James Frederick Morris (1851 – 25 September 1924) was a Welsh solicitor and Liberal politician.

Morris practised as J. F. Morris & Son with his son, Harold Spencer Morris, in Carmarthen. He was appointed a Commissioner of oaths in South Wales.[1]

Morris served as president of the Carmarthen Orpheus Glee Society in the early 1900s.[2] In 1907, Morris was again appointed honorary legal advisor to the Carmarthen Attractions Committee.[3]

Political career

Morris stood as a Liberal Party councillor for Carmarthen Eastern Ward in the municipal election of 1882 (in which he finished second with 279 votes).[4] In 1889, he received twenty-five letters and telegrams relating to the selection of a Liberal Unionist candidate for the 1889 West Carmarthenshire by-election and to attempts at co-operation with local Conservatives. The main correspondents were Robert Bickersteth and Sir T.J. Leigh Maclachlan.[5]

In the 1890s, Morris served as president of the Blue Ribbonism Society in Carmarthen.[6]

In 1895, Morris invited John Jones Jenkins, 1st Baron Glantawe to stand as the Liberal Unionist candidate in Carmarthen.[7] One year previously, in 1894, Morris had stood as the Liberal Unionist candidate and finished first.[8] He then stood in the municipal elections of 1897 (in which he finished second with 445 votes),[8] 1900 (in which he finished fourth with 309 votes),[9] and 1901 (in which he finished first with 446 votes).[8]

In November 1902, Morris was offered the office of Mayor of Carmarthen for the ensuing year, but declined.[10]

In the 1910s, Morris served as chairman of the Carmarthen Sports and Attractions Committee.[11]

Other work

In 1879, Morris was appointed treasurer of the Wesleyan Chapel, Carmarthen.[12]

He served as chairman of The Salvation Army (Carmarthen) in the early 1900s.[13][14]

Morris was a patron of the Carmarthenshire Fallen Heroes Fund. A letter written by him to Sir Alfred Lewis Jones in 1905 procured a "very handsome donation" to the fund.[15]

In 1911, Morris headed the Carmarthen contingent of the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Three months before it was scheduled, he secured the greater part of the 104 local subscribers to the Estddfod funds, enabling the Carmarthen contingent to checkmate the efforts of their Abergavenny counterparts.[16]

Personal life

J. F. Morris married Catherine Jones, daughter of David Jones of Carmarthen, on 25 February 1879.[17]

In 1897, Roman ruins were discovered on the site of Morris' nineteenth century mansion. The principal room excavated measured about fourteen square feet; the cement floor had been completely destroyed in the making of the modern cellar.[18] Morris subsequently obtained 3 bronze coins from the reign of Constantius Chlorus, other assorted coins, and the remains of a Roman bath.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Kelly's directory of Monmouthshire and South Wales, 1920. London, Kelly's Direct. Ltd. 1920. p. 357 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ "Local intelligence". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 12 April 1907. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  3. ↑ "CARMARTHEN COUNCIL". Evening Express. 16 October 1907. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  4. ↑ "District News: Carmarthen". The Weekly Mail. 19 October 1906. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  5. ↑ File NLW MS 21989C. - Carmarthenshire Liberal Unionism
  6. ↑ "Carmarthen". Carmarthen Journal. 16 January 1891. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  7. ↑ "CARMARTHEN BOROUGHS: THE UNIONIST CANDIDATE". South Wales Daily News. 2 July 1895. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  8. 1 2 3 "BY-GONE ELECTIONS: CARMARTHEN'S MUNICIPAL PAST". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 14 October 1910. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  9. ↑ "The Municipal Elections: Carmarthen". South Wales Daily News. 2 November 1900. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  10. ↑ "Mayoralty of Carmarthen: THE OFFICE GOING ABEGGING". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 7 November 1902. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  11. ↑ "DEATH OF MR. PORTNELL. CARMARTHEN: TRAGIC END OF WIDELY-KNOWN OFFICIAL". Carmarthen Journal. 4 April 1913. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  12. ↑ "WESLEYAN THANKSGIVING FUND". South Wales Daily News. 14 November 1879. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  13. ↑ "The Salvation Army in Carmarthen". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 14 December 1906. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  14. ↑ "Temperance Meeting at Carmarthen: HANDSOME COLLECTION FOR THE SALVATION ARMY OFFICERS". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 27 December 1907. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  15. ↑ "Carmarthenshire Fallen Heroes Fund: Handsome Donation by Sir Alfred L. Jones". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 21 May 1905. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  16. ↑ "National Eisteddfod, 1911: A Protest". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 2 July 1909. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  17. ↑ "BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, AND DEATHS". The Cambrian. 28 February 1879. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  18. ↑ "The Discovery of Roman Ruins at Carmarthen". Carmarthen Weekly Reporter. 11 June 1897. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
  19. ↑ "CARMARTHENSHIRE ANTIQUITIES". The Welshman. 5 March 1909. Retrieved 5 August 2023 – via National Library of Wales.
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