OHIO STATE
ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL
SOCIETY
REVIEWS, NOTES AND COMMENTS
JAMES R. MORRIS
James R. Morris was born at Rogersville,
Green County,
Pennsylvania, January 10, 1820. He died at
Woodsfield, Ohio,
December 24, 1899.
His father, Joseph Morris, was elected
to Congress in 1843
and re-elected two years later.
Joseph Morris moved with his family to
Waynesburgh,
Pennsylvania, in 1828, in the following
year to Antioch, Ohio,
and two years later to Woodsfield, Ohio.
James R. Morris received his education
in the common
schools and the printing office. He
studied law in Woodsfield
and was admitted to the bar October 25,
1843. In this year
his father, who was county treasurer,
was elected to Congress
and the son was appointed to fill the
unexpired term. In 1844
he founded the Spirit of Democracy, which
is still published.
In 1857 he was nominated for the office
of state treasurer but
was defeated with the state ticket of
his party.
In 1860 Judge Morris was elected to
Congress as a Demo-
crat and re-elected in 1862. He supported the war measures
of President Lincoln, whom he greatly
admired. In 1872 he
was elected probate judge of Monroe
County and re-elected in
1875. He served as postmaster at Woodsfield,
from January 1,
1886, to July 1, 1889.
His description of the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln is
published for the first time in this
issue.
JUDGE JOHN CLEVES SYMMES
On page 15 of this issue of the QUARTERLY
is published a
portrait of Judge John Cleves Symmes.
This is from an en-
graving which in 1902 was in the
possession of his great-grand-
daughter, Mrs. Betty Harrison Eaton of
North Bend, Ohio. The
Judge had a nephew who bore the same
name, John Cleves
Symmes, and whose portrait in public
prints has been confused
(75)
76 Reviews, Notes and Comments.
with that of his uncle. The nephew was born in New Jersey
in 1780, and died in Hamilton, Ohio, May
28, 1829. He was a
soldier and served with distinction in
the war of 1812. In later
life he promulgated the theory that the
earth is a hollow sphere,
with openings at the poles. He thought it probable that the
interior as well as the outer surface
was inhabited. An ex-
tended account of this theory is found
in the QUARTERLY, Vol.
18, pages 28-42.
We here reproduce a brief biographical
sketch of Judge
John Cleves Symmes:
"John Cleves Symmes was born on
Long Island, N. Y.,
July 21, 1742; but removed to New
Jersey, from which state he
entered the Revolutionary Army as
Colonel of the 3d. Battalion
Sussex County New Jersey Militia. Resigned from army to
accept the appointment of Justice of the
Supreme Court of New
Jersey. While still holding position on
the Supreme Bench he
was delegate to Continental Congress,
1784-5. He had also
served as Lieutenant-Governor and member
of the Council.
He married a daughter of Governor
William Livingston of New
Jersey, and resided at Newton, N.
J. While on the bench he
presided (1782) at the famous trial of
James Morgan the mur-
derer of the patriot, Reverend James
Caldwell. Judge Symmes
obtained in August, 1787, a grant from
Congress for the pur-
chase of one million acres of land,
lying between the Miamis and
bordered on the south by the Ohio River.
After many complica-
tions and difficulties, this amount was
reduced to between three
and four hundred thousand acres. Judge
Symmes removed with
his family to the Northwest Territory,
of which he was appointed
one of the judges in 1788. He died in Cincinnati, February 26,
1814."
The separate reports of the experts
employed by the Ohio
Joint Legislative Committee on
Administrative Reorganization
have been published and are ready for
distribution by the clerk
of the Senate.