James Morris

James Morris ( – September 7, 1827) was an American lawyer who served as Sheriff of New York County.

Early life Morris born at Morrisania, New York in . He was the fourth son of Mary ( Walton) Morris and Founding Father Lewis Morris, third lord of the manor of Morrisania. His father was a prominent landowner who was a signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress from New York.

Following the British conquest of New York in 1776, the family was driven from Morrisania, first to Philadelphia then to Rocky Hill near Princeton, New Jersey. He likely completed preparatory studies in Nassau Hall's grammar school before attending Princeton from which he graduated in 1784. While at Princeton, he was a member of the American Whig Society.

Personal life On February 1, 1796, Morris was married to Helen Van Cortlandt (1768–1812), a daughter of Augustus Van Cortlandt and Catherine ( Barclay) Van Cortlandt. Her paternal grandparents were Frederick Van Cortlandt and Frances ( Jay) Van Cortlandt. Her maternal grandparents were Andrew Barclay and Helena (née Roosevelt) Barclay. Together, they were the parents of twelve children, including: Robert Rutherfurd Morris (1807–1881), who married Hannah Edgar, a daughter of William Edgar Jr. and Cornelia ( LeRoy) Edgar, in 1834. William Henry Morris (1810–1896), who married Hannah Cornell Newbold, a daughter of Thomas Newbold and Catharine ( LeRoy) Newbold, in 1834. After her death in 1842, he married Caroline Halsted in 1846. After her death in 1848, he married Ella Birckhead, in 1850. Charlotte Hay Morris (1812–1838), who married Richard Frederick Kemble, a son of Peter Kemble, in 1836.

Morris died in 1827.