9-17-2025 10:04pm

HOW DO YOU SPELL GOUVERNEUR?

Beth Callahan Editor

National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Miss Ethel Turnbull in memory of her brothers, John Turnbull and Gouverneur Morris Wilkins Turnbull

September 17-23 is Constitution Week, every year. This year marks the 237th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution in June, 1788. Story courtesy of Louise Hunt, Regent Turtle Creek Chapter, NSDAR

WARREN COUNTY, OH --Gouverneur Morris was born January 31, 1752 in Morrisania, New York. He was an eccentric and outspoken man who never actually served as a governor. He was given his unusual first name because it was his mother’s maiden name – she came from an aristocratic family of Dutch descendent. His wealthy family was a staunch supporter of the British crown, but Gouverneur abandoned all British allegiances and devoted himself to what would become The United States of America. He was not the only member of his family to recognize the potential of this new country, his much older half-brother, Lewis Morris, was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.

By the age of 19, he was a practicing lawyer, having graduated from King’s College, present day Columbia University, with both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in 1771. This was the beginning of what would become a distinguished career. By 1775 he was a member of the New York Provincial Congress. In 1775 he signed the Articles of Confederation. In 1776 he became a lieutenant colonel in the New York State Militia and a member of the committee to form a government for the State of New York.

In 1777, he successfully advocated for the protection of religious liberty in New York’s constitution. He served in the Continental Congress between 1778 and 1779. In 1781 he was appointed to assistant superintendent of finance helping to secure funding for the brief remainder of what we now know as the Revolutionary War. In this capacity he worked to reform currency standards and draft the blueprints for a national bank. He served in that role until 1785.

In 1787, he served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was a member of the Committee of Style, where he contributed to the drafting of the final version of the U.S. Constitution and authored the Preamble. He is credited with writing “We the People of the United States, in order to form a perfect Union...”

Morris signed the final draft of the Constitution on September 17, 1787 on behalf of Pennsylvania. He went on to be appointed the Commissioner to England in 1789 and the Minister Plenipotentiary to France in 1792. From 1800 to 1803 he served in the U.S. Senate. From 1810 to 1813, Morris served as the chairman of the Erie Canal Commission.

Somehow, he found the time to marry. His wife was Anne Cary Randolph. The two had met in 1788. In April 1809, finding it difficult to live independently on limited means, Anne had agreed to become his housekeeper. That arrangement did not last long, and they were married in December of the same year. At the time of their marriage Morris was 57 years old and Anne was about 35. The couple had one son, Gouverneur Morris, Jr., in 1813. Morris died on November 6, 1816 at the age of 64 years. He was interred in St. Anne’s Episcopal Church Yard in Bronx, New York.