A member of a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family, Anthony Morris (1766-1860) was a merchant, a lawyer, a legislator, a banker, and a Presidential envoy. His father, Samuel Morris (1734-1812) was a Revolutionary war veteran and member of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. His mother was Rebecca Wistar Morris (1736-1791), daughter of Caspar Wistar (1696-1752), one of the largest landowners in Pennsylvania.

Anthony Morris was educated in Quaker schools and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1783. Upon graduation, he became involved with trade, particularly the East India trade. He also studied law and joined the Philadelphia bar in 1787.

In 1790, Morris married Mary Smith Pemberton (1770-1808), who was herself a member of a well-connected Philadelphia mercantile family. Together, the couple had four children: Phebe Morris (b. 1791); Rebecca Wistar Morris Nourse (1793-1885); James Pemberton Morris (1795-1834); and, Louisa Morris (b. 1798).

From 1792-1794, Anthony Morris served in the Pennsylvania Senate. For a brief period of time at the end of his tenure, he acted as that legislative body's Speaker. During an extraordinary session in his last year of office, he signed a bill assenting to President Washington's military action against the Whiskey Rebellion.

Following his stint in political office, Morris turned to banking. From 1800 to 1806, he was director of the Bank of North America. At this time he also took up an advisory role at his alma mater, sitting on the board of trustees at the University of Pennsylvania from 1806-1817.

During this period of time, Morris suffered some hardships. His wife died in 1808. That same year, he was forced to sell a large Montgomery County estate, The Highlands, due to economic difficulties. His financial woes continued for a few years.

In order to remedy the situation, he turned to old family friends, Dolley and James Madison, for help. President Madison appointed Morris as a special envoy to the Court of Spain in 1813-1814, charging him with persuading the Spanish government to cede Florida to the United States. Morris' mission ended in disappointment as a resurgent Spanish crown sought to keep hold of its possession in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, and a newly appointed American ambassador to Spain resented his presence.

Physical description

Ca. 250 items.

Provenance

Presented by Edward Barnsley and accessioned, 05/--/1976 (1976 819ms).

Early American History Note

The Anthony Morris Papers are a miscellaneous collection of materials relating to the life of this Philadelphia businessman. The collection includes some correspondence, many receipts, various business records, and a few deeds, one of which dates to 1681. Most of the documents come from the early to mid nineteenth century. There is a particularly large collection of Anthony Morris's correspondence, dating mostly to the early nineteenth century. There are also architectural drawings of the Fellenberg Institution, a school that the utilized the educational techniques created by a Swiss educator. The Institution was proposed to be built on Morris' property. Anthony Morris (1766-1860) was from a prominent Philadelphia family and served as a merchant and legislator.

• Fellenberg Institution.

• Morris family.

• Bills.
• Business Records and Accounts
• Deeds.
• Educational Material
• General Correspondence
• Indentures.
• Receipts.
• Sketchbooks

• Bucks County (Pa.)

• Barlow, Joel, 1754-1812
• De Kalb, Johann, 1721-1780
• Fellenberg, Emanuel von, 1771-1844
• Morris, Anthony,1766-1860.
• Price, Isaac
• Roberts, Samuel
• Skinner, John S. (John Stuart), 1788-1851
• Vaux, Roberts,1786-1836.

• Agricultural colleges -- Pennsylvania.
• Business and Skilled Trades
• Education
• Quaker businesspeople
• Trade