Morrison, William M.

Born: 1814-11-26 Saint Charles, Missouri

Died: 1865-07-22 Saint Louis, Missouri

Flourished: Saint Louis, Missouri

William M. Morrison, merchant and commercial agent, was born into a large mercantile family that put down roots in what is now Missouri prior to the Louisiana Purchase. He was a student at a Jesuit educational institution that was a precursor to St. Louis University. Beginning in 1832, Morrison apprenticed in the wholesale grocery business under his brother-in-law, George Collier, who had successfully grown a business in trade along the Missouri River through the use of steamboats. Morrison worked with Collier for several decades, first as an apprentice and later as a partner, and among other ventures also founded his own commission and forwarding firm of William M. Morrison & Company in 1847. Morrison was a prominent public figure and philanthropist in St. Louis, donating funds to various causes, volunteering in the fire department, and serving as president of the Chamber of Commerce in 1851 and 1852. He was a co-founder of the Mercantile Library and served progressively as its vice-president, president, and ultimately, director. By 1860, Morrison had amassed a personal estate of $180,000 and owned real estate valued at $260,000. He married Mary A. Bissell in 1849 and following her death married Kate Swinney in 1854, with whom he had one daughter. Morrison was an attendee of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Lynn Morrow, “Salt-boiling to Star-gazing: Marriage, Merchants, and Money,” Boone’s Lick Heritage Quarterly 15 (Summer 2016), 4-25; Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1805-2002, 8 February 1849, St. Louis; 5 April 1854, Howard County (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, 2007); U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Ward 6, St. Louis, St. Louis County, 171; Daily Missouri Republican (Saint Louis), 24 July 1865, 2:3; Gravestone, Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, MO.