MORRIS 845 srses as early as his 15th year. In August, L823, in conjunction with Samuel Woodworth, e established the "New York Mirror," in rhich N. P. Willis and Theodore Fay were 'terward associated, and which was discon- med Dec. 31, 1842. In 1843 Morris and r illis commenced the publication of the " New 'irror," which extended to three volumes, id in 1844 of the "Evening Mirror," a daily iper. At the close of 1845 he established me a weekly journal called the " National ," the title of which was changed to that the " Home Journal " in November, 1846, when Willis again joined him. He acquired his chief reputation as a song writer, and his "Woodman, spare that Tree," "We were Boys Aether," "Land-Ho!" "Long Time Ago," ?he Origin of Yankee Doodle," "My Moth- 's Bible," " Whip-poor- Will," &c., became 3ry popular. Various editions of his poems lave been published. In 1837 he produced a drama entitled "Briercliff," which had a run of 40 nights, and in 1842 he wrote the libretto of an opera entitled "The Maid of Saxony." He also published a volume of prose sketches entitled "The Little Frenchman and his Water Lots " (1838). He was long a general of militia. MORRIS, Gouverneur, an American statesman, born at Morrisania, Westchester co., N. Y., Jan. 31, 1752, died there, Nov. 6, 1816. He graduated at King's (now Columbia) college in 1768, and in 1771 was admitted to the bar. At the age of 18 he wrote a series of news- paper articles on finance, which attracted much attention. From 1775 to 1778 he was a dele- gate to the provincial congress of New York, in which he was a member of the committee for drafting a constitution for the state. He was a delegate to the continental congress in 1777, and passed the following winter at Val- ley Forge as one of a committee appointed to examine, with Washington, into the state of the army. In 1779 he published a pamphlet entitled " Observations on the American Revo- lution." In May, 1780, he was thrown from his carriage, and his leg was injured so as to require amputation. In July, 1781, he was chosen by Robert Morris as assistant superin- tendent of finance, which office he held for 3 years. After the revolution he resumed the practice of law, and also engaged with Robert Morris in mercantile speculations. On the death of his mother in 1786, he purchased the patrimonial estate at Morrisania from his brother. In 1787 he published an address to the assembly of Pennsylvania against the aboli- tion of the bank of North America. He was a delegate from Pennsylvania to the constitu- tional convention of 1787, and was one of the committee of five appointed to draft the con- stitution. Mr. Morris sailed for France on business in December, 1788, and while there kept a minute diary. In 1791 he was appoint- ed by Washington secret agent to England, to settle unfulfilled terms of the old treaty; he remained in London till September, but effected nothing. In 1792 he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to France, and served until October, 1794, when he was recalled at the request of the French government, and trav- elled in Europe until the autumn of 1798. In 1800 he was elected by the legislature of New York to fill a vacancy in the United States senate, and served in that body till 1803, act- ing with the federalists. He spent the latter years of his life in retirement. He was a fine orator, and delivered numerous public ad- dresses. He was one of the earliest promoters of the project for constructing the Erie canal, was chairman of the canal commissioners from their first appointment in March, 1810, until near the end of his life, and in the summer of 1810 examined the route to Lake Erie. Mor- ris's resemblance to Washington was so close that he stood as the model of his form to the sculptor Houdon. His life, with selections from his correspondence and papers, has been written by Jared Sparks (3 vols. 8vo, 1832). MORRIS, Lewis, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, half brother of the preceding, born at Morrisania, Westchester co., N. Y., in 1726, died there, Jan. 22, 1798. He graduated at Yale college in 1746, and engaged in farm- ing on a very extensive scale on his paternal estate at Morrisania. He took strong ground against the act of parliament compelling the inhabitants of the province of New York to furnish with supplies the foreign troops quar- tered upon them. He was elected to the con- gress of 1775, and was a member of the com- mittee on munitions of war. After the close of the session he was sent west to detach the Indians from the British. In 1776 he resumed his seat in congress, and signed the Declaration of Independence, although his estate was at that time in the hands of the enemy. As a consequence his manor was laid waste, and his family expelled. He afterward served in the state legislature. MORRIS, Robert, an American financier, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, born in Lancashire, England, Jan. 20, 1734, died in Philadelphia, May 8, 1806. When 13 years old he came to America, was placed in the counting house of Charles Willing, a mer- chant in Philadelphia, and in 1754 entered into partnership with the son of his employer. The firm continued till 1793, and at the begin- ning of the revolution was the largest com- mercial house in Philadelphia. Mr. Morris opposed the stamp act, signed the non-impor- tation agreement of 1765, and was elected a delegate to the congress of 1775, serving on the military and naval committees. On July 1, 1776, he voted against the Declaration of In- dependence, and on the 4th declined to vote at all, considering the time premature and inap- propriate ; but when it was adopted he signed it. He was reflected to congress July 20, and again in 1777. At this period he was largely employed in managing the fiscal affairs of the country ; and on his personal responsibility he
