History - The First Generation of United States Marshals
The First
Marshal of Vermont: Lewis R. Morris

Lewis R. Morris - Source: Library of Congress.
Born on November 2, 1760, Lewis R. Morris received a common school
education in his hometown of Scarsdale, N.Y. Although in his mid-teens
at the outbreak of the Revolution, he served throughout most of the war
as an aide
first to General Phillip Schuyler and then to General George Clinton.
From 1781
to 1783, he worked as first secretary under Robert Livingston, the
Secretary
of the Department of Foreign Affairs under the Articles of
Confederation.
Morris moved to Springfield, Vt., in 1786, where he soon established
himself
as a prominent businessman, landowner, and politician. In 1788, Morris
served as a selectman on the town council, followed by service as the
town treasurer
from 1790 to 1794. From 1789 to 1796, Morris was also the clerk of the
county
Court.
Morris attended the Vermont ratifying convention in Bennington,
where he
voted in support of the Constitution. He was one of the two
commissioners who arranged Vermont's entry into the union in 1791. On
March 4, 1791, Washington him Marshal of the new district. Morris was 30
years old. He served as Marshal until 1794.
Following his work as Marshal, Morris continued to play an active role
in Vermont politics. He was elected to the state assembly in 1795, 1796,
1803, 1805, 1806, and 1808. In 1796, he began the first of three terms
in the House of
Representatives, where he proved himself a staunch and active
Federalist. He left
the House voluntarily and, except for his elections to the state
assembly, devoted
the rest of his life to his business affairs. He died in 1825 at the age
of 65.
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