Lewis Morris

A portrait of a man in 18th-century attire with a dark coat, red waistcoat, and white cravat, set against a dark background.

BORN – April 8, 1726, at Morrisania Manor in Morrisania, NY. Parents (English ancestry) – Lewis Morris (b1698-d1762) and Catherine Tryntje Staats Morris (b1697-d1731). Children – Mary Morris Lawrence (b1724-d1794), Lewis Morris (b1726-d1798).

DIED – January 22, 1798 (age 71) at his home, Morrisiania Manor, in Morrisania, NY. Religion – Anglican / Episcopalian. Buried - Family vault beneath Saint Ann's Episcopal Church of Morrisania in the Bronx, NY.

APPEARANCE - The picture above is the portrait of Lewis Morris (age 25) painted by John Wollaston in 1750.

FAMILY – Married - Mary Walton (b1727-d1794) in 1749. Eleven Children – Catherine Morris (b1749-d1834), Mary Morris (b1752-d1776), Lewis Morris IV (b1753-d1824), Jacob Morris (b1755-d1844), Sarah Morris (b1759-d1813), William Walton Morris (b1760-d1832), Magdalena (Helen) Morris (b1762-d1840), James Morris (b1764-d1827), Staats Morris (b1765-d1827), Richard Valentine Morris (b1768-d1815), Benjamin Morris (___).

OCCUPATION – FARMER, JUDGE, LEGISLATOR. Graduated from Yale College (now Yale University) in 1746. Member of the Continental Congress representing New York from 1775 to 1777.

AT SIGNING – Age 50 at signing. Signed sometime after August 2, when he arrived back in Philadelphia. When warned by his half-brother, Governor Morris, of the consequences that would follow his signing of the rebellious document, Morris stated, "Damn the consequences. Give me the pen."

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1777. Morrisania Manor was looted and burned by the British. Spent heavily on the war from his personal fortune.

HISTORIC SITES

Gravesite - Family vault beneath Saint Ann's Episcopal Church of Morrisania in the Bronx, NY (1840). Located at 295 Saint Ann’s Avenue, Bronx, NY 10454, Phone 718-585-5632, Website www.stannsb.dioceseny.org.

A small stone church with stained glass windows and a steeple, surrounded by a metal railing and a grassy area.

Gravesite of Lewis Morris, Saint Ann’s Church of Morrisania, Bronx, NY (1840).

Located at 295 Saint Ann’s Avenue, Bronx, NY 10454, Phone 718-585-5632, Website www.stannsb.dioceseny.org.