Person Page - 270

Alexander Morris was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 6 December 1777.^3,1 and was baptised on 16 December 1777 in Irvine.^3,1

Marriage banns for Alexander and Marion Howe were published on 18 September 1814 in Irvine, Ayrshire.⁴

He married Marion Howe, daughter of James How and Margaret Hunter, in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 21 September 1814.^4,5

He was listed in the 1841 census at West Back Rd in Irvine, Ayrshire, with his wife Marion; he was 'living on independent means'. Their child Margaret was listed with them.⁶

He was widowed at age 69 on the death of his wife Marion on 24 July 1847.⁷

He was listed in the 1851 census as Head of Family at West Back Rd in Irvine, Ayrshire; he was a retired ship-master. His children Alexander and Margaret were listed as living with him.⁸

Alexander died on 14 February 1854 in Irvine, Ayrshire, at age 76.^9,2,7 He was buried at the Old Parish Churchyard in Irvine.⁷

His estate was confirmed in Ayrshire on 14 April 1854 with Alexander Fergusson Morris appointed executor and the inventory and dispersal of goods being based on the pre-nuptial contract between Alexander and his wife Marion (deceased); likewise his son Alexander appears to be signing the 'probate' as executor, without actually being named as such.¹⁰

Alexander Fergusson Morris was born in Greenock Old or West, Renfrewshire, on 6 July 1816.^1,2 and was baptised on 27 July 1816.²
The siblings Alexander and Margaret were listed in the 1851 census at West Back Rd in Irvine, Ayrshire, with their father Alexander Morris. Alexander was a ship-master.¹

He qualified as a Master Mariner when he received his Master's Certificate (#1489) on 27 December 1851. This had been exchanged for a First Class Certificate issued previously in Glasgow on 23 Mar 1849.³

At some time in the late 1840s he was master of the Elizabeth, as she appears in Melbourne shipping arrivals under his command. By 1852 he was in charge of the Caroline Agnes, which arrived in Adelaide from London on 5 May 1852 before sailing to Melbourne in June, then leaving for Guam in early 1853. This ship, of 570 tons, had been built in Sunderland in 1847 for Hamlin & Co of Greenock, the company where his brother Arthur worked as a shipping clerk. The painting of the Caroline Agnes under full sail later hung in Arthur's house in Dunedin for some years, and may have been a wedding present from Alexander to his brother.^4,5

He was appointed executor of Alexander Morris's estate in Ayrshire on 14 April 1854, without actually being named as such, as there was a pre-nuptial contract between his parents, rather than a will.⁶

He was recorded as the Heir General and Special to his father Alexander Morris on 30 May 1854, relative to two pieces of land, with teinds, in Irvine.⁷

He was appointed Harbour Master of Southland Province, New Zealand on 28 May 1862.⁸

He was listed in the 1871 census as Head of Family at West Back Rd in Irvine, Ayrshire; he was a mariner and the household included his sister Margaret Hunter Morris.⁹

He was listed in the 1881 census as Head of Family at May Cottage, West Back Rd in Irvine, Ayrshire; he was a ship-master (never married) and the household included his sister Margaret Hunter Morris.¹⁰

Alexander died on 28 February 1885 in Irvine, Ayrshire, at age 68.^11,12,13,14 He was buried at the Old Parish Churchyard in Irvine.¹⁴

His estate was confirmed in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 25 September 1885 with Margaret Hunter Morris appointed executrix but was complicated by its geographic spread and his death intestate. His sister Margaret duly appointed their brother Arthur to manage the New Zealand portion of the estate on 2 Oct 1885. Scottish probate was confirmed in Irvine, 10 Sep 1885 with a value of £1043/11/3 and was also noted in the English Probate Calendar - it was mainly cash and a small investment in land in Manitoba plus shares in the National Bank of NZ, held in England.
New Zealand Letters of Administration were duly granted to Arthur on 1 Dec 1885 in Dunedin with a bond of £1000 to prove that the NZ estate was less than £3400, such proof to be provided by 1 Dec 1886. Arthur subsequently provided such accounts on 24 Dec 1885 and they show a total value of £3327/14/5d. This consisted of a £2000 mortgage over property in Opopo, a further £400 mortgage over a Roslyn property and £927/14/5d in cash; there were further affidavits by his brother Arthur in Dunedin dated 1885-6.^15,16,12,17

Arthur Morris was born in Christchurch, Canterbury, in December 1931.

Arthur died on 14 December 1931 in Christchurch, Canterbury, only 3 days old. He was buried in December 1931 at the St Peter's Anglican churchyard, (SE corner).¹

He married Esther Elizabeth Dyer in Gosford, New South Wales, in 1892.²

Arthur died before October 1919.¹

Arthur Alexander Morris was born in Dunedin, Otago, on 18 June 1891.¹

Arthur died on 30 November 1918 in New Zealand at age 27.²

Arthur Dymock Morris was born in Napier on 6 July 1898.^1,2
He served with the RFC in WW1 (#179164), having joined on 21 June 1918. Exactly how he came to be in Britain is unclear, as are the circumstances of his enlistment, when he stood 5' 9 1/2" with fair hair and blue-grey eyes. He appears to have spent some time at various training schools, having passed 'fit as pilot' on 26 Jun 1918 and was promoted to Temp 2/Lt on 15 Feb 1919, but was subsequently demobilised on 10 Apr.²

He married Olive Joan Marchbanks in New Zealand in 1924.^3,4

He was widowed on the death of his wife Olive in 1973.⁵

Arthur died in 1975 in Wellington.⁶ He was buried in 1975 at the Akatarawa Cemetery.⁷

Arthur William Morris was born in Anderson's Bay, Dunedin, Otago, on 17 October 1863.^1,2

He was a skilled Rugby player (wing forward) and Captain of Otago province.

He signed the register at George Moodie Morris and Margaret Helen Mary (Daisy) Dymock's wedding at Wm Dymock house, Manor Place in Dunedin, Otago, on 21 September 1892.^1,3,4

He married Agnes Durroch Cross, daughter of Frederick Cross and Elizabeth Smith, at St Stephen's Church in Fairlie, Canterbury, on 21 July 1902.^1,5,6,7

Arthur died on 24 March 1923 in Christchurch, Canterbury, at age 59.^1,8 He was buried in March 1923 at the St Peter's Anglican churchyard, (SE corner).⁹

Arthur William Morris was born in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 26 December 1825. He gives his own birthdate as 25 Dec 1825 in his Journal (both in the Family Register on p519, and in the text, p3, 4), but the Parish Register states he was born on the 26th.^2,1 He was baptised in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 31 December 1825.¹

In his Journal, he states "I entered Irvine Academy in 1832, where I enjoyed the advantage of a good education, an advantage at the time but little appreciated but of which I now experience the fruits. I was pretty successful at the annual examinations in June in obtaining prizes and in 1839 had the good fortune to obtain the head prize in arithmetic (a silver medal) which made ample amends for all the toils of many a long wintry night."³

On July 6, 1840 he left the family home in Irvine and entered the employment of Messrs Thos. Hamlin & Co of Greenock, where he learnt the trade of managing this company's shipping interests - accounts, manifests, captain's reports and so on.⁴

He was shipwrecked on Nantucket Island in March 1846, while travelling as supercargo from Liverpool to Boston on the Earl of Eglinton, which became a total wreck (for his account of the wreck, see this extract from his Journal)
During this time he was befriended by the CROSBY family of Nantucket, and according to family legend promised to name a son 'Crosby' in honour of their kindness, while a CROSBY family member of his age promised to use the name 'Morris' for his future son. Research has shown that both families kept this promise.⁵

He was listed in the 1851 census, lodging at 7 Laird St in Greenock, Renfrewshire, in the FISHER household. He gave his occupation as ship-owner's clerk.⁶

On the death of their father in 1854, the MORRIS siblings inherited nearly £1000. It is likely that the inheritance provided much of the capital for Arthur and his brother James to purchase (for £1550) a small ship, the US-built S. W. Nash, which Arthur renamed the Dunedin. (See the history of the Dunedin for more detail).⁷

A small band of Scottish pioneers and brothers Arthur and James left London for New Zealand on the Dunedin, under the command of Capt McNeur in October 1855; after picking up Arthur at Portsmouth on the 29 Oct, the Dunedin completed the passage to Port Chalmers in only 84 days, a record at the time.⁸

He married Janet (Jessie) Moodie, daughter of George Moodie and Janet Hutton, at First Church in Dunedin, Otago, on 9 December 1857. She had promised to 'follow him to the ends of the earth' when he left Scotland and clearly did just that.^2,9,10,11,12

After arrival in the colony he took little active part in public life, but had a steady career in business. It is interesting to note the names attached to the Agency list for the New Zealand Insurance Co in the advertisement placed by J M Heywood in the Lyttelton Times (1862) - the Morris and Macdonald families both have later connections to the names Heywood and Traill.¹³

Later, Arthur was appointed manager of the Otago and Southland Investment Company on its formation.

He was also active in the church, being an elder of the Presbyterian Church at Anderson's Bay and later an elder at First Church, Dunedin.

in 1879 he was appointed a director of the Union Steamship Company, a position he occupied until his death.¹⁴

In 1883 he acquired a house on Newington Ave, Maori Hill, whose builder (John McGregor) had run out of funds before completion of this large residence. Arthur added the second storey and named the house 'Marinoto', meaning 'calm' or 'peace'. The house was sold in 1901 to John Ross then in 1903 to Percy Sargood (later Sir Percy). After WWII it was used by the Otago Hospital Board and later became the Mater Misericordiae Hospital. Although the interior is still grand, the exterior has suffered many changes, including removal of many turrets, lopping of chimneys and the replacement of the slate roof.¹⁵

He was appointed executor of James Howe Morris's estate in Irvine, Ayrshire, on 12 November 1896.^16,17,18,19

He signed a will dated 2 May 1904 in Dunedin, Otago, in which his wife Jessie and sons Alexander, George and Crosby were named executors. After an initial payment of £250 to Jessie, a trust was to be created with all income flowing to her during her life. On her death £5000 of the estate was to be a trust for his daughters, with May to receive £100/yr while she was unmarried, or £50/yr if she married, and her married sisters Jessie and Ella also were to receive £50/yr. On the death of any of the daughters, the legacies were to then flow to their children until such time as the capital was exhausted, or none of his daughters were still living. At that point the remains of the fund were to be added to the residue of the estate, which was otherwise divided equally amongst all his living children and then to their children.²⁰

Arthur William Morris, Alexander Morris, George Moodie Morris and Crosby Morris were named executors in the will of Janet (Jessie) Moodie dated 3 May 1904 in Dunedin, Otago.²¹

Arthur died on 12 May 1910 at 'Wairangi' in Littlebourne, Dunedin, Otago, at age 84.^2,22,23,24 He was buried on 14 May 1910 at the Northern Cemetery.^22,25,14

His will was probated in Dunedin, Otago, on 7 June 1910 with Janet (Jessie) Moodie, Crosby Morris, George Moodie Morris and Alexander Morris appointed executors and the estate and effects declared to be 'under £25,000.²⁰'

Athol Graham Alexander (Alex) Morris was born in New Zealand on 17 February 1913.^1,2

He married Esther Gilmour Shearer in New Zealand in 1938.³

He was widowed at age 66 on the death of his wife Esther on 24 January 1980.⁴

Athol died on 25 July 2001 in Ashburton, Canterbury, at age 88.^5,6,7 He was buried on 27 July 2001 at the Ashburton Lawn Cemetery in Ashburton.^5,8

Cecil Grahame Morris was born in New Zealand on 7 December 1888.¹

He married Constance Greenfield in New Zealand in 1912.^2,3

Cecil died on 22 November 1918 in New Zealand at age 29.⁴