Biography

02/10/1766 - 11/08/1860

Anthony Morris (Federalist1) Delaware, Philadelphia City and Philadelphia Counties 1792-1794

Early Life:

Anthony Morris, born February 10, 1766, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Province of Pennsylvania, British Colonial America; son of Captain Samuel and Rebecca Wistar Morris; Quaker school education; University of Pennsylvania, 1783; attorney; elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1792-1794; elected, Speaker of Senate, 1793-1794; unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, 2nd District Pennsylvania, 1798; unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, 4th district Pennsylvania, 1798; director, Bank of the United States, 1800-1806; trustee, University of Pennsylvania, 1806-1817; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Philadelphia City, 1808; trustee, University of Pennsylvania, 1806-1817; appointed, ambassador, Court of Spain, 1813-1815; married, Mary Pemberton Morris, son, James Pemberton Morris; died, November 8, 1860 (aged 94) Bucks County, Pennsylvania; interment, Morris Family Cemetery, Levittown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Federalist, Pennsylvania State Senate, Delaware, Philadelphia City and Philadelphia Counties, Special Election, Richard Peters resigned, January 31, 1792, replaced by Anthony Morris, February 16, 1792-1794; elected, third Speaker of the Pennsylvania Senate at the age of 27, served, December 4, 1793-1794; presided over the impeachment trial of John Nicholson and Francis Hopkinson, 1794; during the extraordinary session, 1794 signed a bill providing consent for President Washington’s military suppression of the Whiskey Insurrection. 

Unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, 2nd District Pennsylvania, 1798. 

Unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, 4th district Pennsylvania, 1798.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Philadelphia City, 1808

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1st district 1809.

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Appointed, ambassador, Court of Spain, President James Madison, 1813-1815.

Legacy:

Construction began, Highland’s estate, Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, 1795; Georgetown Mansion, Washington, District of Columbia also called Highlands.

Was the last surviving member, President James Madison wedding party.

Cited:

Robert Charles Moon, The Morris Family of Philadelphia (Philadelphia: R.C. Moon, 1898-1909), pages, 480, 532-534.

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members M". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

A New Nation Votes (tufts.edu)

Anthony Morris (1766-1860) - Find a Grave Memorial