James Remley Morris

James Remley Morris (January 10, 1819 – December 24, 1899) was an American lawyer, newspaper editor, and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. He was born in Rogersville, Greene County, Pennsylvania, and was the son of Joseph Morris, who was also a member of Congress. His family background in public affairs and politics helped shape his early interest in law and government and provided a foundation for his later career in public service.

Morris received his early education in the common schools and pursued further studies in preparation for a legal career. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, after which he commenced practice in Woodsfield, Monroe County, Ohio. Moving from Pennsylvania to Ohio as a young man, he established himself professionally in Woodsfield, which would remain the center of his legal, journalistic, and political activities for most of his life.

In addition to his work as an attorney, Morris became involved in journalism and local public life. He served as editor and proprietor of the Spirit of Democracy, a Democratic newspaper published in Woodsfield, which gave him a platform to influence public opinion and participate actively in party politics. His engagement with the press and his legal practice increased his prominence in Monroe County and within the Democratic Party in Ohio, positioning him for higher office.

Morris was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-seventh, Thirty-eighth, and Thirty-ninth Congresses, serving as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from March 4, 1861, to March 3, 1867, thus holding office throughout the Civil War and into the early years of Reconstruction. During his tenure in Congress, he represented a district in eastern Ohio at a time of intense national conflict and partisan division. As a Democratic member from a Union state during the war, he participated in debates over wartime measures, civil liberties, and postwar reconstruction policies, although the detailed record of his specific committee assignments and legislative initiatives is limited in surviving summaries. He did not return to Congress after the expiration of his third term in 1867.

After leaving Congress, Morris resumed the practice of law in Woodsfield and continued his involvement in local affairs. He remained a figure of some standing in Monroe County, drawing on his experience in national politics and his long association with the Democratic Party and the local press. He lived out the remainder of his life in Ohio, maintaining his professional and community ties.

James Remley Morris died in Woodsfield, Ohio, on December 24, 1899. His life spanned the antebellum period, the Civil War, and the late nineteenth century, and his career reflected both a family tradition of congressional service and the intertwined roles of law, journalism, and politics in nineteenth-century American public life.