor down the Lion Rampant has ever been the hall mark of the race.

As a lad Gov. Lewis Morris was inclined to be wild and ungovernable, though his Quaker uncle, Colonel Morris, harsh, dour, Puritanical, unloving, was ill calculated to bring up a merry, high spirited lad.

The boy disliked his pious Quaker tutor, and one day climbed a tree under which the former was wont to wrestle in prayer, and called out: "Hugh Copperthwaite, Hugh Copperthwaite," "Here I am Lord, what wiliest Thou?" was the answer. "Go "preach my gospel to the Mohawks, thou true and faithful "servant," was the solemn command.

The tutor prepared to obey, when the trick was discovered, and young Lewis so severely chastised that he ran away from his uncle's roof. They were later reconciled.

Much of the life of the younger Lewis was passed in New Jersey where he began, and ended, his career being one of the judges of the Court of Common Right in East Jersey in 1692, under Gov. Andrew Hamilton, with a seat in his Council.

He was a member of the Council (and after its President), in 1698, 1721-29, Chief Justice of New York 1702-28, and the first Governor of Nova Cesarra., or New Jersey, as separate from New York, from .1738 till his death, 21 May, 1746, at his residence, Kingsbury, N. J., near Trenton.(30)

He was a commanding figure in our Colonial history, few, if any, exerted a stronger influence in the Councils of the Province or among the people, with whom he- was extremely popular, being their champion to uphold their just rights and privileges, against the selfish, arbitrary course of most of the Royal Governors of New York.

He refused to recognize the unconstitutional appointment of Governor Basse in 1698, for which he was proud to have been expelled from the Council.

The best summary of his character is in Spooner's Historic Families of America, see also Smith's History of New York, and Smith's History of New Jersey.

"Governor Morris was excessively fond of the society of "cultivated men, and no one equaled him in knowledge of the "law.

"All his contemporaries (save his antagonists who scored him unmercifully, and were more than repaid in kind), speak "of him in praise and admiration. He never sought nor "accepted discreditable preferment, the Morris hands were never soiled by a bribe, nor did they ever use their political positions for their private, nor for selfish ends."

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.

"His Chief Justiceship belongs to a regime pronounced the most honest and worthy in New York history, and his .unchallengable integrity was ever supported by great ability."

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.(31! The marriage license of Lewis Morris and Isabella, daughter of Hon. James Graham, Attorney General of New York, was dated 3 November, 1691. (32) She was born 6 June 1673, and died 6 April, 1752.

Spooner says the Attorney General was of the Grahams of the Isles. Tradition calls him a son of the Great Marquis of Montrose. Some say he was a near relative of the above Marquis. Proof of his ancestry is lacking. (33)

The Morrises inherited from the Grahams an added grace of manner and person, which were some of the distinguishing traits of the great Marquis (34)

The Attorney-General leased the Manor of Morrisania, and dispensed hospitality there on a liberal scale while his son-in-law was governor of New jersey. The latter writes "Life at Kingsbury is much more private than at Morrisania."(35)

The married life of Governor Morris was extremely happy, and it is a pathetic touch that the man who had never known a mother's care charged his own children in his last will and testament "to cherish their mother the more as they saw the "infirmities of age creep over her."

Governor Morris, the third proprietor of Morrisania, left his New York lands to his son and heir, judge Lewis Morris, and his New Jersey property to his son Robert Hunter Morris.(36)

The latter, born in 1700, died at Shrewsbury, N. J., 27 January 1764. "He was comely, graceful, imposing, with the judicial "Morris mind," (doubtless inherited from his ancestor, Howel Dha, the Welsh lawgiver), which with his superior knowledge of law, enabled him to reduce the peadings of the Court to precision and method. He was Chief Justice of New Jersey, Member of the Council, and Governor of Pennsylvania, 1754-56.(37)

Lewis Morris, fourth proprietor, second Lord of the Manor of Morrisania, generally known as Lewis Morris, Jr., was born 23 September, 1698, and died 3 July, 1762. "Much of his career was contemporary with that of his father, whose political principles he shared. He was one of the foremost men before the Revolution. His principal offices were Judge of the High Court of the Admiralty of New York, with jurisdiction over New jersey and Connecticut, and Judge of the Court of Ayer and Termine. He is said to have strongly resembled his grandfather, James Graham, whom Mrs. Lamb in her History of the City of New York calls "a fair sample of the ancient "nobility."(38)

Judge Lewis Morris married first Tryntje Staats, second Sarah Gouverneur. His will among other heirs named four sons, all of whom were distinguished in public life, Lewis, the "Signer," Staats Long, Richard and Gouverneur.

The land west of Mill Brook was left to his heir, Lewis, the last Lord of the Manor of Morrisania, born, 8 April, 1726, died 22 January, 1798. The land east of Mill Brook was to go to the widow of Judge Morris, etc., who directs that his body is to be interred in the family vault at Morrisania, next to his father and mother, with as little pomp as possible. He 1eaves the portraits of his parents to his brother Robert Hunter Morris, and that of himself and of his wife, to his daughter Isabella, and mentions a silver tankard given the testator by the Colony of Rhode Island.(39) The remains of most of the Morris. family were afterwards removed to St. Ann's Church, Morrisania.

Morrisania eventually included part of the manors of Fordham and Scarsdale, having been greatly added to. It descended in the family with various sub-divisions but few alienations of land till the middle of the nineteenth century. (Westchester County Deeds.)

The whole of the original Manor with the adjacent portions of Westchester County, were in 1774 , annexed to the City of New York, some of it still owned by descendants, and who have proved themselves worthy of their illustrious ancestry.

Early. in his career, Lewis Morris, fifth proprietor and third Lord of the Manor, resisted as unconstitutional an act to enforce additional supplies for the Kings Troops. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776, was on the Committee of Ways and Means to obtain ammunition, and was sent West to detach the Indians from the British. With his entire worldly possessions at stake he did not hesitate to champion the American cause. On receiving a letter from his brother Staats, bidding him to "consider the consequences," as he was about to sign the Declaration of Independence, he said, "the consequences. Give me the pen," and appended his name to the document knowing that the British fleet was within a few miles of his great estate, and his Manor within cannon shot of their ships. True to his forebears, like Admiral Nelson "He did not know fear."(40)

Lewis Morris was Brigadier General of Westchester County Militia in 1776.

He, and his three elder sons, Col. Lewis Morris, before mentioned, Gen. Jacob Morris, and Lieut. William Walton Morris, on the Staff of General Wayne, were all in the Continental Army at the same time and received the thanks of Congress for gallantry in the field.(41)

All paid the price for their splendid patriotism, being forced to flee from Morrisania, and take refuge on their New Jersey lands. The Manor house and more than 1000 acres of wood-land on navigable waters were burnt, and for more than six years the family were exiled from their home, while the entire property was laid waste and ruined.

Morrisania was sparsely settled during the Revolution, its forests abounded in wolves and formed a secure hiding place for Loyalist refugees.

About 1790 Lewis Morris memorialized Congress that Morrisania would make an ideal spot for the seat of the Federal government, but they preferred the banks of the Potomac.

Staats Long Morris, second son of Judge Lewis Morris, was a Loyalist, residing in England, who rather than take up arms against his native land tendered his army commission to the King, who returned it, saying General Morris would not be required to fight against America, and sent him to India instead.

According to the British Army List he went through every grade of the English Army, save that of Field Marshal. He was born in 1728, and died Governor of Quebec, in 1800, and is buried in St. Giles Church Edinburgh, in the vault of the Gordon family, beside his first wife, the Dowager Duchess of Gordon.(42)

On the death of his Loyalist step-mother, Mrs. Sarah Gouverneur Morris, he became possessed of part of Morrisania, which he sold to his hall-brother, Gouverneur Morris. (43)

Richard Morris, third son of Judge Lewis Morris, Judge of the High Court of British Admiralty till 1776, was Chief Justice of New York.

His residence, Mount Fordham, was burnt by the British during the Revolution. To the writer the most-fascinating of all the wonderful family portraits that used to hang in modern Mount Fordham, was that of this same Richard Morris, with the hilt of his sword wired onto the frame, as he had snapped his blade of office in renouncing allegiance to the enemies of his country.(44)

Judge Richard Morris was born 15 August, 1730, and died at Scarsdale, 11 April, 1810.

Gouverneur Morris, his youngest brother, was versatile, many sided, brilliant and gifted.

CONTINUED UNDER LEWIS MORRIS, II

=================================================================

Generation 2
Thomas (b 1623 Titern, Monmouthshire, Wales/d 1694 Monmouth, NJ) pap’s great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather) –m Sarah Settle 1648/Sarah was b abt 1630 + d in 1680)..Children: Lewis Morris,-– (b 1655 Passage Point, Monmouth, NJ/d 1695 Monmouth, NJ), Dorothy, Tomosin, John, Thomas .
Generation 3 Lewis Morris, - Son of Thomas Morris.—pap’s great, great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather. b at Monmouth NJ in 1655/d 1695; married Elizabeth Almy in 1679. Elizabeth b Sept 29, 1663 in Tiverton, Newport, RI/d 1712 in/of Shrewsbury, Monmouth, NJ. Children: M i Richard MORRIS b 1690/d 3 May 1763. M ii Lewis Jr. MORRIS b 1680 Monmouth, NJ. M iii Thomas MORRIS b 1685 Monmouth, NJ. M iv John MORRIS b 12 Jan 1695 Monmouth, NJ/d 2 Mar 1767 Monmouth, NJ F v Rebecca MORRIS b 1697 Monmouth, NJ/d after 1749. F vi Elizabeth MORRIS b 1699, Monmouth, NJ. I believe there was another son, William b. abt. 1690/d 1777 Shrewsbury, Monmouth Co., NJ.

Below is our Col Lewis b 1601 who raised brother Richard’s son Lewis:

Chapter 8 Early Days Around Tinton Falls Legends tell of natives, known as Toponomese Indians, living in the area around Tinton Falls and Eatontown, sold land to Thomas Eaton for a barrel of cider. The natives did not understand the concept of selling land or land ownership. They thought they were renting or leasing the land, allowing the settlers to use it for a time, and they would be able to hunt and fish on their land. These natives were in the Unami Clan, a was part of the Lenni Lenape, later called Delaware.

The English and Dutch settlers continued to purchase land near the Shrewsbury River from the Indians in defiance of Dutch authority, which had claimed most of New York and New Jersey. The area around Tinton Falls, called the Falls of Shrewsbury, changed ownership many times when special grants were made to the proprietors by the English king.   A 1673 survey map shows a five hundred acre tract of land east of the falls bought by Lewis Morris of Barbardos.  He also owned land in Jamaica and St. Lucia. Lewis Morris of Tintern Manor in Monmouthshire, England, bought six thousand two hundred acres around the falls. Other landowners from Monmouthshire were Bartholemew Applegate and millwrights James, Henry and Samuel Leonard, who purchased five hundred acres a half mile south of the falls. The brothers constructed the ironworks, iron mills, furnaces and forges. James Grover, Richard Hartshorne and Richard Gardinier were the original Monmouth Patentees of Shrewsbury, the area we call Monmouth County.  Using the raw material, bog iron ore, which was dug from the swamps and streams of the riverbanks, Tinton Iron Works, owned by Lewis Morris, was granted three thousand, five hundred and forty acres of land between he falls of the river and the Swimming River and Hop (HopBrook) Rivers.  Ore found in wet meadows and swamps, and consisted of hydrous peroxide of iron, containing metallic iron. During colonial times, the ore furnished material for the early iron works of neighboring colonies to produce nails, horseshoes, tools, wheel tires, utensils and bullets.  

An account published by the proprietors of East Jersey, states that the Iron Works began operation in 1675 as a single hammer forge. A forge was a small furnace that heated iron until it was malleable and could be hammered. Its function was to change pig iron into wrought iron and shape the metal by using a hammer to force out the excess carbon and impurities. A bar of iron ore was worth eighteen pounds of sterling. To support the iron works gristmills and housing were built for workmen and slaves, mostly carpenters and millwrights. From James Grover’s account we read of “ye corn Mill at Plantacon and ye Corn Mill at Iron Works”, indicating two gristmills located at Tintern Manor. Corn meant any grain. Plantation was the English word for colony. The account mentions the work on the finery, chagery and corn mill wheels. James Grover worked as a tavern keeper and held local official positions. He was one of the negotiators with the proprietors in 1685 for settlement of land rights in the area. A map of Tintern shows a stone house, cordwood and coles (charcoals), the fuel used for iron smelting and refining ores. It shows “ ye Negro house, carpenter shop and ye white men’s house”, including a bunkhouse type of accommodation. Within fifty years three additions had been made to the Tinton Manor property. It received tax exemption for seven years and anytime during war. Governor Lewis Morris’ will of 1746 indicates that the properties were left to his son, Robert Morris and to a nephew, Lewis Morris, whose names appear in 1689 records of the Court of Sessions at Middletown. He was accused of “running races and playing nyne-pins (bowling) on the Sabbath.”

Another account in 1765 of a grandson of Lewis Morris shows a thousand acre property for sale in Shrewsbury Township. It describes a house near a spa spring, one hundred feet north of the brook. This property by the Tinton Falls Spring became the first tavern and resort for summer tourists searching for therapeutic effects of mineral water.  In 1838, another relative, Robert Morris, opened a boarding house on the corner of Tinton and Sycamore Avenues, which became known as the Mineral Springs Hotel. By 1840, a post office and general store were established there and in 1867 became the Tinton Falls Mineral Spring Company.  Lasting until 1943, the original firehouse had been the stable for the hotel. 

Many prominent men in New Jersey history were related to Lewis Morris. From three brothers, Lewis, Richard and Thomas, we trace the historical figures of our local history. Colonel Lewis Morris, 1601-1691, founded the Tintern Iron Works in 1676. His brother, Richard, was a New York merchant. Lewis Morris, 1671-1746, was Richard’s son, and became the first colonial governor of New Jersey. He inherited Tintern Manor estate from his uncle, Lewis Morris.
Lewis Morris was Thomas’s son, received the estate called Passage Point in Rumson in 1689 and was murdered by a salve in 1696. Lewis Morris "of Passage Point" was shot and killed by a black slave for mistreating a woman slave. Two slaves were punished for the murder by having their hand cut off and then burning them alive until death. Lewis Morris, 1698-1762, was born at Tintern Manor and became a member of the Council of New York and New Jersey, belonged to the New Jersey Assembly and was governor of the colony of New Jersey in 1750s. Lewis Morris, 1762-1798, was a member of the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.

The Morris lands at Tintern Manor were conveyed to John Salter and John Hartshorne, who made an agreement with the local Indians in August 1678 that they could fish, hunt, pick plums and take dry trees for their connows (canoes) from Sandy Hook. A later deed, signed with an X by Vowavapon and Tocus, natives living in Navesink area, records paying thirteen shillings to buy the land, end any trouble with the Indians. To end the Indian dogs from killing Hartshorne’s sheep and to stop the Indians from “hunting, fishing, fouling, pluming, taking timber or any other privilege”, the natives agreed to leave the land.  Witnessing the signing of the deed were John Stout and Hendricks, Vovwavapon’s son. Citation: Sandyhillindianhistory.org 

Notes for LEWIS Morris: Occupation between 1682-1683, Lewis was sheriff of Monmouth County Source: Morris CD
The MORRIS family trace their descent from a chieftain in Wales who flourished in 933. In later times they had important commands, & fought in the battles of Parliament against Charles I, but after the death of CROMWELL they were obliged to flee from Monmouthshire to escape the vengeance of the royalists, taking refuge on the Island of Barbados. From this island, the grandfather, Lewis MORRIS, sailed for NJ, & settled in that part now called Monmouth Co., where he was one of the first judges.

Lewis Morris, the son of Thomas Morris, also called Lewis of Passage Point, was born in Passage Point, Monmouth, New Jersey in 1655. He was called Lewis of Passage Point to distinguish him from the other early settler of Monmouth, in Middlesex County. He married Elizabeth Almy, daughter of Christopher Almy and wife, Elizabeth Cornell, daughter of Thomas Cornwall. In 1681 he was confirmed as a First Purchaser of Navesink. He held many civil offices and was killed 1695. Lewis and Elizabeth had six children; Lewis Jr., Thomas, Richard, John, Rebecca and Elizabeth.

Thomas Morris, the father of Lewis, was "a relation" of Lewis Morris and Richard Morris of Barbados and Morrisania, The Bronx, New York. His exact relationship is not known, and he died when his son Lewis was young, and young Lewis Morris became a ward of Lewis Morris (b c 1613).

There were three brothers, and possibly a sister. Another (more distant) family member named Thomas Morris of Barbados, who died shortly after 1650 leaving an orphan son, also had a son named Lewis Morris (my ancestor), who later was known as "Lewis Morris of Passage Point."

From "Lewis Morris Anglo-American Statesman, ca 1613-1691" copyright 1983, by Sam Stelle Smith.

In 1670, young Lewis Morris, son of Thomas Morris of Barbados, with the aid of Colonel Lewis Morris, bought a parcel of land in Monmouth County, New Jersey from the Indians for a barrel of cider. He moved onto the land shortly before the Dutch occumpation, whereupon all of the Indians on the property moved back to Crosswicks and Cranberry execpt one "Indian Will," who was allowed to stay and dwell in a wigwam between Tinton Falls and Swimming River. One day, sometime after the Dutch had left, Indian Will, while eating breakfast of suppawn (mush) and milk, was observed using a silver spoon. Mr. Thomas Eaton, of what is now Eatontown, New Jersey, told Indian WIll, his friend, that he would give him a red cloak and a cocked hat if he would tell where he found the spoon. It seems that Indian Will was soon wearing the red cloak and cocked hat and Mr. Eaton suddenly became rich.

Indian Will was also a friend of Derrick Longstreet and one time showed Longstreet some silver money. Longstreet asked Will to give it to him, but Will refused. Will did, however, give Longstreet some yellow money he had found, which the Indian thought worthless. This made Longstreet rich.

Lewis Morris, Anglo-American Statesman, 1983, Samuel Stelle Smith

EXERPT FROM ‘ANCESTRY.COM’ re: Lewis (John Lewis) Morris, Sr.

‘LEWIS MORRIS OF PASSAGE POINT’ According to the county inventory, several notable people have owned the property over the centuries, starting with Lewis Morris of Passage Point (an earlier name for the area now known as Black Point).

Morris was, according to the inventory, the nephew of Col. Lewis Morris, owner of the Titan Falls iron works, and a cousin of Lewis Morris, who became governor of New Jersey in 1738.

‘Although the 17th-century house does not survive,’ according to the county inventory, ‘the association with one of New Jersey’s most prominent colonial families is of significance. Lewis Morris of Passage Point was murdered by one of his slaves in 1696, and his widow, the former Elizabeth Almy, and four sons deeded the property to Gabrielle Stelle in 1722, who deeded it to Richard Saltar, Jr. in 1737.’ The slaves who killed them were punished by cutting off their hands and then burning them aliveuntil dead.

I found this on familytreeproject.org:

Lewis Morris[1]

Abt 1655 - Aft 1695 

Born Abt 1655 Barbados or Passage Point, Monmouth County, New Jersey [2] Gender Male Reference Number 2768 Died Aft 1694 Passage Point, Monmouth County, New Jersey [2] Notes In 1670, young Lewis Morris, son of Thomas Morris of Barbados, with the aid of Colonel Lewis Morris, bought a parcel of land in Monmouth Co., NJ, from the Indians for a barrel of cider. He moved onto the land shortly before the Dutch occupation, whereupon all of the Indians on the property moved back to Crosswicks and Cranberry except one "Indian Will," who was allowed to stay and dwell in a wigwam between Tinto Falls and Swimming River. One day, sometime after the Dutch had left, Indian Will, while eating breakfast of suppawn (mush) and milk, was observed using a silver spoon. Mr. Thomas Eaton, of what is now Eatontown, NJ, told Indian Will, his friend, that he would give him a red cloak and a cocked hat if he would tell where he found the spoon. It seems that Indian Will was soon wearing the red cloak and cocked hat and Mr. Eaton suddenly became rich.

Indian Will was also a friend of Derrick Longstreet and one time showed Longstreet some silver money. Longstreet asked Will to give it to him, but Will refused. Will did, however, give Longstreet some yellow money he had found, which the Indians thought worthless. This made Longstreet rich.

Source: Lewis Morris, Anglo-American Statesman, 1983, Samuel Stelle Smith

Lewis Morris "of Passage Point" was shot and killed by a black slave for mistreating a woman slave. He is known to be a son of Thomas Morris, who is not a brother of Richard, Ann and Lewis Morris. BIOGRAPHY: The following is takennfrom the Barnett Family Tree notes that provide the references. " Monette, Orra, Eugene, First Settlers of Ye Plantations of Piscataway and Woodsridge Olde East New Jersey; part 4, The Leroy Carman Press California, 1931." This reference traces the family origins of Lewis Morris and his father Thomas. Lewis's father Thomas died b4 Lewis was of age, so Lewis was a ward of Lewis Morris, son of Col Richard Morris. The relationship is not known but he was likely a cousin. Person ID I2768 new Last Modified 12 Sep 2009

Father Thomas Morris, b. Abt 1618, Monmouthshire, Wales , d. 1690, Barbados or New York Mother Sarah, b. Abt 1630, d. 1680, St. Michael, Barbados Family ID F1067 Group Sheet

Family Elizabeth Almy, b. 29 Sep 1663, Portsmouth, Rhode Island , d. Aft 1712, Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey Married 1679 Monmouth County, New Jersey [2] Children

	1. Elizabeth Catherine Morris,   b. 1680,   d. 1726, Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey 

	2. Lewis Morris,   b. 1680,   d. Between 1715 and 1771

	3. Thomas Morris,   b. 1685, Monmouth County, New Jersey 

	4. Richard Morris,   b. Abt 1690, Monmouth County, New Jersey ,   d. 1763, Middletown, New Jersey 

	5. William Morris,   b. Abt 1690,   d. 1777, Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, New Jersey 

6. John Morris, b. 12 Jun 1695, d. 02 Mar 1769, Farmingdale, New Jersey

	7. Rebecca Morris,   b. 1697, Monmouth County, New Jersey  Family ID 	F1062 	Group Sheet

Sources [S148] LongIslandGenealogy.com, http://longislandgenealogy.com/morris/gp607.htm.

[S148] LongIslandGenealogy.com.

The majority of Lewis’s real estate descended to his eldest son, Lewis. The New York estate was erected into a manor, called Morrisania in 1697.

Here is another citing that shows what happened to the slave who killed Lewis: From book " Story of Shrewsbury" page 26-27

Lewis Morris, son of Thomas Morris, nephew of Col Lewis Morris was murdered by one of his slaves in 1696. The slave received the customary sentence for murder -

"Thy right hand shall be cut off and burned before thy eyes; then shall thou be hanged by the neck until dead, dead, dead; then thy body shall be cut down and thrown into the fire and burnt to ashes."

And I found this on rootsweb.ancestry:

• ID: I140 • Name: Lewis MORRIS • Surname: MORRIS • Given Name: Lewis • Sex: M • Birth: 1655 in Passage Point, Monmouth Co NJ • Death: 1696 in Passage Point, Monmouth Co NJ • _UID: 6931589D8B89AB4CB1D6C8D64E7882AEB58B • Note: He was a court justice. Source:Early Dutch Settlers to Monmouth County, New Jersey - Part 14

The following information regarding Lewis Morris of Pleasant Point is taken from the newspaper "The Hub: published in Red Bank, NJ. September 22, 2005.

" The 300 year old Tredwell Huse, "Rumson" was home to early settlers and was built between 1710 and 1711"..."Occupants included Morris family and President Lincoln." " According to the county inventory, several notable people have owned the property over the centuries, starting with Lewis Morris of Passage Point (an earlier name for the area now known as Black Point). "Morris was, according to the inventory, the nephew of Col. Lewis Morris, owner of the Tinton Falls iron works, and a cousin of Lewis Morris, who became governor of New Jersey in 1738."

"Although the 17th-century house does not survive, according to the county inventory, the association with one of New Jersey?s most prominent colonial families is of significance. Lewis Morris of Passage Point was murdered by his slaves in 1696, and his widow, the former Elizabeth Almy, and four sons deeded the property to Gabrielle Stelle in 1722, who deeded it to Richard Salter Jr. in 1737."

"Salter, who owned the estate from 1737 to 1753, is credited with building the Georgian-style main house that stands today." • Change Date: 2 Sep 2006 at 17:39:51