Robert E. Morrison: Pioneer Lawyer and Public Servant D · Robert E. Morrison: Pioneer Lawyer and Public Servant ... One noteworthy sign of Morrison’s contribu- ... James H. Wright,

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Robert E. Morrison: Pioneer Lawyer and Public Servant

By Jack Pfister

uring almost 45 years in Arizona Territory, Robert E. Morrison was one ofits most prominent lawyers and public servants, holding both elected andappointed offices, including three terms as Yavapai County District Attor-

ney and one term as the United States Attorney for Arizona Territory. He alsoplayed a prominent role in the hard fought struggle for Arizona’s acceptance as astate separate from New Mexico

One noteworthy sign of Morrison’s contribu-tions to Arizona is a world-famed equestrianstatue on Prescott’s courthouse square. AsChairman for the commission appointed toobtain a monumentaltribute to Arizonanswho served in the“Rough Rider” regi-ment of the SpanishAmerican War, he wasable to commission oneof America’ mostfamed sculptors of thelate 19th and early 20th

centuries to execute themonument despite aseverely limited budget.

Morrison first came toArizona Territory in1882 and settled on aranch near St. Johns.His record of publicservice in Arizona be-gan when he helped to clean up ApacheCounty politics in the late 1880s, running forcounty office on a reform ticket. In 1891 hemoved to Prescott where he resided until hisdeath in 1927.

The oldest of six children, Morrison was bornin 1856 to Jane Clark and Alexander L. Mor-rison. Alexander Morrison immigrated to theUnited States from Ireland when he was sev-

enteen years old, and soon afterward joined aNew York regiment to fight in the MexicanWar. Following his discharge, Alexandertook up chair making in New York. He later

moved to Chicago and,while continuing histrade as a chair maker,studied law.

According to a familyhistorian, AlexanderMorrison was a fiery,little Irishman with anintense hatred of theBritish. He was amember of a group,which pledged to freeIreland from Britishcontrol, and returned toIreland for that purpose.Shortly upon his arri-val, Alexander wascaptured and impris-oned. While in prison,

he and his fellow members pledged to nametheir first daughter, “Erin.” They returned tothe United States in irons. Alexander’s firstdaughter was indeed named Erin, and thisfamily tradition continued for several genera-tions.1

Back in Chicago, Alexander passed the Illi-nois bar and practiced law in Chicago until1881 when President Chester Arthur ap-

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Robert E. Morrison

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pointed him to the position of Territorial Mar-shal for New Mexico.2 Alexander and hiswife moved to Santa Fe, where they werelater joined by some of their children. Withina couple of years, several of the Morrisonsons had established a ranch at the headwatersof the Little Colorado River in the EscadillaMountains in east central Arizona. They gavethe name Erin to a small lake just over thenearby New Mexico border.

Meanwhile, the eldest son, Robert Morrison,had followed in his father’s footsteps, gradu-ating from law school at Union College in1877. He practiced law in his native Chicagountil 1883, when he went west to help hisbrothers on their Arizona ranch. Soon Robertwas admitted to practice law in ApacheCounty. His name appears for the first timein county court records as legal counsel in1884. At this time, the county seat was St.Johns, a farming and ranching community ofless than 500 with an interesting history of itsown.

In 1879 the Arizona State Legislature hadcreated Apache County by carving out a por-tion of Yavapai County. The early period ofthe county was rife with political intrigue,since it consisted of a complex mixture ofLatino sheep men, cattle ranchers (many ofwhom were from Texas), Mormons who hadbeen ordered to settle along the Little Colo-rado River, and an eclectic group of other set-tlers who had come west to seek their fortune.Many within these different groups of settlersharbored longstanding resentments, and aconstant struggle for political advantages inthe area ensued. By 1884, the county was un-der the control of a corrupt gang known as the“St. Johns Ring,” which was headed bySolomon Barth, a local merchant and sheepman. The county’s many cattlemen soon be-came frustrated with this gang and the inade-quate law enforcement of Sheriff DonLorenzo Hubbell.

So before the 1886 county election, a group ofthese cattlemen organized a reform ticket,named the “Citizen’s Ticket,” in order to oustthe “St. Johns Ring” and establish law andorder in Apache County. Their ticket boastedCommodore Perry Owens for Sheriff, to re-place the frequently absent and ineffectiveHubbell. Owens, a native Tennessean with areputation as a fearless marksman, had settledin the Arizona Territory around 1880. The“Citizen’s Ticket” was comprised of severalother prominent Apache County citizens, in-cluding the newly settled Robert E. Morrisonfor the combined offices of Probate Judge andSchool Superintendent. In opposition, the“St. Johns Ring” sponsored the “Equal RightsTicket,” which included several of its ownmembers and Sheriff Hubbell. Both ticketsconducted vigorous campaigns, with eachticket supported by one of the area’s newspa-pers. In the end, the “Citizen’s Ticket” wonall but one of the races for county officers,and Owens beat Hubbell by 71 votes.

The new officers made a concerted effort toclean up Apache County. First they turnedtheir attention toward Solomon Barth, whohad been indicted prior to the election for de-frauding the county. Under the new admini-stration his trial proceeded, and he was con-victed and sentenced to the Yuma prison.Then early in 1887, grand jury indictmentswere issued against twenty-five troublesomeindividuals, most charged with rustling.

To accelerate the clean up, the ApacheCounty Cattlemen’s Association, impatient tobring law and order to the county, allocated$3,000 from its own treasury for a range de-tective. The Association hired the deputizedJ. V. Brighton, who in June of that year hadshot and killed Ike Clanton, one of the sur-viving members of the Clanton Gang of OKCorral fame.3 According to Will Barnes, Sec-retary of the Association, Brighton’s killing ofIke Clanton brought fear to the hearts of these

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bad men, and they started to leave the area toget away from “the unknown officer who shotfirst and read the warrant over the dead bodiesof the men he was after.”4

Two other incidents contributed to cleaningup Apache County. One was the shootout inHolbrook, where Commodore Owens killedAndy Cooper. Owens carried a warrant forthe arrest of Cooper, who participated in thePleasant Valley War and was allegedly in-volved in rustling activities. Owens hadavoided confrontation with Cooper, but inSeptember of 1887 after being pressured toserve the warrant, he found Cooper at hismother’s home in Holbrook. When Cooperappeared at the door with gun in hand, Owensshot and killed him and two other occupantsthat Owens said were carrying guns and heseriously wounded a third. This incident ele-vated Owens to the status of a legendarygunman in western history.5

The second incident was the hanging of JeffWilson, Jimmy Scott, and Jamie Stott for al-leged involvement in rustling activities.6 Thehangings were carried out by a group of vigi-lantes that included J. D. Houck, JimTewksbury, one of the principals in the Pleas-ant Valley War, and Tom Horn, who later washired as a range detective by Wyoming cat-tlemen, but then hung for murdering a child.The shootout at Holbrook, and these hangingsmade it clear that Apache County was nolonger a hospitable environment for thievesand crooks.

But not everyone agreed that the clean up ofApache County was complete. On November17, 1887, an anonymous article appeared inthe Albuquerque Daily Citizen entitled “Runby a Ring.” The author alleged a variety ofdisreputable activities by the Apache CountyDistrict Attorney, Harris Baldwin, and hisbrother-in-law, T. W. Johnson. The articleclaimed that Baldwin and Johnson were par-

ticipants in a scheme to inflate the tax as-sessments of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroadto a level that assured the railroad would pro-test and that Baldwin recommended to theCounty Board of Supervisors his brother-in-law be hired to defend the lawsuit. The arti-cle also claimed that indicted criminals wereadvised to dismiss their lawyers and hireJohnson to defend them and that they wouldreceive more favorable treatment from theDistrict Attorney. Several criminals whohired Johnson to defend them were permittedto plead guilty and leave the county ratherthan go to prison.

After determining that the anonymous authorwas Robert E. Morrison, Johnson filed a civilsuit in Apache County for libel, and the Dis-trict Attorney obtained an indictment againstMorrison for criminal libel. Morrison’s de-fense was that the charges they claimed to belibelous were in fact true. But after a shortjury trial, a judgment was entered againstMorrison for $500. The impartiality of thetrial judge, James H. Wright, was called intoquestion after Wright and Morrison’s attorneyexchanged hostile comments at the conclusionof the trial.7 So Morrison appealed the lowercourt’s decision to the Territorial SupremeCourt, which reversed the civil judgment andordered a new trial.8 Morrison was, however,found guilty of criminal libel.

A review of the Apache County court recordsand the newspapers for the period in questionsuggests that the basic facts put forth in “Runby a Ring” were essentially correct. Yet thereis little recorded evidence to confirm Morri-son’s charges of criminal intent in the case ofBaldwin and Johnson. However, in his auto-biography the territorial pioneer, AlbertFranklin Banta, who was elected ApacheCounty District Attorney in 1888 in a raceagainst Robert E. Morrison, does confirm thescheme to inflate the railroad tax assessmentin order to provide a mechanism for siphoning

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county funds, as legal fees, to Baldwin andhis brother-in-law. After his election, Bantahad obtained approval from the Board of Su-pervisors to enter into an agreement with therailroad to dismiss the litigation and reinstatea prior agreement on the level of railroad taxassessments. He convinced the Board of “therotten condition in which they were floun-dering: that the schemers had gotten up anendless chain of graft.”9 The new civil trialordered by the Terri-torial Supreme Courtnever occurred. Thecases were dismissed,and Morrison reacheda settlement on thecivil and criminalcases. The details ofthe settlement are un-known.

Not long after thissordid affair, on No-vember 26, 1890,Robert married John-nie Stinson Logan,the widow of W. T.Logan, who was abusiness partner inthe Morrison ranchnear Lake Erin.Logan had died on May 9, 1889 from anoverdose of morphine that he had self-administered to relieve the pain of a seriousinfection on his finger. His widow Johnniereturned to her native Kansas after his death.Robert followed her to Kansas, where theywere married shortly thereafter. The couplesoon returned to St. John’s, and Robert re-sumed his legal practice. But in 1891, dis-heartened by his defeat in the 1888 countyelection in which he had run against Banta onan anti-Mormon ticket for District Attorney,as well as his loss of the civil and criminallibel suits, the Morrisons left Territorial St.

Johns and moved to Prescott, where Robertreestablished his law practice.

Morrison quickly became involved in Yava-pai County politics and was elected its Dis-trict Attorney in 1892. His opponent in therace was Democrat Reese M. Ling, a native ofOhio who had moved to Arizona in 1884.10

Morrison won the race by 200 votes in anelection that saw both Republicans and De-

mocrats elected toYavapai County of-fices. In 1894 Morri-son ran for reelectionagainst DemocratJohn Frank Wilsonand won by 78 votes.A few years later in1902 , Mor r i sonwould run for Con-gress against thissame Wilson.

Now sett led inPrescott, the Morri-sons had three chil-dren: Erin Morrison,born on July 2, 1892,Emmett T. Morrison,born on December22, 1893, and Juanita

Morrison, born on August 5, 1896. Unfortu-nately, Johnnie died on August 13, 1896,from complications with her last pregnancy,leaving Robert a widower with a newborn andthree small children, including a son from herprevious marriage.

Following the election of President WilliamMcKinley, Morrison was appointed to theprestigious position of United States Attorneyfor Territorial Arizona. The U. S. Senate con-firmed the appointment on February 8, 1898.Although he served with distinction, Morrisondid not seek reappointment, explaining that ithad been an imposition on his family respon-

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Kneipp Morrison

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sibilities and had reduced the fees from hislaw practice.11

During a Territorial business trip to Wash-ington, D. C., Robert stopped in Chicago tosee old acquaintances and made contact withElizabeth “Lizzie” Kneipp. Robert and Lizziehad been childhood friends, and Robert hadpracticed law in Chicago with Lizzie’s de-ceased husband, Mathew Charles Kneipp.Mathew had abandoned Lizzie, and they hadsubsequently divorced. Lizzie and her twochildren, Leon and Inez, had then moved intoher parents’ home in Chicago. To support herfamily, Lizzie had begun working as a salesclerk. When Robert and Lizzie reconnected,Robert proposed marriage, but Lizzie felt thatshe was unable to move to Arizona becauseshe was the sole caregiver for her widowedfather. However, Lizzie’s father died shortlyafter Robert’s marriage proposal. So, afterconfirming that Mathew Charles Kneipp wasindeed deceased in order to satisfy Catholicrequirements for the remarriage of divorcedwomen, Robert E. Morrison and ElizabethAugusta Klar “Lizzie” Kneipp were married

in Chicago on August 9, 1898.

Lizzie and her sixteen-year-old daughter,Inez, (the author’s grandmother) promptlymoved to Prescott with Robert, who soonadopted Inez. She entered St. Joseph’s Acad-emy in Prescott and would graduate in May of1901. At the time of the move, Lizzie’seighteen-year-old son, Leon, remained inChicago. But at the urging of his stepfather,Leon ultimately moved to Prescott and took ajob as a Forest Ranger in the newly createdPrescott Forest Reserve. He began in April of1900 at a monthly salary of $60.00, half ofwhich he would spend just to feed his horse.12

Yet Leon advanced rapidly and took on posi-tions of increasing responsibility. After 46years of distinguished service, he retired fromthe National Forest Service as the AssistantChief of the Forest Service in Charge of LandAcquisition. Leon Kneipp died in 1966 justshy of his 86th birthday.13

When Robert and Lizzie married, he madetwo promises, a new home in Prescott anddomestic help. So, shortly after their arrival,

R. E. Morrison home on South Marina Street, Prescott, circa 1902

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Lizzie began planning the family home. In1902 the Morrison’s Queen Anne-style homewas completed at 300 S. Marina. Today thishouse is one of Prescott’s most outstandingterritorial homes. It was certified for the Na-tional Register of Historic Places in 1978 andwas refurbished in the 1990s. Robert kept thesecond promise when Bette Washington andher two young children moved into the Morri-sons’ new home. Bette, described in the 1900U. S. Census reports as “colored help,” helpedwith the housework and caretaking of theMorrison children.

The same year their home was completed,Robert E. Morrison ran for Arizona’s U. S.Congressional seat against John Frank Wil-son. Born in Tennessee on May 7, 1846, to aslave holding family, Wilson had fought forthe South in the Civil War. Rising to the rankof lieutenant colonel, he would thereafter be-come known as Colonel Wilson. After thewar, he had a variety of occupations beforefinally becoming a lawyer. Wilson practicedlaw in Arkansas before relocating to Territo-rial Arizona, where he established a success-ful practice. Like many other territorial law-yers, Wilson had an eclectic practice, buttended to specialize in mining law. In 1896Territorial Governor B. J. Franklin appointedWilson to Territorial Attorney General, a po-sition in which he served until a change ofparties in 1897, when he returned to his lawpractice. In 1898 Wilson challenged incum-bent Mark Smith for the Democratic nomina-tion to Congress. However, Smith withdrewfrom the race because of his wife’s poorhealth, and Wilson became the nominee. Hisopponent was Republican Alexander O. Bro-die, well known in Territorial Arizona as thecommander of the Rough Riders who hadsucceeded Theodore Roosevelt. After a cam-paign in which both candidates visited the en-tire territory, Wilson had 8,212 votes andBrodie had 7,384. Although Brodie lost thisrace, his former commander, President Roo-

sevelt, appointed him Territorial Governor,effective July 1, 1902.14

Mark Smith again sought the Democraticnomination in 1900 and opposed Congress-man Colonel Wilson. The delegates to theSeptember 12 convention were unable to se-lect a nominee, so Smith and Wilson contin-ued to campaign for the nomination until Oc-tober 12, when Wilson withdrew to unite theparty.15 Smith went on to win the GeneralElection, but decided not to run for reelection.So at the 1902 Democratic convention, formerCongressman Colonel Wilson was nominatedby acclamation. His Republican opponentwould be Robert E. Morrison.16

Both Wilson and Morrison conducted spiritedcampaigns, traveling around the entire Terri-tory. A delegation of local party officialswould meet them when they arrived in atown, and a rally would be held. Lizzie Mor-rison, often accompanying her husband onthese campaign trips, would usually meet witha group of the town ladies. A party dignitarywould introduce the candidates, and theywould give a rousing speech. Both Wilsonand Morrison were widely known for theiroratorical skills, and newspapers reported thatthey were enthusiastically received. Yet thetwo candidates made only one joint appear-ance—in Holbrook.

The newspapers of the era were highly parti-san, and the reports on the campaign appear-ances, depending on the paper’s politicalleanings, contained either complimentary orderogatory observations about each candidate.Yet the focus of the campaign remained ontwo key issues: the populist theme of theplight of the workingman and statehood forthe Territory separate from New Mexico.Both Wilson and Morrison felt that their elec-tion would improve Territorial Arizona’schances for statehood separate from NewMexico. Since Oklahoma and New Mexico,

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both seeking statehood as well, would likelyelect Republican congressmen, Wilson feltthat electing a Democrat to the U. S. Congresswould improve the Territory’s chances. Mor-rison, of course, held a contrary view. FormerCongressman Smith returned from a trip toEurope in time to support Wilson’s campaignand also argued that a Democrat would be themost useful in securing passage of a statehoodbill.17

The final election tally was 9,716 for Wilson,9,239 for Morrison, and 733 for minor partycandidates.18 Having won a close race, Wil-son went on to serve his second term in the58th Congress, while Morrison returned to hislaw practice.

Morrison, however, remained active in Terri-torial politics. He was elected YavapaiCounty Attorney in 1906, and in that year hechaired the Yavapai County Republican dele-gation to the Bisbee convention and wasunanimously chosen the permanent chairmanof the convention. He responded to com-plaints that the rights of delegates to the con-vention who supported a joint statehoodresolution were “ruthlessly trampled upon” ina letter to his friend Governor J. H. Kibbey,After reviewing the convention process, Mor-rison asserted that “there was absolutely nocoercion or unparliamentary (sic) treatment ofjoint statehood delegations in the conven-tion.”19

While Morrison pursued his political and le-gal endeavors, his family was maturing.Sometime after she graduated from St. Jo-seph’s Academy, Inez began seeing Dr. JohnK. McDonnell, who had arrived in Prescott in1892 after graduating from Dartmouth Col-lege. McDonnell initially worked for HarryBrisley as a pharmacist. However, by thetime he and Inez met, he worked at CrownKing. The two were married in 1904. Theirdaughter Roberta was born in 1905 and was

soon followed by Kathryn in 1906 and Bettyin 1908.

Unfortunately not long after this, Morrisonwould experience a series of tragedies. In1910 his wife Lizzie died from Bright’s dis-ease after a prolonged illness.20 The choir atthe Catholic Church of Prescott would missLizzie, once a leading soprano at St. Patrick’sin her native Chicago. Morrison’s son-in-law,Dr. McDonnell, died in 1911 from a rupturedappendix in Jerome, where he had moved hisfamily for his medical practice. Inez and herthree children then moved back to Prescott tolive in the house on Marina Street, where sheassumed management of the household.

Morrison’s son Emmett attended GeorgetownUniversity from 1911 to 1914 and then wentto law school at Northwestern University.Afterward, he returned to Prescott to practicelaw with his father. He also served in WorldWar I, but despite letters of recommendationfrom many of Arizona’s political elite, he wasnot admitted to officers’ training. In 1921Emmett married Libby Akin, and theirdaughter Erin Mary Morrison was born in1923. Yet after her birth, something hap-pened that made Emmett leave Prescott andabandon his family. There is reason to be-lieve that he may have embezzled moneyfrom one of his father’s clients.

Soon thereafter, Morrison began a downwardspiral of health and financial problems thatwould lead to his death in 1927. He hadmortgaged the family home to a bank in orderto raise funds to cover his debts. Morrisonthen transferred the title to the bank with anunderstanding that he could live there and payrent until the bank sold the house. But afterdisposing of all of his assets, there were stillinsufficient funds to pay all the creditors, whoin the end received less than 25% of theirclaims against his estate. This was a tragicconclusion to a distinguished career of an in-

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dividual who always prided himself on hisintegrity and professionalism and who strug-gled to rectify his son’s misdeeds. Emmettdid not attend his father’s funeral, and hisadult daughter later was unable to trace hiswanderings after he left Prescott.

In addition to his professional and politicallegacy in Arizona, one of Robert E. Morri-son’s most enduring contributions is the rolehe played in the Rough Rider Monument thattoday graces the Yavapai County CourthousePlaza. Morrison was chairman of a commis-sion appointed by the Arizona Legislature toselect a suitable memorial for Arizona’sRough Riders. He volunteered to go east toconsult with a sculptor, but became discour-aged when he was unable to find one whowould complete the project for the amount offunds allotted by the legislature. However,noted sculptor Solon Borglum heard of theproject and offered to create the monument.When Morrison told him that they had only$10,000, Borglum is reported to have said,“Mr. Morrison, you shall have your monu-ment.” What is reputed to be one of SolonBorglum’s finest works now sits upon a pieceof Prescott granite, facing north as a proudtribute to the Rough Riders and Captain Wil-liam O’Neill. The Monument appropriatelyincludes, among other names of the MemorialCommission, Robert E. Morrison.21

ENDNOTES

1 Leon F. Kneipp, “Family History Notes,” August1947. A copy of this unpublished manuscript is in thepossession of the author.2 James H. McClintock, Arizona, Prehistoric, Aborigi-nal, Pioneer, Modern: The Nation’s Youngest Com-monwealth Within a Land of Ancient Culture, Vol. 3(Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1916), 175-76. 3 Harold L. Edwards, “The Man Who Killed IkeClanton,” True West 38 (1991): 24-29.

4 Will C. Barnes, Apaches & Longhorns: The Reminis-cences of Will C. Barnes, ed. Frank C. Lockwood (LosAngeles, CA: The Ward Ritchie Press, 1941), 132-34. 5 Larry D. Ball, “Commodore Perry Owens - The ManBehind the Legend,” The Journal of Arizona History(Spring, 1992): 27-56. 6 Recent research, however, has raised questions abouttheir guilt. See Leland J. Hanchett, The Crooked TrailTo Holbrook (Phoenix: Arrowhead Press, 1993). 7 Apache Review (May 30, 1888). 8 Johnson v. Morrison, 3 Ariz. 109, 21 Pac. 465,(1889). 9 Frank D. Reeve, ed., Albert Franklin Banta: ArizonaPioneer, Publications in History, Historical Society ofNew Mexico XIV (1953): 119-24. 10 Ling had been one of the first graduates from theNormal School in Tempe, where he then taught forseveral years before going to law school at the Univer-sity of Michigan. After law school, Ling practiced inChicago for six months before returning to Prescott. 11 John S. Goff, The Secretaries, United States Attor-neys, Marshals, Surveyors General and Superinten-dents of Indian Affairs 1863-1912 (Arizona TerritorialOfficials), Vol. 4 (Cave Creek, AZ: Black MountainPress, 1988), 94-95. 12 Kneipp, “Family History Notes” 13 FHS,http://www.foresthistory.org/Research/usfscoll/people/WO_Staffs/Kneipp.html. 14 John S. Goff, The Governors 1863-1912 (ArizonaTerritorial Officials), Vol. 2 (Cave Creek, AZ: BlackMountain Press, 1978), page. 178 15 Jay J. Wagoner, Arizona Territory, 1863-1912: APolitical History (Tucson: The University of ArizonaPress, 1970), 361-62. 16 Morrison had won the nomination over William F.Nichols by a narrow margin. See John S. Goff, TheDelegates to Congress, 1863-1912 (Arizona TerritorialOfficials), Vol. 3 (Cave Creek, AZ: Black MountainPress, 1986), 164-65. 17 Jay J. Wagoner, Arizona Territory, 1863-1912: APolitical History (Tucson: The University of ArizonaPress, 1970), 400. 18 John S. Goff, The Delegates to Congress, 1863-1912 (Arizona Territorial Officials), Vol. 3 (CaveCreek, AZ: Black Mountain Press, 1986), 165. 19 Robert E. Morrison to Hon. J. H. Kibbey, 12 Sep-tember 1906. A copy of this unpublished letter is in thepossession of the author. 20 Bright’s disease, known today as nephritis, is ahistorical classification of kidney diseases no longer inuse. 21 “The Arizona Rough Rider Monument and CaptainW. O. O’Neill,” Sharlot Hall Museum, Prescott Eve-ning Courier,