Staats Long Morris

Staats Long Morris (27 August 1728 Morrisiana, New York – 28 January 1800 Quebec, Canada) was an American colonist who served as a major-general in the British army during the American Revolution. He was the grandson of Lewis Morris (the first governor of New Jersey), the brother of Lewis Morris (a signer of the Declaration of Independence), and the half-brother of Gouverneur Morris (an author of the United States Constitution).

He studied at Yale College. On 31 May 1756, he joined the British army, and became captain of the 36th Regiment of Foot. He was quickly promoted lieutenant-colonel in the 89th (Highland) Regiment of Foot, with which he served at the siege of the French colony of Pondicherry, India in 1761. He became Colonel in the 61st Foot. On 7 July 1763, he was made brigadier-general, in 1777 he obtained major-general, and in 1796 he became a general. He was appointed to succeed James Johnston as governor of the garrison at Quebec in 1797, holding the office until his death.

In 1769, he took out a patent of some 30,000 acres, at Butternuts Creek, near Otsego Lake (New York), and developed a settlement. In 1785, the patent was reassigned to Lewis Morris, and Richard Morris. He inherited Morrisiana, which he sold to Gouveneur Morris in 1787. On 1 June 1769, he purchased 967.37 acres, for £2,902 near Morristown, New Jersey. On 28 August 1790, he sold land in New Jersey to John Ramsey, John Dickson, and Thomas Coyle.

Morris became a member of the British Parliament, representing Elgin Burghs from 1774 to 1784. He was buried in an unmarked grave in the nave of Westminster Abbey in 1800.

Family

In March 1756, Morris married the widowed Lady Catherine Gordon (Duchess of Gordon), daughter of William Gordon, 2nd Earl of Aberdeen and Lady Susan Murray (died 10 December 1779). He married Miss Jane Urquart (died 15 March 1801), about December 1780.

Sources

• WOLLASTON, JOHN; Portrait of General Staats Long Morris; ca.1749-52 (115374)
• Data-Wales: The Morris family of Tintern and Piercefield in south Wales
• Virtualology: Lewis Morris, Signer of the Declaration of Independence
• WikiSource: Francis Whiting Halsey, The Old New York Frontier, Part 3 Chapter 2, p. 104
• James J. Kirschke, Gouverneur Morris: Author, Statesman, and Man of the World, p. 158
• American links with Westminster Abbey and St Margaret's Church

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Thomas Lockhart	Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs 1774 – 1784	Succeeded by William Adam