Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-19
SOON BEGIN WORK
ON GARDEN OF OLD
MORRIS MANSION
Homestead a Storehouse of
Heirlooms and Alive With
Memories of c ol onia |
Days,

a Wlthln the next fortnight the work o
e restoring the gardens belonging to TIN
h old Morris mansion Is to be started. Fo
r months small army of mechanics ha
4 been busily engaged in the preparator,
4 operations, which included the razing o
{ two houses almost as old, but not al
large as the stately home Of one Of Phlla.
; delpha's families OF Colonial ancestry
l The present occupant and owner is Mrs
Israel Wistar Morris, who has materially
assisted her son, Efiingham n. Morris, In
! the work Of restoration. Old documents
nave been gone over, family records
searched and personal recollections re-
vived so that everything about the house
and gardens shall be the same as it was
over century ago
Our fathers. and our Observation-Disclosures,
too, were familiar with the big brass
plate on the double doors of the house
at 225 South Eighth street. Il bears the
single name Morris" almost obliterated
by polish and the use OF the elbow be-
slowed by generations Of housemaids
The lock OH the inside Of the door is al
most big enough for n Jail. and the key
| incites the thought that IL might belong
to an ancient fortress.
On each side of the door are two win
dows. through the small panes OF which
can bo seen blooming plants no matter
| what the outside temperature may be.
On the second and third floors are ranges
OF hve windows, all having the same
small pnnes and broad sash bars. To
| the front wall is afflxed the old Con-
| tributorship insurance badge
Tho house is built of alternating red
gtTRtNher IND alr h-ta
the doorway set between huted, and
quilted pilasters surmounted by a pedi-
ment OF simple design, but OF most excel
lent proportion.
AN OLD-FASHIONED GARDEN.
Through this doorway admission is
gained to the hall which runs to n door
opposite the entrance opening into a gar
den full of box bushes and rose trees and
In season old-fashioncd flowers. origi-
nally the garden of the mansion ran back
of house occupying the lot at 22o, but
this house. which was built in 1888 by
Luke Morris for his daughter Mrs
Charles Ellis, has just been demolished
to make room for the new garden which
is to be n replica OF the old one of Colo
NAL days. low brick wall surmounted
by an iron railing has just been erected
to inclose the property,
between the little thoroughfare which |
was once known as Goodwater alley. now |
b. James street. and the Morris mansion |
was house belonging to the Phlladel-
phia Saving Fund. This residence was |
also torn down by the owner for protec-
tive measures, and a wall and railing
similar to that on the south side of the |
motifs house has been erected
ChanGes or ownership. commerciallsm,
tne me extension OF the city and lines Of
hnN
Colonial mansions, but in this instance
the usual order OF things has been re-
Versed, leaving the Morris mansion al
most the only one OF the notable houses
of old Philadelphia unaltered by the
commercial touch.
quite deal OF romance and early his
tory have been woven about this land
mark, which was built by John REYNOLDS
In 1855. sold to Ann Dunkin by the sheriff.
In 1917, Luke Wistar Morris, the son of
Captain Samuel Morris, who was the can
tain or the City Troop during the Revo-
luton, purchased tho property, since
when 1t has passed by inheritance from
one member of the family to another.
sToREHOUsE OF HEIRLooMs.
The interior of the mansion is a storo-
house of helrlooms OF the Morris and
Wistar families. Priceless china, old fur
|
he long ago days when the taIIy-ho q
punch bowl was more than a relic and
he aroma of the Fish House Punch" '
vas more than a memory. c
Captain Samuel Morris was n Governor {
II the State in schuylkill for 10 years and r
vas president OF the Gloucester Fox
Hunting Club. and out OF these two or q
the First City Troop was T
established. 1t is a notable fact that Eff v
nBham b. Morris. Jr., became a member :,
Il this organization exactly 100 years
fter the death of his great-great-grand- j
ather. Samuel Morris. o
According to family records, the keniaI n
aptain was a man OF slnsularIy Amiabie
ersonality and ono of the best known
itiEens OF his day. An excellent horHa-
ian, a keen sportsman and one who was I
IN bringing out clearly the n
Ok hunting side OF Philadelphia life.
n the year l766 number OF gentlemen
Philadelphia and West Jersey met v
t the Philadelphia Coffee House, Front D
nd Market streets, to organize a fox b
uniting club. a
This was accomplished, and when the n
ar with the mother country was inn Il
linent Captain Morris and his friends
ere found with the Philadelphia Troop
Light Horse. all except four having
zen members OF the Gloucester Fox
uniting Club. 1t was some time before | ~
81 that the members presented Cap
lin Morris with the china punch bowl
nd in which the famous brew was
ade from the Captains own recipe,
hich is still in use h
Mr.. Morris says that the Morris House OF
rs been occupied three times by four At
sneratisns OF the family. with intervals :,
a generation between the occupations, "
MY grandmother was II years old when II
ornwallis entered Philadelphia, and In
le lived 10 be 80 years old and uyaa
i've when l was a child living In the
'use. Everything about It stands 10 IT
AXE the old garden look Just as n st
d when the city was a good many OF
'ars younger than 1t is today" he 9.
I'd today. o
q
lRECToR HARTE WARNS m