The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-10-08
Page Morris

Il
Va, June so, 1858, and received hjs
early education at a private country
boarding school kept by his uncle.
Charles Morris, NJ. A., who afterwards
became professor of Greek in the Uni
Verslty Of Georgia. His college educa-
ton consisted of year at William and
Mary college, after which he entered
the Virginia Military Institute at Lex
lngton, Va, and in three years compIet-
ed the regular four-years' course.
graduating as First-HOnor man in his
class, July i. 1872. He won the debat-
ing society medal that year.
After graduating he became assist
ant professor of mathematics in the iD-
stitute for one year.
III the fail of 1873, when only twenty
years of age, he accepted the chair Of
Mathematics and Tactics in the Mill
tary Institute of Texas. He also served
three years as professor of mathemat-
les at the Agricultural and Mechanical
College of Bryan, Texas. During all
this time he read law more or less, and
spent two vacations in the office of a
prominent attorney in Austin, Texas.
lie resigned his position at the col
lege and passed an examination and
was admitted to the bar at St. Louis,
Mo-; but not liking the place; he went
back to Virginia, practiced law there,
and took some interest in politics.
Politically Page Norris was a Demo-
crat until he was Twenty-Five years Of
age. Then he became convinced that
the protective policy was the right one
for Virginans.
TO advocate the Republican policy of
protection in Virginia in those days
meant to make man decidedly unpop-
u1ar, if not something worse. It
meant that he must constantly be
fighting Republican to hold his own.
In the congressional campaign of
1882 he took the stump to advocate the
election of John S. Wise as congress
man at large, and in 1854 was nomin-
ated for congressman in the Sixth dis
trict, and made splendid showing
against Hon. John Daniel, now United
States senator from Virginia, in
opp1essly-Democratic district; this
was done with the view of making a
united front, and, if possible, to carry
the electoral vote for Blaine.
He came to Duluth in December,
1856, and was not long in gaining mer-
tied prominence, both as citizen and
as lawyer of ability.
In March, 1889. he was elected mu-
nicipal judge, and served until March,
1892. March. 1894 lie was elected city
attorney, and served until Sept. I, S5,
when Gov. C1ough appointed him to
the district bench to fill the vacancy
caused by the resignation Of Judge
Lewis.
1t was while Judge Norris was city
attorney that some of the most i'm
portant street-assessment litigation in
the history of Duluth came up, under
tie new charter Of 1887. 1t involved
hundreds Of thousands Of dollars. and
was carried by him to a successful. ter
mination in the supreme court.
In the fall OF 'SS he Stumped the leg
islative district for Col. Graves, and in
each succeeding campaign has been
active except in the years that he has
been on the bench.
July 1G, 1856, he was forced to ac-
cept the nomination for congressman
from the Sixth district, to which he
sacrificed his position on the bench,
which was not only more lucrative,
but more to his taste, than would be a
congressional career.
Feb. 81, 1887, he married Miss Eliz-
abeth Statham Of Lynchburg, Va, and
abs a family of five children, four
girls and one boy.
Judge Morris is a member of the Ma
sonic fraternity, and is member of a
Greek letter fraternity, and, together
with his family, is a member Of the
Episcopal church.