Richard Valentine Morris

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Richard Valentine Morris
Member of the New York State Assembly from Westchester Co.
In office
July 1, 1813 – June 30, 1814
Preceded byDarius Crosby
Succeeded byWilliam Requa
Personal details
Born(1768-03-08)March 8, 1768
Federalist
Spouse
Anne Walton
​
​
(m. 1797)​
Children4
Parent(s)Lewis Morris
Mary Walton
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1798–1804
Battles/warsQuasi-War
First Barbary War

Richard Valentine Morris (March 8, 1768 – May 13, 1815) was a United States Navy officer and politician.[1]

Early life

He was born on March 8, 1768, in

Morrisania, then a town in Westchester County, which became in 1898 a neighborhood in the borough of the Bronx, New York City. He was one of ten children born to Lewis Morris (1726–1798), a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and Mary Walton (1727–1794), a member of a well-known merchant family.[2][3]

His uncles included

United States Senator from New Jersey who served from 1791 to 1798.[3]

Career

On June 7, 1798, he was appointed as Captain in command of Adams, during the Quasi-War with France and made several successful captures of French vessels. At the reduction of the US Navy after the war with France, Morris was retained as fifth in rank and recalled to command the Mediterranean Squadron in 1802 during the First Barbary War.[4]

In command of Chesapeake, Morris led an unsuccessful blockade of Tripoli, mostly remaining in Gibraltar for the better part of 1803.[5] Morris was relieved of duty and command of the squadron would turn over to Edward Preble in Constitution. Recalled to the United States, Morris faced a court of inquiry which decided that he had not "discovered due diligence and activity in annoying the enemy".[6]

On May 16, 1804,

Mediterranean.[9]

Political career

From July 1, 1813 until June 30, 1814, Morris was a Federalist member of the New York State Assembly (Westchester Co.), serving in the 37th New York State Legislature.[10]

Personal life

On January 24, 1797, Morris was married to Anne Walton (1773–1858).[11] Together, they were the parents of:[12]

  • Lewis Morris (1797–1798), who died young.[13]
  • Gerard Walton Morris (1799–1865), who married Martha Pine in 1827.[12]
  • Richard Valentin Morris, Jr. (1803–1843), who died unmarried.[12]
  • Henry Morris (1805–1854), who married Mary Natalie Spencer (1810–1886), daughter of John Canfield Spencer, in 1831.[12][11]

Morris died in May 1815 in New York City.[12]

References

Notes
  1. ^ "Morris, Richard Valentine". www.encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  2. ^ "Biography of Mary Walton Morris - Colonial Hall". colonialhall.com. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Reynolds, Cuyler; Cutter, William Richard (1914). Genealogical and Family History of Southern New York and the Hudson River Valley: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation | Vol. III. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781598841572
    . Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  5. ISBN 9780698197411
    . Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780659116796
    .
  7. ISBN 978-0-89141-859-7
    .
  8. ^ Morris, Richard Valentine (1787). A Narrative of the Official Conduct of Valentine Morris: Late Captain ... Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  9. ^ Morris, Richard Valentine (1804). A Defence of the Conduct of Commodore Morris During His Command in the Mediterranean: With Strictures on The Report of the Court of Enquiry Held at Washington. New-York: I. Riley and Company. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  10. ^ Hough, Franklin (1858). The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time. Weed, Parsons and Co. p. 122. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  11. ^ a b Robison, Jeannie Floyd Jones; Bartlett, Henrietta Collins (1917). Genealogical Records: Manuscript Entries of Births, Deaths and Marriages Taken from Family Bibles, 1581-1917. Colonial Dames of the State of New York. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b c d e Bergen, Tunis Garret (1915). Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 1144. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  13. ^ The American Historical Magazine. Publishing Society of New York. 1906. pp. 321-328. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
Sources
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