American lawyer, businessman, and militia general (1761?1836)
Major-General
Jacob Morton
(1761?1836) was an American military officer, lawyer, and businessman.
Biography
[
edit
]
Morton was born in New York City on July 8, 1761.
[1]
[a]
He studied law at The College of New Jersey, today
Princeton University
; however, Morton never practiced law.
Morton was the marshal for the
First inauguration of George Washington
. When it was found that no bible was available, Morton retrieved the Lodge Bible from
St. John's Lodge
where he was the
Worshipful Master
.
Morton served as
New York City Comptroller
from 1807 to 1808. Morton was also later clerk for the
New York City Common Council
.
Morton was an active
Freemason
, and was the
Grand Master
of
Grand Lodge of New York
from 1801–04.
[4]
The Grand Lodge of New York established an award named for Morton, known as the "Jacob Morton Award", given to Masons or Masonic Organizations that have demonstrated exceptional voluntary service to their community.
[5]
In 1796, Jacob Morton was listed as the presiding officer of Ancient Encampment, Knights Templar (New York City), in its first published list of officers. He remained in that office until 1810, when all traces of the encampment were lost. In 1815, the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of New York was created. On August 16, 1823, the Grand Encampment issued a warrant to Morton Encampment No. 4 (now Morton Commandery No. 4), which was named in honor of General Morton.
[6]
Morton was promoted to brigadier-general in 1804. The Brigade he commanded was known as "Morton's Brigade of Artillery," which was the precursor for the
Seventh Regiment of New York
.
[7]
As Major-General, Morton led the
New York Militia
during the
War of 1812
.
[8]
He died in New York City on December 3, 1836.
[1]
[9]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Some sources give his birth year as 1762.
[2]
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Johnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1904).
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
. Vol. VII. Boston: The Biographical Society
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
– via Internet Archive.
- ^
Herring, James (June 19, 1841).
"Biography of the Late Major General Morton"
.
New-York Military Magazine
. Vol. I, no. 2. p. 17
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
– via Google Books.
- ^
Clark, Emmons (1890).
History of the Seventh Regiment of New York, 1806-1889
. Vol. I. New York. p. 250
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
– via Google Books.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Proceedings of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York
. May 1921. p. 254
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
– via Google Books.
- ^
"Awards Committee"
. Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
.
- ^
Historical Reminiscences of Morton Commandery No. 4, Knights Templar
. 1891. pp. 21?23
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
– via Google Books.
- ^
Clark, Emmons (1864).
History of the Second company of the Seventh regiment
. Retrieved
November 13,
2011
– via Google Books.
- ^
Daniel D. Tompkins (1898).
Public papers of Daniel d. Tompkins, governor of New York, 1807-1817, volume 1
. Retrieved
November 13,
2011
– via Google Books.
- ^
"Death of General Morton"
.
The Augusta Chronicle
. December 17, 1836. p. 1
. Retrieved
May 19,
2022
– via NewspaperArchive.