Robert Morris

Elegant handwritten text that says 'Good Morning'.
Portrait of a man in 18th-century attire sitting in a red velvet chair with a dark background and a draped curtain.

BORN – January 31, 1734, in Liverpool, Lancashire, England.  Immigrated to America in 1747 (age 13).  Parents (English ancestry) - Robert Morris, Sr. (b1711-d1750) and Elizabeth Ann Murphet Morris (b1712-d1736).  Children – Richard Morris (b1720-d1787), Joseph Morris (b1727-d1788), William Morris (b1730-___), Mary Morris (b1730-d1831), Jacob S. Morris (b1731-1804), Margaret Morris (b1732-d1799), Robert Morris, Jr. (b1734-d1806), Ann Morris (b1740-d1844), John Morris (___), Thomas Morris (___).

DIED - May 9, 1806(1806-05-09) (aged 72), in Philadelphia, PA of asthma.  Religion – Anglican / Episcoplian.  Buried – Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA.  The family vault of Bishop William White, his brother-in-law.

APPEARANCE - The picture above is the portrait of Robert Morris (age 48) painted by Charles Willson Peale in 1782.  Six feet tall, well built, with sandy colored hair and piercing blue eyes.  He walked with a cane, but still managed to ride a horse when it was required.   

FAMILY – Married – Mary (Molly) White (b1749-d1827) in 1769.  Nine Children (All nine living to adulthood) – Robert Clark Morris III (b1769-d1804), Thomas Morris (b1771-d1849), William White Morris (b1772-d1798), Hannah Seely Morris Conarroe (b1773-d1820), Esther Morris Marshall (b1774-d1816), Charles Morris (b1777-d1804), Mary Morris Lord (b1778-d1855), Maria Morris Nixon (b1779-d1852),  Henry Morris (b1784-d1842).  

OCCUPATION – MERCHANT, FINANCIER, LEGISLATOR, U.S. SENATOR. Little formal education, turored.  Immigrated from England to America (Oxford, MD) in 1748 (at age 13).  Known as the “Financier of the American Revolution.”  Member of the Continental Congress representing Pennsylvania from 1775 to 1778.  U.S. Superintendent of Finance from 1781 to 1784.  Member of the Constitutional Convention from in 1787, and was one of the 40 Signers of the U.S. Constitution.  U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1789 to 1795.  Was one of the wealthiest men in America, 

AT SIGNING – Age 42 at signing.  Abstained from voting along with John Dickinson on July 2, to enable Pennsylvania to favor Independence by a 3 to 2 vote.  However, he was the first to sign of the nine member delegation from Pennsylvania on August 2. 

AFTER SIGNING – Continued to serve in Congress in Philadelphia until 1778.  Spent heavily on the war from his personal fortune.  For example, he personally supplied the funding for 80% of all bullets fired during the war and almost 75% of all other expenses for the new government.  Lost 150 of his ships at sea.  In later years lost heavily from bad investments and was put in debtors prison from 1798 to 1801.  Died penniless. 

HISTORIC SITES

Philadelphia Home – President’s House Memorial, Philadelphia, PA (2010).  Located at 524-30 Market Street, near Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA.  The site of the house owned by Robert Morris where he lived and then served as the home of Presidents Washington and Adams.   

Gravesite - Christ Church Burial Ground, Philadelphia, PA (1744).  Located at 20 North American Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, Phone 215-922-1695, Website www.christchurchphila.org.  The plaque on the vault reads - "ROBERT MORRIS - Signer of the Constitution of the United States of America.  Deputy from Pennsylvania to Federal Constitutional Convention May 25, 1787- September 17, 1787.”  

Country Home - The Hills Farm, Philadelphia, PA.  300 acre estate of Robert Morris located on the eastern bank of the Schuylkill River in what is now Fairmount Park.  Part of the property was purchased by Henry Pratt who completed the current house on the site in 1800, and renamed it Lemon Hill.  Located at Lemon Hill Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19130, Phone 215-232-4337, Website www.lemonhill.org. 

Morrisville Home – Summerseat House Museum, Morrisville, PA (177’s).  Located at Hillcrest & Legion Avenues, Morrisville, PA 19067, on the overland route between Philadelphia and New York, Phone 215-295-7339, Website www.historicsummerseat.org.  Property owned by Robert Morris from 1791 to 1798, in the town which was named for him.

A brick building surrounding an outdoor area with large open window frames, people walking on the sidewalk, and a grassy park with trees in the background.

Home owned by Robert Morris, President’s House Memorial, Philadelphia, PA (2010). 

Located at 524-30 Market Street, near Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA.   

In 1781, Robert Morris purchased, refurbished, and expanded the house and lived here while Superintendent of Finance.  George Washington lived here with Morris during the Constitutional Convention in 1778.  Morris gave up the house in 1790 for his friend, George Washington to use as the Executive Mansion, and moved to the house next door.  President Washington occupied it during his Presidency from 1790 to 1797, and President Adams from 1797 to 1800, when he moved into the White House in Washington, D.C.  The main house was demolished in 1832, although the four-story east and west walls survived as shared walls with the adjoining buildings.  These, along with surviving sections of the back buildings, were demolished in the 1950’s during the creation of Independence Mall.  An archaeology project was undertaken in 2007, that uncovered foundations of the back buildings, the President's office, and the massive Bow Window designed by Washington as a ceremonial space.  A memorial at the site shown in the picture above was opened in 2010.