Reviews, Notes and Comments 349
officers in the allied service. There
were also citations
and high honors conferred upon him.
Ohioans will ex-
perience genuine pride in reading this
interesting record
of the World War service of one of her
distinguished
sons. The Journal is
supplemented by the official re-
ports of General Dawes and the work as
a whole de-
serves a place in every library with a
department de-
voted to World War history.
We must add, of course, that these
volumes are pub-
lished by the Houghton Mifflin Company
and in illustra-
tion, typography and general appearance
do credit to
the best work turned out by that well
known publishing
house. The numerous photogravure
illustrations are
especially fine. The Society is under
obligation to Gen-
eral Dawes for this gift to its
library.
PORTRAIT OF SENATOR THOMAS MORRIS
In recent years there has been a
renaissance of in-
terest in the life of United States
Senator Morris. He
was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania,
January 3,
1776.
Soon afterward the family moved to Virginia.
He came to the Northwest Territory in
1795 and died
at his home in Bethel, Clermont County,
December 7,
1844.
Interest in his career has been heightened by
the recent centenary of the birth of
General Ulysses S.
Grant, the proceedings of which are
detailed in this
issue of the QUARTERLY. He
served almost continu-
ously in the General Assembly of Ohio
from 1806-1832.
He was a member of the House of
Representatives in
1806, 1808, 1810 and 1820; of the
Senate 1813-14,
1821-22, 1825-28 and 1831-32. In 1832
he was elected
United States Senator and served one
full term of six
350 Ohio
Arch. and Hist. Society Publications
years commencing March 4, 1833. At the
time of his
service to his state and the nation the
slavery question
had not broken party lines. There were anti-slavery
men in the ranks of the two dominant
political parties
of the time, but the majority of
Democrats and Whigs
were strongly opposed to agitation of
the question and
it did not promise to rise to the
dignity of a political
issue.
Thomas Morris was a Democrat,
thoroughly de-
voted to his party and one of its able
advocates. He
was strongly opposed to the institution
of human
slavery. He was one of the large number
of men who
came north into southern Ohio from
slave states and
waged valiant war against the
institution which they
believed to be morally wrong and to be
fundamentally
antagonistic to American institutions.
As he advanced
in his political career his antagonism
to slavery grew.
In time it attracted the attention of
his associates in
his own party who were in favor of
slavery, or at least
opposed to agitation of the question.
In the addresses and comments on the
preceding
pages his attitude is clearly set
forth. For fuller de-
tails of his interesting career readers
are referred to
the Life of Thomas Morris by his
son, Rev. B. F.
Morris.
It is rather remarkable that there is
in existence
no portrait of Senator Morris. His reputation in his
day extended beyond the borders of his
state. His
espousal of the anti-slavery cause made
him the candi-
date of the Liberty Party for
Vice-President of the
United States in 1844. A long search,
however, for a
portrait some years ago led to the
conclusion that none
Reviews, Notes and Comments 351
is in existence. An effort was made to
find a painting,
daguerreotype or print to complete a
list of portraits
of United States senators but none was
found.
On the occasion of the Grant Centenary
the writer
met in Bethel Doctor W. E. Thompson,
who in his
eighty-seventh year is still actively
engaged in the prac-
tice of medicine. He is perhaps the only man living
who has a distinct recollection of the
personal appear-
ance of Senator Morris. His description was so de-
tailed and apparently accurate that he
was requested
to assist in the reproduction of a
likeness of Morris.
To this he kindly assented.
A competent person was then sought to
make a
sketch corresponding to the picture
preserved in the
memory of Doctor Thompson. Such an artist was
found in Richard M. Brand of the
Columbus Evening
Dispatch. He made a number of sketches which were
submitted to Doctor Thompson who
suggested modifi-
cations until one was produced that met
his approval.
From this drawing the portrait was made
which ap-
pears elsewhere in this issue of the
QUARTERLY. It is
a faithful reproduction of the features
of Senator Mor-
ris as Doctor Thompson graphically
recalls them. For
this service the Society is under
obligations to Doctor
Thompson and Mr. Brand who have spent
consider-
able time in making the presentation of
such a portrait
possible.
The quest for a portrait of Senator
Morris made
while he was living, has not ceased. It
is possible that
one may yet be found. Daguerreotypes
were made in
Ohio as early as 1841, and it seems
that his prominence
in 1844 would have led to a demand for
a portrait,--
352 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications
a demand that would have overcome his
indifference to
display and publicity. Three of his sons were promi-
nent in their day: Rev. B. F. Morris,
the author of his
life; Jonathan D. Morris, who served
two terms as
congressman from Ohio; Isaac N. Morris,
who served
two terms as congressman from Illinois
and was ap-
pointed by President Grant commissioner
for the Union
Pacific Railway in 1869. If a
daguerreotype or paint-
ing of the Senator is in the possession
of any of the
descendants of these sons, it may yet
be found. If it
should be discovered, it will be
interesting to note how
nearly it corresponds with the picture
on the walls of
the memory of the veteran physician,
Dr. Thompson
of Bethel, which has been reproduced by
the pen of
Richard M. Brand.
GRANT MEMORIAL HIGHWAY
Judge Hugh L. Nichols, Chairman of the
Grant
Centenary Committee, sends us the
following statement
in regard to this Highway:
"The Grant Memorial Road,
so-called, is that part of the
Ohio River Road running between New
Richmond on the west
and Point Pleasant on the east, a
distance of five miles. The
road to New Richmond from Cincinnati is
in good condition and
in order to make the birthplace of
General Grant accessible it is
the purpose of the Committee to build a
highway from New
Richmond to Point Pleasant so that the
public may have the
benefit of it.
"Congress, in February last,
passed a special bill authorizing
the coinage of 10,000 gold dollars
and 250,000 silver half-dollars,
the gold dollars now selling for $3.00
a piece and the silver
halves for $1.00 each. A great many of
these coins have already
been sold and it is the purpose of the
Committee in charge to
devote, in a large measure, the premium
to the building of this
road. Of course we expect direct
Federal and State aid in the
matter and from this three-fold source
we are confident within