Judge William Wright Morris
Henderson, Rusk County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1805-1883) Born in Halifax County, North Carolina, William Wright Morris moved with his family to Coosa County, Alabama, in 1840. He taught school, studied law, and was elected judge. In 1847 he brought his mother, widowed sister Martha (Morris) Spivey, her three children, and family slaves to Henderson. The judge practiced law and built a fine plantation home (3 mi. NW) for the family. An influential man, he was elected district judge in 1854, served as a Texas legislator, and helped promote the first railroad in East Texas. Morris County was named for him in 1875.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in North Carolina in 1805, William Wright Morris taught school, studied law, and won election as a judge in Alabama before bringing his family — including his widowed sister and her children — to Henderson, Texas, in 1847. He built a fine plantation home, was elected district judge in 1854, served in the Texas legislature, and helped promote the first railroad in East Texas. In 1875 Morris County was named in his honor.
Why it matters
Morris's career shows how the planter-lawyer-legislator class carried Southern institutions, slavery among them, into East Texas while laying the railroad groundwork for its future economy.
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Related people
- · William Wright Morris
- · Martha Morris Spivey
Themes & tags
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