Richard Vaughan Morris

Biographical Summary:

"...Morris, Richard Vaughan, third Bishop of the Nineteenth Ward, Salt Lake City, Utah, was born Sept. 23, 1830, in Abergele, Denbigshire, Wales, son of John and Barbara Morris. Being a delicate child he was sent to England at the age of thirteen and served his time in a lawyer's office in Liverpool. When about nineteen years old he became a convert to "Mormonism," and was baptized Sept. 4, 1849, at Abergele, Wales. After his baptism he returned to Wales, where he was ordained to the Priesthood and served in the ministry. He also acted as secretary to Elder Wm. S. Phillips, who at that time presided over the Welsh mission. He occupied that position until he emigrated to Utah in 1855. Soon after his arrival in Salt Lake City he became a member of the Nauvoo Legion cavalry, serving in two Indian wars and also the Morrisite war, holding the rank of lieutenant. He was assistant government assessor and collector of internal revenue under General A. L. Chetiain, and held that position for several years. In March, 1870, he filled the position of secretary to Captain William H. Hooper, delegate to Congress, accompanying him to Washington, D. C. In October, 1873, he went on a mission to England, where he labored diligently in the ministry, part of the time as president of the Birmingham conference. He returned home in charge of a company of three hundred Saints and fourteen returning missionaries, arriving in Salt Lake Oct. 5, 1875. For many years he filled the position of clerk to the High Priests' quorum in Salt Lake City; was also Ward clerk, secretary of the D. A. & M. Society, secretary of the Deseret Telegraph Company, auditor of the Utah Central railroad, president of the Utah Soap Factory, besides filling other responsible positions. He was ordained Bishop of the Nineteenth Ward in July, 1877, to succeed Bishop Alonzo H. Raleigh, and filled the position with honor until his death, which occurred March 12, 1882, of typhoid-pneumonia. He left seven sons and four daughters, one of the former being the present City Treasurer R. P. Morris. At the time of his demise the "Deseret News" published the following: "Bishop Morris' integrity to the work of the Lord was beyond all question. While not naturally of an aggressive disposition, when he felt he was right upon any matter of moment he could not be moved. At the time he joined the Church he was engaged in a lawyer's office in Liverpool. He went on a visit from that town to Abergele, Wales, where his brother Elias had already embraced the gospel, with which he was at that time unacquainted. He stood by an Elder the same day, while he was preaching; and when that Elder was attacked by a mob, he stood by him and struggled against the persecutors with undaunted courage. The next day Elias baptized him, and his course from then till the hour of his death has been in support of the truth and the right."..."

SOURCE: LDS Biographical Encyclopedia, Andrew Jenson, Vol. 1, p. 675. Retrieved from: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34727973