Morris - Martin L. - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Martin L. MORRIS. A resident of Great Falls for more than 20  years, Martin L. Morris has spent the greater part of this time  in service as a public official. He had won a well earned  reputation as a capable civil engineer prior to coming to this  city and his record has been sustained and his prestige added  to.

In 1921 Mr. Morris was appointed City Engineer of Great Falls  and has since held this position which includes the  superintendence of the water department, supervision of building  inspection and supervision of garbage collection. Mr. Morris was  born at Coloma, Indiana Oct 11, 1870 son of James J. and Rebecca  Davis Morris. The original ancestor of the Morris family in this  country came from Wales about the time of the settlement of  Jamestown VA colony and for a number of generations the family  made their home in the Old Dominion Sate. William Morris,  grandfather of Martin l. Morris was born at Wilson, NC where he  married Percy Edmondson also a native of that community. In 1827,  they became pioneers of Parke County Indiana and settled on an  unimproved piece of land in the vicinity of what is now the  little community of Coloma.

There the grandfather with the aid of his sturdy and faithful  wife, hewed a home out of the wilderness, cheerfully faced and  passed through all the hardships and privations of pioneer life,  and eventually developed a large and valuable property on which  they passed the remainder of their useful and honorable  lives.

James J. Morris, the father of Martin L. Morris was born June  30, 1821 at Wilson, NC and was six when he was taken to Coloma  Indiana where he was reared in a pioneer agricultural atmosphere  and secured an abbreviated education in the primitive log cabin  schoolhouse of his day. At the time of his marriage he entered  Government land and like his father, cleared it of timber and  brush and gradually developed a good farm to which he added from  time to time until he became one of the most substantial men in  Parke County. In spite of a hard and active life, or perhaps  because of it, he lived to the ripe age of 76 and died in 1897 at  Coloma.

Originally a Whig, Mr. Morris became a member of the  Republican Party upon the organization of that body but took only  a good citizen's interest and part in politics. He was a Quaker  in religious faith. Mr. Morris married Miss Rebecca Davis, who  was born in 1839 near Bloomingdale, Parke County, Indiana and  died at Coloma, Feb 22, 1878 and they became the parents of 5  children: Martin L, of this review; Rachel the wife of James  Boswell, a building contractor of Bloomingdale, Mary who died in  1907 as the wife of Ona Nichols of Bloomingdale and Victor and  Frederick both of whom passed away in childhood. Martin L. Morris  attended the public school at Coloma and after leaving public  school pursued a course in the Quaker Academy at Bloomingdale  from which he was graduated class of 1889. He was graduated from  the University of Ann Arbor, MI with the class of 1893, receiving  the degree of Civil Engineer and commenced his professional  career in construction work for the Norfolk & Western RR on  the division from Bluefield, W. VA to Kanova, that state a  contract that required two years. He then entered the maintenance  department of the Big Four RR now a part of the NY Central Lines  and for 5 years worked in the division from Cincinnati to  Chicago. For one year he was employed a s chief eng in charge of  maintenance and construction for Pekin & Peoria RR with  headquarters at Peoria, Il and was then assistant engineer for  Chicago & Alton RR later being promoted to the office of road  master and then engineer of maintenance of ways. He was with this  road 2 years and then went to the Ill Southern RR and  subsequently the MO Southern RR in charge of the installation of  the ferry line across the MS River to connect the two roads.  While at this place, Mr. Morris contracted typhoid fever, by  which he was incapacitated for some time and on his recovery he  became assistant engineer of South Bend In., in which post he  remained until 1909. In that year he accepted a call to Great  Falls, Montana, which has since been his permanent home and the  scene of his success. He was assistant city engineer under HC  Allen, city engineer during the administration for Mayor Charles  Murphy. Mr. Morris was then appointed city engineer by Mary JW  Spear and reappointed by Mayor NT Lease for the next 5 and one  half years during 4 years of which time he was superintendent of  the water works department of Great Falls, and for the remainder  was a building contractor and also did considerable work for the  State Highway Commission. in 1921 he was appointed city engineer  of Great Falls by Mayor RM Armour and has been reappointed 3  consecutive times since Mayor HB Mitchel. This position as above  noted, also includes considerable other labor, notably connected  with the water, building and garbage collecting departments of  the city. Mr. Morris maintains offices in the City Hall and is  one of the well-known men of his profession. He is a member of  the American Water Works Association and Euclid Lodge No. 58 AF  & AM. Politically he is a Republican. His residence is  situated at 915 Fifth Ave, North. On Sept 21, 1897 at Saint  Louis, Missouri, Mr. Morris was united in marriage with Miss Mary  Kimball who was born in Crawfordsville, Indiana and to this union  were born 5 children: James J, residing with his father and  employed as a highway contractor saw 26 months of service during  the WW of which 1 1/2 years was overseas, volunteered and served  in the Regular Army, received a 2nd Lt's commission and now has  the same rank in the US reserves attended the Montana State Univ,  Missoula, this sate and is a member of the Sigma Chi Greek letter  fraternity. Robert E, a graduate of Gonzaga College, Spokane, WA  degree of BA and Montana State Univ at Missouri degree of Masters  Arts in Mathematics is a member of Sigma Chi Greek letter  fraternity and teacher in the high school at Spokane, Washington.  Harold Freeman who attended the Montana State College at Bozeman  is a member of the Signa Chi Greek letter fraternity resides with  his parents and is a civil engineer in the employ of ACM  Reduction Plant at Great Falls. Helen is the wife of William  Brown of Great Falls, a salesman for the Great Falls Meat  Company, packers; and Russell is attending HS at Great Falls.