Robert MORRIS, Congress, PA (1734-1806)

MORRIS, Robert, (father of Thomas Morris [1771-1849]), a Delegate and a Senator from Pennsylvania; born in Liverpool, England, January 20, 1734; immigrated to the United States in 1747 and settled in Oxford, Md.; attended school in Philadelphia; became a merchant in Philadelphia in 1748; signed the non-importation agreement of 1765; member of the Pennsylvania Council of Safety 1775; Member of the Continental Congress 1775-1778; signer of the Declaration of Independence; settled upon the Manheim estate; member, State assembly 1778-1781; national superintendent of finance 1781-1784; established the Bank of North America; member, State assembly 1785-1787; delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1787; elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1795; declined to be a candidate for renomination; declined the position of Secretary of the Treasury in the Cabinet of President George Washington; known as the “financier of the American Revolution” and one of the richest men in America, Morris became involved in unsuccessful land speculations, which caused him to be imprisoned for debt from 1798 to 1801; died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 8, 1806; interment in the family vault of William White in the churchyard of Christ Church.

Bibliography

Dictionary of American Biography; Morris, Robert. Papers. Edited by E. James Ferguson, John Catanzariti, Elizabeth M. Nuxoll, Mary A.Y. Gallagher, et al. 9 vols. to date. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1973-; Ver Steeg, Clarence. Robert Morris: Revolutionary Financier. New York: Octagon Books, 1972.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present