Joseph Robert Morris

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Joseph Robert Morris (April 24, 1828 – December 6, 1885) was a metal worker, business owner, investor, and inventor. He briefly served as mayor of Houston, Texas.

Joseph Robert Morris
23rd Mayor of Houston
In office
1868–1870
Preceded byAlexander McGowan
Succeeded byThomas Howe Scanlan
Personal details
BornApril 24, 1828
Milton, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedDecember 6, 1885(1885-12-06) (aged 57)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Resting placeGlenwood Cemetery, Houston, Texas, U.S.
SpouseHannah Cordelia Buckner
Childrensix
Residence(s)Houston, Texas, U.S.
ProfessionMetalworker, entrepreneur.

Early life and family

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Joseph Robert Morris was born on April 24, 1828, in Milton, Connecticut, now a part of Litchfield. He attended school through the age of fourteen, when he moved to New Haven, Connecticut for an apprenticeship to a tinner. He fabricated a stock of tinware and sent it to Texas along with his two younger brothers and his father to Bastrop, Texas around 1845. Morris continued to sell tinware in Connecticut.[1]

Career

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Morris's father established a tin store in Bastrop that quickly failed. With his father's health failing, Morris moved to Texas with a stock of tinware, which he peddled in rural Texas. With the proceeds of this business, he settled his father's business debts, then moved to Houston. At first he worked in the tinshop of Alexander McGowan. The next year, in 1847, he set up his own tin shop in Houston, which later expanded into a general hardware business. His inventions included a furnace and a spark arrester, and he gained membership to the British Academy of Sciences.[1]

Morris supported the Union during the Civil War, and was appointed mayor of Houston under the military command of Joseph Jones Reynolds. Morris co-founded two transportation companies, the Houston Direct Navigation Company and the Buffalo Bayou Ship Channel Company. He built one of the first four-story buildings in Houston, and the first with an iron facade. According to the 1870 Census, he was one of the wealthiest persons in Texas.[2]

Personal life

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On December 20, 1860, Morris married Hannah Cordelia Buckner. Together they had six children.[2]

Death

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Morris died on December 6, 1885. His final resting place is Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company. 1895. pp. 393–396.
  2. ^ a b c Kleiner, Diana J. (May 31, 2017). "Morris, Joseph Robert". Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Houston, Texas
1868–1870
Succeeded by