Thomas Morris

Thomas Morris (February 26, 1771 – March 12, 1849) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States representative from New York from 1801 to 1803. He was the son of Founding Father Robert Morris.

Early life Morris was born on February 26, 1771, in Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania to Robert Morris and Mary (née White) Morris. His father was a slave-trader, merchant, signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and later a U.S. Senator. His mother's brother was William White, the Anglican Bishop of Pennsylvania.

From 1781 to 1786, he attended school in Geneva, Switzerland and the University of Leipzig, in Germany, from 1786 to 1788. He was not a candidate for renomination, and resumed the practice of law in New York City in 1803. He was appointed United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York in 1816, 1820, 1825, and 1829. His father then sold his substantial property in Western New York, which the younger Morris oversaw, to the Holland Land Company in 1792–1793 for redevelopment in parcels, although some sources identify the sale at five years later, in 1797–1798.

Personal life Morris was married to Elizabeth Sarah Kane (1771–1853), the daughter of Col. John Kane (1734–1808) and Sybil Kent Kane. Elizabeth's brother, Elisha Kane, and sister-in-law, Alida Van Rensselaer, were the parents of John K. Kane (1795–1858), the Attorney General of Pennsylvania. Her sister, Sybil Adeline Kane, married Alida's brother, Jeremias Van Rensselaer (1769–1827), both children of Robert Van Rensselaer. Together, they were the parents of:

Mary Morris (1800–1885), who married Charles Apthorp Van den Heuvel (d. 1879), son of Jan Cornelis Van den Heuvel.