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Edmund N. Morrill

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(Redirected from Edmund Needham Morrill) American politician (1834–1909)

Edmund Needham Morrill
13th Governor of Kansas
In office
January 14, 1895 – January 11, 1897
LieutenantJames Armstrong Troutman
Preceded byLorenzo D. Lewelling
Succeeded byJohn W. Leedy
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1891
Preceded byJohn A. Anderson
Succeeded byCase Broderick
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885
Preceded byWilliam A. Phillips
Succeeded byseat eliminated
Member of the Kansas Senate
In office
1872
Personal details
Born(1834-02-12)February 12, 1834
Westbrook, Maine
DiedMarch 14, 1909(1909-03-14) (aged 75)
San Antonio, Texas
Resting placeMount Hope Cemetery, Hiawatha, Kansas
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Elizabeth A. Brettun ​ ​(m. 1862; died 1868)​
Caroline Jenkins Nash ​ ​(m. 1869)​
EducationWestbrook Academy
ProfessionSoldier, teacher
Signature
Military career
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
Years of service1861 (1861) – 1865 (1865)
Rank Major
UnitCompany C, 7th Kansas Cavalry
WarAmerican Civil War

Edmund Needham Morrill (February 12, 1834 – March 14, 1909) was a U.S. Congressman from Kansas and the 13th Governor of Kansas.

Biography

Edmund Needham Morrill was born in Westbrook, Maine, to Rufus and Mary (Webb) Morrill. He attended the common schools at Westbrook Academy and learned the trade of tanning from his father. At the age of 23, he moved to Kansas.

In 1861, he enlisted as a private in Company C, 7th Kansas Cavalry. Within a year, he was a captain, and by 1865 he was a major.

After the Civil War, he entered the banking business and remained in that business for the rest of his life.

Morrill married twice, first to Elizabeth A. Brettum whom he married on November 27, 1862. Elizabeth died November 1868 at Hiawatha, Kansas. Morrill's second wife was Caroline Jenkins Nash, whom he married December 25, 1869. They had three children, all born at Hiawatha.

In 1866, he was elected clerk of the district court. In 1872, he was elected to the Kansas Senate. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1882, serving four two-year terms before declining another, announcing instead his retirement from politics. Nevertheless, at the urging of his friends, he accepted the nomination for governor of Kansas in 1894 and served one term, being defeated in 1896.

In 1894, The Advocate newspaper exposed several questionable land deals that Morrill orchestrated in connection with the Denver City railroad company. Morrill's tax records show he purposely misrepresented his assessment on property to avoided paying taxes that he had taken from victims of his land schemes. He was called, "the most cold-blooded schemer that ever posed for public favors".

Morrill died March 14, 1909, in San Antonio, Texas, and is buried in Hiawatha's Mount Hope Cemetery.

References

  1. The Advocate (October 24, 1894). "Monstrous Rascality" (PDF). Chronicling America. The Advocate. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  2. "Ex-Gov. Morrill Dead". St. Joseph News-Press. San Antonio, Texas. March 15, 1909. p. 8. Retrieved January 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  • Blackmar, Frank W. Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. (Chicago: Standard Publishing Company), 1912.
  • Morrill, E. N. History and Statistics of Brown County, Kansas (Hiawatha, KS: s.n.), 1876.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded byAbram W. Smith Republican nominee for Governor of Kansas
1894, 1896 		Succeeded byWilliam Eugene Stanley
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded bySeat created Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's at-large congressional district
1883–1885 		Succeeded bySeat eliminated
Preceded byJohn A. Anderson Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 1st congressional district
1885–1891 		Succeeded byCase Broderick
Political offices
Preceded byLorenzo D. Lewelling Governor of Kansas
1895–1897 		Succeeded byJohn W. Leedy
Governors of Kansas
Territorial (1854–1861)
State (since 1861)
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas
1st district
2nd district
3rd district
4th district
5th district
6th district
7th district
8th district
At-large
Territory
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