William Morris (1786-1858)
William Morris was born in Paisley, Scotland. He immigrated to Canada with his family when he was 14. He became a businessman, and overcame all obstacles with determination, beginning his career by repaying the debt which he inherited from his father, the result of a loss of an uninsured ship.
Beginning in 1820, William Morris was a member of the Upper Canada Parliament. He was raised to the legislative council in 1835. His political championship of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, which he helped found in 1831, made him a bitter opponent of Anglican Bishop John Strachan and his followers. He won a share of the Clergy Reserves for his church.
Morris served as the political leader of the group of Presbyterians who wanted to found a college at Kingston. He pushed strongly for the granting of a Royal Charter, and is also believed to be the one responsible for coming up with the name of Queen’s College at Kingston, which has since been changed to Queen’s University. When his role in obtaining the Royal Charter earned him the position as Chair of the Board of Trustees, William Morris used his influence to make sure that the Presbyterian clergy did not have too much control over the newly formed school. Morris set his sights high, for he envisioned Queen’s developing into a first class university, rather than simply a training ground for Presbyterian Ministers.
Morris served as receiver general (1844-47) and president of the executive council (1846-48) before ill health forced his withdrawl from politics. He died in Montreal at age 71.
