Alfred Hennen Morris

Alfred Hennen Morris (March 3, 1864 – July 9, 1959) was an American businessman politician, and racehorse owner/breeder.

Alfred Hennen Morris
Member of the New York State Assembly for Westchester County's 2nd District
In office
January 1, 1893 – December 31, 1893
Preceded byWilliam Ryan
Succeeded byJohn Berry
Personal details
BornMarch 3, 1864
Wilmington, Delaware,
United States
DiedJuly 9, 1959 (1959-07-10) (aged 95)
New York City, New York
United States
Political partyDemocrat
Spouse(s)
Jessie Harding
​
​
(m. after 1889)​
RelationsDave Hennen Morris (brother)
Alice Vanderbilt Morris (sister-in-law)
Lewis Cass Ledyard (brother-in-law)
Children2
ParentsJohn Albert Morris
Cora Hennen
ResidenceThroggs Neck, New York
Alma materHarvard University

Early life

Morris was born in Wilmington, Delaware on March 3, 1864. He was the son of John Albert Morris and Cora Hennen, the daughter of prominent New Orleans Judge Alfred Hennen, a Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. His siblings included Dave Hennen Morris (1872–1944), the United States Ambassador to Belgium and Envoy to Luxembourg who married Alice Vanderbilt Shepard,[1] and Frances Isabel Morris, who married Lewis Cass Ledyard (1851–1932), the prominent attorney.[2]

His father, the Louisiana Lottery "king", was descended from the Colonial Morris family of Morrisania.[1] His grandfather, Francis Morris, owned the mare Ruthless, who won the first Belmont Stakes in 1867.[3]

Morris graduated from Harvard University in 1885.[4]

Career

In 1893, Morris served a term in the New York Legislature as a member of the Assembly for the 116th New York State Legislature, succeeding William Ryan who was elected to the 53rd U.S. Congress on November 8, 1892.[5] After he finished out his term, he became the Supervisor of the Town of Westchester from 1892 to 1904. He was also appointed a school commissioner for Manhattan and The Bronx in 1900 by Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck.[6]

In 1907, the Morris brothers were involved with the Honduras lottery.[7] They were both indicted but later cleared of any wrongdoing.[8][9]

Thoroughbred horse racing

His father, and grandfather, were prominent figures in Thoroughbred horse racing, and his father owned the Morris Park Racetrack in The Bronx, New York. Morris and his brother, Dave, owned, bred, and raced a number of successful Thoroughbreds. Among their major racing wins were the 1898 Belmont Stakes with Bowling Brook, and the 1899 Kentucky Derby with Manuel. Their scarlet racing colors are the oldest in continuous use by one family in the United States.[3]

From 1889 until 1904, Morris was in charge of the Morris Park Racetrack in the Bronx. When Philip J. Dwyer, treasurer of the Monmonth Park Association, resigned on August 3, 1893, Alfred Morris took over the management of the troubled racetrack.[10] Morris served as Vice-Chairman and steward of The Jockey Club from 1942 to 1947.[3]

Yacht racing

Morris was also involved in yacht racing. He was a member of the New York Yacht Club and active in racing his yachts Gardenia and Jasmine. In 1907, the Gardenia, his yacht, won the Pierce Cup.[3]

Morris was a member of The Metropolitan Club, Manhattan Club, Country Club, the Automobile Club of America, and the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.[11]

Personal life

In 1889, he married Jessie Harding (b. 1865) of Philadelphia, the daughter of William White Harding, sister of banker J. Horace Harding, and granddaughter of Jesper Harding who had owned The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper.[12] They had residences in Westchester, known as Avylon, and in New York City, at 68 Broad Street. Together, they were the parents of:[11]

  • John Alfred Morris II (1892–1985),[13] who married Edna Loew Brokaw (1908–1997), the granddaughter of merchant Isaac Vail Brokaw.[14]
  • Cora Hennen Morris (1893–1984), a doctor who married Dr. Alfred H. Ehrenclou (1884–1965),[15] in 1926.[16][17]

Morris died at his home, 925 Park Avenue in New York City, on July 9, 1959.[3] He was buried at Church of St. James the Less in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References
  1. "DAVE H. MORRIS, 72, LAWYER, DIPLOMAT; Ambassador to Belgium 1933-37 Dies--Sportsman, Musician, Friend of Roosevelt". The New York Times. May 5, 1944. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  2. "L. CASS LEDYARD, DIED LAWYER, DIES; Friend and Associate of the Elder J. P. Morgan Victim of Heart Disease at 80. FORMED BIG CORPORATIONS Director on Many Boards Gave Large Sum to Charity Former Commodore of N. Y. Yacht Club". The New York Times. January 28, 1932. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  3. "ALFRED H. MORRIS, RACING AIDE, DIES; Last Founding Member of Jockey Club Was 95 -- Owned Stakes Winners". The New York Times. 10 July 1959. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  4. Ross, Harold; Hellman, Geoffrey T. (18 September 1948). "Survivor". The New Yorker. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  5. "JUSTICE FOR WESTCHESTER CITIZENS.; Repeal of Alfred Hennon Morris's Sewer Law". The New York Times. 8 April 1894. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  6. "DEFIES THE CONTROLLER; School Board Refuses to Alter the December Pay Rolls. CHARGES AGAINST MR. COLER President Little Makes a Speech Reviewing the Year's Work and Upholding Official Action". The New York Times. January 4, 1900. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  7. "$6,000,000 A YEAR LOTTERY PROFITS; Federal Officers Say the Morrises, Baldwin, and Howard Got It. DENIAL BY THE MORRISES Declare In Statement on Indictments That They Have No Interest in Any Lottery". The New York Times. 15 April 1907. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  8. "INDICT D.H. MORRIS AS LOTTERY OWNER; Mobile Grand Jury Also Accuses Prominent New Orleans Men. WEALTHY MAN CONFESSES F.X. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge Pleads Guilty -- More Indictments Are Expected Soon". The New York Times. 14 April 1907. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  9. "Alfred H. Morris Arraigned". The New York Times. 26 April 1907. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  10. "FRAUD ON MONMOUTH'S TRACK; P. J. DWYER GETS OUT OF CONTROL AT THE RIGHT TIME. Alfred Hennen Morris Now at the Managerial Helm -- Dwyer Wants to Sell His Stock -- Barrett, His Horse Mackintosh, and Jockey Mason Ruled Off the Track -- No Punishment for Forbes and Arab or for Kelly and Estelle, Though They Were Fully as Guilty as Was Barrett". The New York Times. 4 August 1893. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  11. Leonard, John William; Mohr, William Frederick; Holmes, Frank R.; Knox, Herman Warren; Downs, 0infield Scott (1907). Who's Who in New York City and State. L.R. Hamersly Company. p. 955. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  12. "A BIG SOCIETY EVENT.; ALFRED H. MORRIS OF WEST CHESTER MARRIED TO MISS JESSIE HARDING" (PDF). The New York Times. May 1, 1889. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  13. Goldaper, Sam (18 February 1985). "John A. Morris Dies at 93; a Prominent Racing Figure". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  14. "Howard Brokaw, 85, Led Clothing Firm". The New York Times. 19 March 1960. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  15. Undergraduate Class of 1951 (October 26, 2011). "Memorial John O. Ehrenclou '51". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  16. "CORA MORRIS WEDS DR. A. H. EHRENCLOU; The Ceremony !s Performed by Dr. Simon at the Home of the Bride's Parents". The New York Times. 27 October 1926. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  17. Massachusetts Dept of Mental Diseases (1922). Annual Report of the Trustees of the Boston Psychopathic Hospital for the Year Ending November 30: 1-5; 1911-1916. N.S. 1-12; 1921-1933. The Department. p. 58. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
New York State Assembly
Preceded by
William Ryan		 Member of the New York State Assembly
for Westchester County, 2nd District
1893–1893		 Succeeded by
John Berry
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