Edmund N. Morrill Explained

Edmund Needham Morrill
Order1:13th
Office1:Governor of Kansas
Term Start1:January 14, 1895
Term End1:January 11, 1897
Lieutenant1:James Armstrong Troutman
Predecessor1:Lorenzo D. Lewelling
Successor1:John W. Leedy
State2:Kansas
District2:1st
Term Start2:March 4, 1885
Term End2:March 3, 1891
Preceded2:John A. Anderson
Succeeded2:Case Broderick
State3:Kansas
District3:at-large
Term Start3:March 4, 1883
Term End3:March 3, 1885
Preceded3:William A. Phillips
Succeeded3:seat eliminated
Office4:Member of the Kansas Senate
Term4:1872
Birth Date:12 February 1834
Birth Place:Westbrook, Maine
Death Place:San Antonio, Texas
Profession:Soldier, teacher
Party:Republican
Resting Place:Mount Hope Cemetery, Hiawatha, Kansas
Education:Westbrook Academy
Signature:Signature of Edmund Needham Morrill (1834–1909).png
Module:
Embed:yes
Branch Label:Branch
Battles Label: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".[1]

Morrill died March 14, 1909, in San Antonio, Texas, and is buried in Hiawatha's Mount Hope Cemetery.[2]

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Monstrous Rascality. The Advocate . 24 October 1894. Chronicling America. The Advocate . 30 July 2024.
  2. News: Ex-Gov. Morrill Dead . . San Antonio, Texas . 8 . 1909-03-15 . 2021-01-24 . Newspapers.com.