Lewis Gouverneur Morris II (June 4, 1882 – August 14, 1967) was a banker and prominent social figure in New York and Newport Society.[1]
Early life
Morris was born on June 4, 1882, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the son of Francis Morris (1845–1883), a Knickerbocker gentleman and descendant of Gouverneur Morris (a signer of the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution), and his wife Harriet Hall Bedlow (1849–1923).[2] After his father's death, his mother married John Rex Guelph-Norman (1861–1932), who claimed to be the son of King Edward VII and rightful heir to the throne,[3] in 1898.[4] They divorced after she discovered he had a wife in India.[5][6]
His paternal grandparents were Lewis Gouverneur Morris,[7][8] for whom he was named, and Emily (née Lorillard) Morris (1819–1850).[9][10] His maternal grandparents were Henry Bedlow (1821–1914) and Josephine Maria DeWolf (née Homer) Bedlow (1831–1896). He was first cousin of Emily Lorillard Morris (b. 1873),[11] who married Rolaz Horace Gallatin (d. 1948),[12][13] a cousin of Albert Eugene Gallatin and nephew of Commodore Elbridge Thomas Gerry, in April 1896.[14]
In 1915, Morris organized Morris & Pope, an investment firm.[18] In the spring of 1917, the firm failed which left Morris heavily in debt.[19] He was imprisoned in Westchester County, from June 18, 1921, until October 5, 1921,[1] as a debtor.[15] He was eventually discharged as an honest insolvent debtor.[1][19]
New York directory listings indicate that, after his failure in 1917, Morris did not re-entered the business world.[15]
In 1913, Morris bought the southeast corner of 85th Street and Park Avenue from Amos Pinchot.[15] Morris and his wife hired Ernest Flagg who designed and built their home, which was completed in 1914.[15] The home is in a "Federal style, in trim proportions with leaded glass windows of unusual shape and a roof balustrade and square cupola."[15]
In 1904, Morris bought the former summer home of his maternal grandfather in Newport, Rhode Island.[20] The large villa in the Gothic Revival style known as "Malbone".[21] Malbone was designed by American architect Alexander Jackson Davis in 1848-1850.[22] The house's interiors had been remodeled in 1875 under the supervision of noted local architect Dudley Newton who added a "massive carved oak staircase."[23]
Alletta Nathalie Lorillard Morris (1912–1986),[30][31] who was married to Byrnes MacDonald, an investor,[32][31] in 1935.[33] After his death, she married Peter McBean (1910–1997).[34]
Frances Elizabeth Morris (1915–1994),[35] who married Morton W. Smith, a breeder of thoroughbred horses,[36] in 1954.[37]
^"MISS DE BRAGANZA MARRIED IN ITALY; Daughter of Princess Miguel de Braganza Wed Vadim Dorozynski in Capri Aug. 16. BRIDE STUDIED FOR STAGE; Newport Debutante of 1928 is a Granddaughter of the Late William Rhinelander Stewart". New York Times. September 3, 1930.
