Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 May 16, 1920) was a
RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the
22nd Vice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
. He also later served as Governor of New York.
Morton was born in
ShorehamShoreham is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,222 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.3 square miles , of which, 43.5 square miles of it is land and 2.8 square miles of it...
, in
Addison County, VermontAddison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 35,974. Its shire town is Middlebury.-Geography:...
. His parents were the Rev. Daniel Oliver Morton (1788-1852), a
CongregationalistCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
minister of old New England stock, and Lucretia Parsons (1789-1862).
Levi Parsons Morton (May 16, 1824 May 16, 1920) was a
RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and the
22nd Vice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
. He also later served as Governor of New York.
Biography
Morton was born in
ShorehamShoreham is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,222 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.3 square miles , of which, 43.5 square miles of it is land and 2.8 square miles of it...
, in
Addison County, VermontAddison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2000, the population was 35,974. Its shire town is Middlebury.-Geography:...
. His parents were the Rev. Daniel Oliver Morton (1788-1852), a
CongregationalistCongregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
minister of old New England stock, and Lucretia Parsons (1789-1862). His older brother, David Oliver Morton (1815-1859), was
Mayor of
Toledo, OhioToledo is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio within the Great Lakes Region and the county seat of Lucas County. Named after Toledo, Spain, it is located on the western end of Lake Erie, on the Michigan border. It is the principal city in the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 2000 census,...
from 1849 to 1850.
He left school early and worked as a clerk in a
general storeThe general store or general merchandise store is a store that carries a general line of merchandise.In Australia, Canada and the United States, a store named or subtitled "general store" is traditionally a retailer located in a small town or in a rural area...
in
EnfieldEnfield was a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, location . The town was incorporated in 1816 from portions of Greenwich and Belchertown. It was named in honor of one of its early settlers, Robert Field...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
, taught school in
BoscawenBoscawen is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,672 at the 2000 census.- History :The town was incorporated in 1760, named for British Admiral Lord Edward Boscawen....
,
New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian province of...
, engaged in mercantile pursuits in
Hanover, New HampshireHanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,850 at the 2000 census. In 2007, CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the second best place to live in America....
, moved to Boston, entered the dry-goods business in New York City, and engaged in banking there. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1876 to the 45th Congress, but he was appointed by President
Rutherford B. HayesRutherford Birchard Hayes was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the 19th President of the United States . Hayes was elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed election of 1876...
to be an honorary commissioner to the Paris Exhibition of 1878.
Morton was elected, as a Republican, to the 46th and 47th Congresses. He served from March 4, 1879, until his resignation, effective March 21, 1881. The presidential candidate, James A. Garfield, asked him to be his vice presidential candidate in 1880, but Morton refused the offer. If he had accepted and history continued on the same course, Morton would have become the twenty-first President, instead of
Chester A. ArthurChester Alan Arthur was an American politician who served as the 21st President of the United States. Arthur was a member of the Republican Party and worked as a lawyer before becoming the 20th Vice President under James Garfield. While Garfield was mortally wounded by Charles J...
, after Garfield's assassination.
He asked to be appointed Minister to
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
or
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
instead. He was United States Minister to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
from 1881 to 1885. (A deluded
Charles J. GuiteauCharles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield on July 2, 1881. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...
, reportedly, decided to murder Garfield after he was "passed over" as minister to France.)
Morton was very popular in France. He helped commercial relations between the two countries run smoothly during his term, and, in Paris on 24 October 24 1881, he placed the first rivet in the construction of the
Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty , officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World , dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship...
. (It was driven into the big toe of Lady Liberty’s left foot.)
Morton was elected to be Vice President of the United States, on the Republican ticket, with President
Benjamin HarrisonBenjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States, serving one term from 1889 to 1893. Harrison was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at the age of 21, where he became a prominent state politician...
, in which capacity he served from March 4, 1889 to March 4, 1893. During his term, Harrison tried to pass an election law enforcing the voting rights of blacks in the South, but Morton did little to support the bill against a Democratic filibuster in the Senate. Harrison blamed Morton for the bill's eventual failure, and, at the Republican convention prior to the
1892 electionThe United States presidential election of 1892 was held on November 8, 1892. Former President Grover Cleveland returned to defeat incumbent President Benjamin Harrison, becoming the only person to be elected to non-consecutive presidential terms...
, Morton was replaced by
Whitelaw ReidWhitelaw Reid was a U.S. politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of a popular history of Ohio in the Civil War.-Early life:...
as the vice-presidential candidate.
Levi Morton was Governor of New York in 1895 and 1896. He was considered for the
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
nomination for the
presidencyThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
in
1896The United States presidential election of November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan in a campaign considered by historians to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history. In political science the 1896 campaign is often considered to be...
, but the Republican Party chose
William McKinleyWilliam McKinley Jr. was the 25th President of the United States, and the last veteran of the American Civil War to be elected to the office....
instead. After his public career was over, he became a
real-estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.
"Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin...
investor.
He died at Rhinebeck, in
Dutchess CountyDutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2000 census lists the population as 280,150, but the United States Census Bureau gives an estimate of 292,706 residents for the 12-month period ending July 1, 2007...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, on his 96th birthday, the only U.S. President or
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
to have died on his birthday. He is interred in the Rhinebeck Cemetery.
The Village of
Morton Grove, IllinoisMorton Grove is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 22,451 at the 2000 census.The Village President of Morton Grove since April 27, 2009 is Daniel J...
is named after Morton. He provided the funding necessary to allow Miller's Mill (now Lincoln Avenue) to pass through the upstart neighborhood, and provide goods to trade and sell. Morton Grove was incorporated in December 1895.
Morton owned property in
Newport, Rhode IslandNewport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about 30 miles south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States...
and lived on tony Bellevue Avenue, in the mansion called "Fairlawn," a building currently owned by
Salve Regina UniversitySalve Regina University is a university in Newport, Rhode Island. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, the university is a co-educational, private, non-profit institution chartered by the State of Rhode Island in 1934. In 1947 the university acquired Ochre Court and welcomed its first class of 58...
, housing the Pell Center of International Relations and Public Policy. He left a nearby property to the city of Newport for use as a park. At the corner of Coggeshall and Morton Avenues (formerly Brenton Road), this land became Morton Park. Morton sold or donated property he owned in
Hanover, New HampshireHanover is a town along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 10,850 at the 2000 census. In 2007, CNN and Money magazine rated Hanover the second best place to live in America....
to
Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College is a private, coeducational university located in Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. Incorporated as "Trustees of Dartmouth College," it is a member of the Ivy League and one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution...
, and the college built Webster Hall on the land. Morton was considered an honorary alumnus at alumni gatherings in New York. He also owned a summer retreat in the Adirondack Park, on Eagle Island. The architecture is of the
Great CampsGreat camps refer to the grandiose family compounds of cabins that were built in the latter half of the nineteenth century on lakes in the Adirondacks such as Spitfire Lake and Rainbow Lake. The camps were summer homes for the wealthy, where they could relax, host or attend parties, and enjoy the...
style, designed by the notable architect
William L. CoulterWilliam Lincoln Coulter was an architect who came to Saranac Lake, New York in the spring of 1896 in an effort to cure his tuberculosis, and stayed to design some of the finest Adirondack Great Camps and Cure Cottages in the area...
. Over the years, the island found its way into the ownership of the
Girl Scouts of the USAThe Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad...
, where it remains today as
Camp Eagle IslandCamp Eagle Island, also known as Eagle Island Camp or simply EIC, is a resident summer camp located on Eagle Island in Upper Saranac Lake in New York’s Adirondack region and operated by the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey, part of Girl Scouts of the USA.The camp occupies buildings originally built...
.
Morton was the second longest-lived
Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
, living to be exactly 96 years old; only
John Nance GarnerJohn Nance Garner IV nicknamed "Cactus Jack" was the 44th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and the 32nd Vice President of the United States .- Early life and family :...
lived longer. Morton also survived five of his successors in the vice presidency, Adlai E. Stevenson,
Garret A. HobartGarret Augustus Hobart was the 24th Vice President of the United States.-Biography:He was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, to Sophia Vanderveer and Addison Willard Hobart, a descendant in the eighth generation of English emigrant to Massachusetts, Edmund Hobart , and grew up in Marlboro...
,
Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States. He is well remembered for his energetic persona, his range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his "cowboy" image. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Bull Moose Party...
,
Charles W. FairbanksCharles Warren Fairbanks was a Senator from Indiana and the 26th Vice President of the United States.Born in a log cabin near Unionville Center, Ohio, Fairbanks's ancestry traced back to Puritan followers of Oliver Cromwell, with Jonathan Fayerbankes the first family member to reach America in 1632...
, and
James S. ShermanJames Schoolcraft Sherman was a United States Representative from New York and the 27th Vice President of the United States. He was a member of the Baldwin, Hoar, and Sherman families.-Early life:...
, all of whom were considerably younger than he was.
Marriages and Social Life
He married his first wife, Lucy Young Kimball (July 22, 1836-July 11, 1871), on October 15, 1856 in
FlatlandsFlatlands is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18.One of the original five Dutch towns on Long Island , this neighborhood was originally known as Nieuw Amersfoort, after the Dutch city of Amersfoort, but the name was changed to...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. They had one child together. After her death, he married
Anna Livingston Reade StreetAnna Livingston Reade Street Morton was the second wife of United States Vice President Levi P. Morton. She was known as Anna Street Morton.Anna married Morton in 1873, and they had five daughters together...
in 1873. They had five daughters together.
In retirement, Morton served as President of the Metropolitan Club of New York, at One East Sixtieth Street, between 1900 and 1911. He was preceded in that office by J. Pierpont Morgan; and succeeded by Frank Knight Sturgis.
External links
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