| Office 2 | Coroner of Cook County |
|---|---|
| Term start 2 | 1836 |
| Term end 2 | 1838 |
| Predecessor 2 | Ashbel Steele |
| Successor 2 | John K. Boyer |
| Office 1 | Chicago Alderman from the 1st ward |
| Term start 1 | 1840 |
| Term end 1 | 1841 |
| Alongside 1 | Julius Wadsworth[1][2] |
| Predecessor 1 | James A. Smith/ Oliver H. Thompson |
| Successor 1 | John Davlin/ Charles Follansbee |
| Office 3 | High Constable of Chicago |
| Term start 3 | August 1835 |
| Term end 3 | May 2, 1837 |
| Predecessor 3 | Office established |
| Successor 3 | John Shrigley |
| Birth date | June 24, 1807 |
| Birth place | Cambridge, New York |
| Death date | January 4, 1864 (aged 56) |
| Death place | Chicago, Illinois |
| Resting place | Graceland Cemetery |
| Spouse | Lucy Paul (m. April 7, 1836) |
Orsemus Morrison (1807 – 1864) was an early settler and politician of Chicago.
Early life
Morrison was born on June 24, 1807, to a family from Cambridge, New York.[3]
Career
After working on the construction of the Erie Canal, he moved from Buffalo, New York, to Chicago in early 1833.[3]
His early work in Chicago was as a carpenter and contractor.[3] One project he worked on was dredging the mouth of the Chicago River.[3]
On August 15, 1835 he was elected the first High Constable and High Collector of Chicago.[4] As High Constable, he was the city's first head of police from his election until May 2, 1837.[5]
He was elected the Cook County Coroner in August 1836,[3][6] having been nominated by the Democratic Party.[7]
Morrison was elected and served as street commissioner.[3][8] From 1840 to 1841, he served as an alderman from the 1st ward of Chicago.[9]
In 1838, he purchased land on the corner of Clark and Madison in Chicago. This later became the location of the Morrison Hotel, the original building of which was built in 1860.[3][10] He made a number of other real estate purchases in Chicago.[3]
A Whig, originally, Morrison became an early member of the Republican Party.[3]
Personal life
He was married to the former Lucy Paul on April 7, 1836, in Aurora, Erie County, New York.[3] Morrison died in Chicago on January 4, 1864, and was buried at Graceland Cemetery.[5][11] When he died, he was survived by two daughters, Hannah Spofford and Lucy Mills, the latter of whom was married to congressman Daniel W. Mills.[3][12]
References
- ^ Andreas, Alfred Theodore (1884). History of Chicago. Arno Press. p. 184. ISBN 9780405068454. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ Council, Chicago (Ill ) City (1880). Journal of the Proceedings of the City Council. p. 5. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ "A History of the City of Chicago: Its Men and Institutions. Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens". Inter Ocean. 1900. pp. 440–441. Retrieved 2021-11-28. – via Google Books.
- ^ "History | Chicago Police Department". ChicagoPolice.org. Chicago Police Department. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
- ^ "Heads of the Chicago Police Department". ChicagoCop.com. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ^ "Officers of Cook County The Names of Officer-Holders from the Beginning". Chicago Tribune. December 12, 1867. Retrieved 5 February 2025. – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Goodspeed, Weston A. (2017). The History of Cook County, Illinois. Jazzybee Verlag. p. 257. ISBN 978-3-8496-4859-6. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ Lindberg, Richard C. (2015). Gangland Chicago: Criminality and Lawlessness in the Windy City. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-4422-3196-2. Retrieved 31 May 2020.
- ^ "Centennial List of Mayors, City Clerks, City Attorneys, City Treasurers, and Aldermen, elected by the people of the city of Chicago, from the incorporation of the city on March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1937, arranged in alphabetical order, showing the years during which each official held office.". Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
- ^ AP. "Chicago's Morrison Hotel Being Razed; Was Mecca For Famous Entertainers". The Gettysburg Times. May 6, 1965. p. 4.
- ^ "Death of an Old Citizen". Chicago Tribune. 1864-01-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-11-28. – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Raum, Green Berry (1900). History of Illinois Republicanism: embracing a history of the Republican party in the state to the present time ... with biographies of its founders and supporters ... also a chronological statement of important political events since 1774. Rollins Pub. Co. p. 541. Retrieved 31 May 2020.