Morris, Samuel (of Springfield, Illinois)

Samuel Morris was a local and state politician and landowner and developer in Sangamon County, Illinois. In August 1832, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for county sheriff. Morris served as a town trustee for Springfield in 1833. In 1834, Sangamon County residents selected him to represent the county at a convention in Rushville held to consider moving the state capital. In that same year, Morris received a nomination as a candidate for the Illinois House of Representatives, but he withdrew his candidacy shortly before the election. In addition to his political activities, Morris owned large tracts of public land in and around Springfield, and he was one of the original proprietors of Huron, Illinois. Morris also amassed substantial property holdings in what would become Christian County, Illinois.

Joseph Wallace, Past and Present of the City of Springfield and Sangamon County Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1904), 10; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 11 August 1832, 3:2; 6 April 1833, 3:2; 11 January 1834, 3:1; 26 April 1834, 3:5; 19 July 1834, 3:4; 26 March 1836, 2:6; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Sangamon County, 69:52, 53, 55, 62, 67, 96, 141; Christian County, 69:5, 47, 63, 70, 264, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.