Lewis Gouverneur Morris

{{Infobox person

| name = Lewis Gouverneur Morris II

| image =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1882|6|4}}

| birth_place = Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|8|14|1882|6|4}}

| death_place = Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.

| education =

| alma_mater = Harvard University

| spouse = {{plainlist|

  • {{marriage|Nathalie Lorillard Bailey
    |1908|1935|end=d}}
  • {{marriage|Anita of Braganza
    |1946}}

}}

| children = 2

| parents = Francis Morris
Harriet Hall Bedlow

| relatives = Lewis G. Morris (grandfather)

}}

Lewis Gouverneur Morris II (June 4, 1882 – August 14, 1967) was a banker and prominent social figure in New York and Newport Society.{{cite news|title=LEWIS G. MORRIS, 85, EX-MUSEUM TRUSTEE|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07E6DE1F3AE63ABC4D52DFBE66838C679EDE&legacy=true|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=15 August 1967}}

Early life

Morris was born on June 4, 1882, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the son of Francis Morris (1845–1883), a Knickerbocker gentleman and descendant of Gouverneur Morris (a signer of the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution), and his wife Harriet Hall Bedlow (1849–1923).{{cite book|title=The American Historical Magazine|date=1906|publisher=Publishing Society of New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/americanhistoricv3p2publ/page/437 437]|url=https://archive.org/details/americanhistoricv3p2publ|access-date=27 September 2017|language=en}} After his father's death, his mother married John Rex Guelph-Norman (1861–1932), who claimed to be the son of King Edward VII and rightful heir to the throne,{{cite book|last1=Guelph|first1=John R. Wettin|title=The Memoirs of Prince John De Guelph, rex et imperator de jure of Great Britain and Ireland;|date=1910|publisher=New York, B. W. Dodge & company|url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsofprincej00guel|access-date=27 September 2017}} in 1898.{{cite book|title=The United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces|date=1897|publisher=Army and Navy Journal Incorporated|page=591|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_8-AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA591|access-date=27 September 2017|language=en}} They divorced after she discovered he had a wife in India.{{cite news|title=Prince de Guelph|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/138915794/|access-date=27 September 2017|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=March 27, 1909|page=10|language=en}}{{cite news|title='PRINCE DE GUELPH' MISSING.; Little Difficulty Over His Bill Sends Him from the St. Regis.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1909/03/27/archives/prince-de-guelph-missing-little-difficulty-over-his-bill-sends-him.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=27 March 1909}}

His paternal grandparents were Lewis Gouverneur Morris,{{cite book|last1=Reynolds|first1=Cuyler|last2=Cutter|first2=William Richard|title=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|date=1914|publisher=Lewis Historical Publishing Company|location=New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iNIUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1143|access-date=September 26, 2017|language=en}}{{cite web|title=Lewis Gouverneur Morris Mansion.|url=http://collections.mcny.org/Collection/[Lewis-Gouverneur-Morris-Mansion.]-2F3XC5IK1TEW.html|website=collections.mcny.org|publisher=Museum of the City of New York|access-date=27 September 2017}} for whom he was named, and Emily (née Lorillard) Morris (1819–1850).{{cite news|title=DIED. Morris|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07E3DD133EE333A25753C2A96F9C946197D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=20 September 1900}}{{cite news | newspaper=The New York Times| title=LEWIS G. MORRIS DEAD: Member of Distinguished American Family - Advanced Harlem Ship Canal Project.| date=20 September 1900| url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1900/09/20/105752347.pdf}} His maternal grandparents were Henry Bedlow (1821–1914) and Josephine Maria DeWolf (née Homer) Bedlow (1831–1896). He was first cousin of Emily Lorillard Morris (b. 1873),{{cite book|last1=John Conrad Weiser Family Association|title=The Weiser family: a genealogy of the family of John Conrad Weiser, the elder (d. 1746); prepared on the two hundred fiftieth anniversary of his arrival in America, 1710-1760|date=1960|publisher=John Conrad Weiser Family Assoc.|page=210|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5JYAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA210|access-date=27 September 2017|language=en}} who married Rolaz Horace Gallatin (d. 1948),{{cite news|title=R. HORACE GALLATIN|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1948/11/02/archives/r-horace-gallatin.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=2 November 1948}}{{cite news|title=ESTATE OF MRS. GALLATIN; It Exceeds $1,000,000 and Husband Gets $30,000 a Year for Life.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F02EFD7143AE433A25757C0A9629C946696D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=4 April 1917}} a cousin of Albert Eugene Gallatin and nephew of Commodore Elbridge Thomas Gerry, in April 1896.{{cite news|title=A DAY'S WEDDINGS. {{!}} Gallatin--Morris|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1896/04/29/archives/a-days-weddings.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=29 April 1896}}

Morris graduated from Harvard University in 1906.

Career

He was a former member of the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1915, Morris organized Morris & Pope, an investment firm.{{cite news|title=STOCK EXCHANGE FIRM FAILS; Morris & Pope Expected to Meet All Obligations.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1917/04/15/archives/stock-exchange-firm-fails-morris-pope-expected-to-meet-all.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=15 April 1917}} In the spring of 1917, the firm failed which left Morris heavily in debt. He was imprisoned in Westchester County, from June 18, 1921, until October 5, 1921, as a debtor. He was eventually discharged as an honest insolvent debtor.{{cite news|title=L.G. MORRIS PLEADS POOR DEBTOR LAW; Member of Failed Stock Exchange Firm Asks ReleaseFrom "Jail Limits."CAN'T LEAVE WHITE PLAINS Partners Also Held, Porter to Riverhead, L.I., and Pope toKings, County on Judgment.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1921/09/23/archives/lg-morris-pleads-poor-debtor-law-member-of-failed-stock-exchange.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=23 September 1921}}

New York directory listings indicate that, after his failure in 1917, Morris did not re-entered the business world.

Morris served as a trustee of the Museum of the City of New York.

=Residences=

{{see also|Lewis G. Morris House}}

File:Morris-house-100e85.jpg]]

In 1913, Morris bought the southeast corner of 85th Street and Park Avenue from Amos Pinchot.{{cite news|last1=Gray|first1=Christopher|title=Streetscapes/100 East 85th Street; A Slim Town House Survivor on a Park Ave. Corner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/07/realestate/streetscapes-100-east-85th-street-slim-town-house-survivor-park-ave-corner.html?mcubz=0|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=7 August 1994}} Morris and his wife hired Ernest Flagg who designed and built their home, which was completed in 1914. The home is in a "Federal style, in trim proportions with leaded glass windows of unusual shape and a roof balustrade and square cupola."

In 1904, Morris bought the former summer home of his maternal grandfather in Newport, Rhode Island.{{cite web |title="Malbone" (J. Prescott Hall-Henry Bedlow House) |url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ri/ri0000/ri0062/data/ri0062data.pdf |website=loc.gov |publisher=Historic American Buildings Survey National Park Service Department of the Interior |access-date=20 November 2019}} The large villa in the Gothic Revival style known as "Malbone".{{cite news|title=A NEWPORT SHOW PLACE SOLD.; "Malbone," the Residence of Henry Bedlow, Bought by L.G. Morris.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1904/02/17/archives/a-newport-show-place-sold-malbone-the-residence-of-henry-bedlow.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=17 February 1904}} Malbone was designed by American architect Alexander Jackson Davis in 1848-1850. The house's interiors had been remodeled in 1875 under the supervision of noted local architect Dudley Newton who added a "massive carved oak staircase."Malbone NRHP Nomination. 1976.

Personal life

In 1908,{{cite news|title=MISS BAILEY BETROTHED.; Engagement to Lewis Gouverneur Morris Formally Announced.|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E04E3DA173EE233A25754C1A9679C946997D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 17, 1908}}{{cite news|title=WEDDING PLANS.; Attendants Chosen for Morris-Bailey and Rogers-Welles Marriages.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/03/26/archives/wedding-plans-attendants-chosen-for-morrisbailey-and-rogerswelles.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=26 March 1908}} he married Alletta Nathalie Lorillard Bailey (1883–1935),{{cite news|title=MRS. LEWIS MORRIS DIES IN HER HOME; Wife of Descendant of Patriot Was Socially Prominent and Former Tennis Champion.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/01/14/archives/mrs-lewis-morris-dies-in-her-home-wife-of-descendant-of-patriot-was.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=January 14, 1935}} an amateur architectural historian and photographer.{{cite web|title=Alletta Nathalie Lorillard Bailey Morris (1883-1935)|url=https://library.columbia.edu/locations/avery/da/collections/morris_nathalie.html|website=columbia.edu|publisher=Columbia University|access-date=27 September 2017}}{{cite news|title=MISS ALETTA BAILEY WEDS LEWIS MORRIS; The Bridegroom Is a Descendant of Lewis Morris and Gov. Bradford. OTHER WEDDINGS OF A DAY Miss Georgia Gray Marries Frederick Henoken and Miss Arden Weds Lieut. George W. Beavers.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1908/04/21/archives/miss-aletta-bailey-weds-lewis-morris-the-bridegroom-is-a-descendant.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=21 April 1908}} She was the daughter of James Muhlenberg Bailey (1839–1897) and Alletta Remsen (née Lynch) Bailey (1870–1930),{{cite web|title=Morris, Alletta Nathalie Lorillard Bailey, 1887-1935. - Social Networks and Archival Context|url=http://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6pk2w5n|website=snaccooperative.org|access-date=27 September 2017}} and a granddaughter of Nathaniel Platt Bailey. She was also a descendant of Robert Livingston, first Lord of Livingston Manor, Robert R. Livingston of Clermont. They were actually distant cousins, both being great-grandchildren of Jacob Lorillard, the son of Pierre Abraham Lorillard, founder of the Lorillard Tobacco Company. Together, they were the parents of:{{cite web|title=The Morris Legacy: Profile of a Newport Collection|url=http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa45.htm|website=www.tfaoi.com|publisher=Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc.|access-date=27 September 2017|date=2011}}{{cite journal|last1=Burns|first1=Charles J.|title=Spring Fashion Exhibit to Feature Wedding Dresses|journal=Newport Gazette|date=2011|issue=Winter 2011, No. 168|page=12|url=http://www.newportmansions.org/documents/gazettes/winter2011%20gazette.pdf|access-date=27 September 2017}}

  • Alletta Nathalie Lorillard Morris (1912–1986),{{cite news|title=Daughter to Mr. and Mrs. L.G. Morris|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0DE1DB1F31E233A25757C0A9629C946396D6CF&legacy=true|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=4 April 1912}}{{cite news|title=ALLETTA MORRIS McBEAN|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/14/obituaries/alletta-morris-mcbean.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=14 March 1986}} who was married to Byrnes MacDonald, an investor,{{cite news|title=Son Born to Byrnes M'Donalds|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/08/01/archives/son-born-to-byrnes-mdonalds.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=1 August 1942}} in 1935.{{cite news|title=MISS LETA MORRIS IS MARRIED HERE; Daughter of Lewis G. Morris Is Bride at St. Patrick's of Byrnes MacDonald.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1935/02/03/archives/miss-leta-morris-is-married-here-daughter-of-lewis-g-morris-is.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=3 February 1935}} After his death, she married Peter McBean (1910–1997).{{cite news|title=Paid Notice: Memorials MCBEAN, PETER|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/20/classified/paid-notice-memorials-mcbean-peter.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=20 April 1997}}
  • Frances Elizabeth Morris (1915–1994),{{cite web|title=Guide to the Elizabeth Morris Smith collection, 1855-1934 (bulk 1917-1934)|url=https://www.redwoodlibrary.org/sites/redwoodlibrary.org/files/attachments/research-aids/RLC.Ms_.041%20Elizabeth%20Morris%20Smith%20collection.pdf|website=redwoodlibrary.org|publisher=Redwood Library & Athenaeum, Newport, Rhode Island|access-date=27 September 2017}} who married Morton W. Smith, a breeder of thoroughbred horses, in 1954.{{cite news|title=MRS. PERRY MARRIED; Former Frances Morris Is Wed in Virginia to Morton Smith|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/08/20/archives/mrs-perry-married-former-frances-morris-is-wed-in-virginia-to.html|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=20 August 1954}}

In 1946, Morris married Anita Rhinelander (née Stewart) de Braganza (1886–1977) in New York City.{{cite news|title=PRINCESS BRAGANCA TO BE WED APRIL 10; Former Anita Stewart, Widow of Prince Miguel, and Lewis G. Morris to Marry Here|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1946/03/23/archives/princess-braganca-to-be-wed-april-10-former-anita-stewart-widow-of.html|access-date=26 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=23 March 1946}} She was the daughter of Annie McKee Armstrong (1864–1925) and William Rhinelander Stewart (1852–1929), the niece of State Senator Lispenard Stewart, and the widow of Prince Miguel, Duke of Viseu (1878–1923). She was the mother of three children from her first marriage, Nadejda de Braganza (1910–1946),{{Cite news |title=MISS DE BRAGANZA MARRIED IN ITALY; Daughter of Princess Miguel de Braganza Wed Vadim Dorozynski in Capri Aug. 16. BRIDE STUDIED FOR STAGE; Newport Debutante of 1928 is a Granddaughter of the Late William Rhinelander Stewart. |work=New York Times |date=September 3, 1930}} John de Braganza (1912–1991),{{cite news|title=Mrs. Katharine Bahnson Wed In South to John de Bragança|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/05/16/archives/mrs-katharine-bahnson-wed-in-south-to-john-de-braganca.html?mcubz=1|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=16 May 1971}}{{cite news|title=John de Braganca, Investment Banker, 79|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/15/obituaries/john-de-braganca-investment-banker-79.html|access-date=26 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=15 March 1991}} and Miguel de Braganza (1915–1996).{{Cite news |title=SCHOOL IN NEWPORT HOLDS GRADUATION; Colonists Attend St. George Exercises as 29 Students Receive Their Diplomas. |work=New York Times |date=June 16, 1933}}

Morris died at the age of 85, on August 14, 1967, at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. His widow also died at their home in Newport in 1977.{{Cite news |title=Anita Stewart Morris, 91, Dies; Heiress Wed a European Prince. |work=New York Times |date=September 16, 1977 }}

=Descendants=

Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was the grandfather of Alletta Morris Smith, a trustee of the Rhode Island Historical Society and lifetime member of the Newport Historical Society and of the Redwood Library,{{cite web|url=https://www.mybackyardnews.com/2021/12/13/rhode-island-historical-commission/|title=Rhode Island Historical Society Welcomes New Trustees – In Association With The Smithsonian Institution |work=My Backyard|access-date=11 August 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rihs.org/about/board/|title=Board of Trustees |work=The Rhode Island Historical Society – A Smithsonian Affiliate |access-date=11 August 2023}} who married William J. Cooper Jr. in 1981.{{cite news|title=ALLETTA SMITH BETHROED|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/22/style/alletta-smith-bethroed.html?mcubz=0|access-date=27 September 2017|work=The New York Times|date=22 March 1981}}{{cite news|title=Smith -- Cooper|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/03/11/smith-cooper/98bf79db-bed6-4ef8-8ef8-cf8365fd4a47/|access-date=27 September 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=11 March 1981}}

References

{{Reflist}}