John R. Morris

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John R. Morris
1924-Morris, John R.JPG
Morris, ca. 1922

Electoral District At-large (citywide)
Term Start September 1, 1922
Term End August 31, 1924
Preceded by (new council, 1922 election)
Succeeded by J. Y. Brown

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

Electoral District At-large (citywide)
Term Start September 1, 1926
Term End August 31, 1928
Preceded by John R. Morris
Succeeded by John R. Morris (new council, 1928 election)

Electoral District Election by and from the council
Term Start September 1, 1922
Term End August 31, 1924
Preceded by B. E. Wheeler
Succeeded by J. Y. Brown

Biographical Information

Date of birth August 10, 1882
Date of death April 6, 1951, aged 61
Place of birth Albemarle County, Virginia
Place of death Washington, DC
Spouse Edith Leigh Dickey Morris (1886-1951) m. June 17, 1914
Children Mary
John Richard, Jr.
Profession Contractor
Religion Episcopal

Refer also: List of City Councilors

John Richard Morris (August 10, 1882 - April 6, 1951) was elected to the Charlottesville City Council in the 1922 election when changes in the charter were adopted and representation changed from a four-ward system to an at-large commissioner system. Morris served as president of the council (mayor) from 1922 to 1924. He was a railroad contractor and active in local businesses, including head of Jackson Park Hotel Company, (owners of the Monticello Hotel).

Biography

Member of a family long prominent in Albemarle, Morris was born at "Edgemont," the old Wingfield homestead, some eight miles north of Charlottesville on the Rivanna River near Hydraulic, the eldest of eight children, five sons and three daughters, Morris was born to James Benjamin Morris (1853-1911)[1] and Lucy Shedd Wingfield Morris (1860-1943) on August 10, 1882. His great-grandfather was Captain Samuel Morris. His grandfather, John G. Morris, was reared in Buckingham Springs, in Buckingham County. On June 17, 1914 he married Edith Leigh Dickey (1886-1951). The couple had two children, Mary Morris and John Richard, Jr. His brothers, James S. Morris and Watts W. Morris were also residents of the city.

Elections

In the 1922 election, E. A. Joachim, John R. Morris and J. Y. Brown were chosen members of the first board of commissioners under the commission form of government in Charlottesville (1922-1928). They were each re-elected in the 1924 election and 1926 election; each serving six years as members of the 3-member city council. Morris was president of that body during the 1922-1924 term. Morris was designated by the three-member council to function as president of the council (mayor) at the first meeting of council on September 1, 1922.

In the 1928 election, he won one of the five new seats on the 1928-1929 City Council; out of a field of eight candidates that year, Morris was the second top vote-getters, (one vote behind F. W. Twyman), for the two 2-year term seats.

City Council

In August of 1923, mayor Morris asked for Charlottesville businesses to close for one hour on August 10, 1923, during the funeral of the late President Warren Harding. [2]

Later life & death

At age 61, John Richard Morris died on April 6, 1951 and is laid to rest at Riverview Cemetery.

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References

  1. https://search.lib.virginia.edu/catalog/uva-lib:2095400/view#openLayer/uva-lib:2095401/5202/1993/3/1/0
  2. Web. Proclamation by the Mayor, Staff Reports, Daily Progress Digitized Microfilm, Lindsay family, August 8, 1923, retrieved August 7, 2016 from University of Virginia Library. Print. August 8, 1923 page 1.

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