John R. Morris

John R. Morris
Morris in ca. 1924
Commissioner Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District	At-large (citywide)
Term Start	September 1, 1922
Term End	September 3, 1923
Preceded by	New council (1922 election)
Succeeded by	E. A. Joachim
Commissioner Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District	At-large (citywide)
Term Start	September 1, 1924
Term End	August 31, 1926
Preceded by	John R. Morris
Succeeded by	John R. Morris
Commissioner Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District	At-large (citywide)
Term Start	September 1, 1926
Term End	August 31, 1928
Preceded by	John R. Morris
Succeeded by	New council (1928 election)
President (Mayor) Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District	Elected by council
Term Start	September 1, 1922
Term End	September 3, 1923
Preceded by	B. E. Wheeler
Succeeded by	E. A. Joachim
Vice-President (Vice-Mayor) Charlottesville City Council
Electoral District	Elected by council
Term Start	September 3, 1923
Biographical Information
Date of birth	August 10, 1882
Place of birth	Albemarle County, Virginia
Spouse	Edith Leigh Dickey Morris (1886–1951) m. June 17, 1914
Children	Mary Morris John Richard Morris Jr.
Profession	Contractor
Religion	Episcopal

John Richard Morris (August 10, 1882 – April 6, 1951) was an American municipal official and contractor who served on the Charlottesville City Council during the early commission form of government period. He was elected in the 1922 election following adoption of a new city charter that replaced ward representation with at-large commissioners. Morris served as Mayor and President of the Council from 1922 until his resignation on September 3, 1923.

Biography

Born into a family long prominent in Albemarle County, Morris was born at "Edgemont," the Wingfield homestead on the Rivanna River near Hydraulic, approximately eight miles north of Charlottesville. He was the eldest of eight children—five sons and three daughters—born to James Benjamin Morris (1853–1911) and Lucy Shedd Wingfield Morris (1860–1943).

His great-grandfather was Captain Samuel Morris, and his grandfather, John G. Morris, was raised in Buckingham Springs, Buckingham County. On June 17, 1914, Morris married Edith Leigh Dickey (1886–1951). The couple had two children, Mary Morris and John Richard Morris Jr. His brothers, James S. Morris and Watts W. Morris, were also residents of Charlottesville.

Morris worked as a railroad contractor and was active in local business affairs, including serving as head of the Jackson Park Hotel Company, owners of the Monticello Hotel.

Political career

In the 1922 election, Morris, E. A. Joachim, and J. Y. Brown were elected as the first board of commissioners under Charlottesville’s new commission form of government (1922–1928). Each was re-elected in the 1924 election and 1926 election, serving six years on the three-member council.

At the council’s first meeting on September 1, 1922, Morris was designated president of the council (mayor), a position he held through August 31, 1924.

In the 1928 election, Morris won one of the five seats on the expanded 1928–1929 City Council. He was the second-highest vote-getter among eight candidates, finishing one vote behind F. W. Twyman for one of the two two-year term seats.

City Council activities

In August 1923, Mayor Morris issued a proclamation requesting Charlottesville businesses close for one hour on August 10, 1923, during the funeral of President Warren G. Harding.

Later life and death

John Richard Morris died on April 6, 1951, at age 61. He is buried at Riverview Cemetery in Charlottesville.

External links

• List of City Councilors