Orsemus Morrison

Orsemus Morrison was an early settler and politician of Chicago.

Orsemus Morrison
Chicago Alderman from the 1st Ward
In office
1840–1841
Serving with Julius Wadsworth[1][2]
Preceded byJames A. Smith/ Oliver H. Thompson
Succeeded byJohn Davlin/ Charles Follansbee
High Constable of Chicago
In office
August 1835 – May 2, 1837
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byJohn Shrigley
Personal details
Born(1807-06-24)June 24, 1807
DiedJanuary 4, 1864(1864-01-04) (aged 56)

Early life

Morrison was born on June 24, 1807 to a family from Cambridge, New York.[3]

Career

After working on the construction of the Erie Canal, be moved from Buffalo, New York to Chicago in early 1833.[3]

His early work in Chicago was as a carpenter and contractor.[3] One project he worked on was dredging the mouth of the Chicago River.[3]

On August 15, 1835 he was elected the first High Constable and High Collector of Chicago.[4] As High Constable, he was the city's first head of police from his election until May 2, 1937.[5]

He was elected the first Cook County Coroner.[3] He had been elected to the office in 1836, nominated by the Democratic Party.[6]

Morrison was elected and served as street commissioner.[3][7] From 1840 to 1841, he served as an alderman from the 1st Ward of Chicago.[8]

In 1838, he purchased land on the corner of Clark and Madison in Chicago. This later became the location of the Morrison Hotel, the original building of which was built in 1860.[3][9] He made a number of other real estate purchases in Chicago.[3]

A Whig, originally, Morrison became an early member of the Republican Party.[3]

Personal life

He was married to the former Lucy Paul on April 7, 1836 in Aurora, Erie County, New York.[3] Morrison died January 4, 1864.[5] When he died, he was survived by two daughters, Hannah Spofford and Lucy Mills, the latter of whom was married to congressman Daniel W. Mills.[3][10]

References
  1. Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1884). History of Chicago. Arno Press. p. 184. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  2. Council, Chicago (Ill ) City (1880). Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council. p. 5. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  3. "A History of the City of Chicago: Its Men and Institutions. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens". Inter ocean. 1900. pp. 440–441. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  4. "History | Chicago Police Department". ChicagoPolice.org. Chicago Police Department. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  5. "HEADS OF THE CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT | ChicagoCop.com". ChicagoCop.com. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  6. Goodspeed, Weston A. (2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag. p. 257. ISBN 978-3-8496-4859-6. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  7. Lindberg, Richard C. (2015). Gangland Chicago: Criminality and Lawlessness in the Windy City. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4422-3196-2. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
  8. "Centennial List of Mayors, City Clerks, City Attorneys, City Treasurers, and Aldermen, elected by the people of the city of Chicago, from the incorporation of the city on March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1937, arranged in alphabetical order, showing the years during which each official held office". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  9. AP. "Chicago's Morrison Hotel Being Razed; Was Mecca For Famous Entertainers". The Gettysburg Times. May 6, 1965. p. 4.
  10. Raum, Green Berry (1900). History of Illinois Republicanism: embracing a history of the Republican party in the state to the present time ... with biographies of its founders and supporters ... also a chronological statement of important political events since 1774. Rollins Pub. Co. p. 541. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
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