Roger Morris ( British Army officer ) Roger Morris ( 28 January 1717 – 13 September 1794 ) was a colonel in the British Army who fought in the French and Indian War . Life . He was born in England on 28 January 1727 , the third son of Roger Morris of Netherby , in the North Riding of Yorkshire , by his first wife , the fourth daughter of Sir Peter Jackson He become a captain in the 48th Regiment of Foot . The regiment served at Falkirk and Culloden , and in Flanders . Morris came to America with General Edward Braddock and served as his aide - de - camp . He was wounded during Braddock ' s Defeat near Fort Duquesne in western Pennsylvania . Transferred to the 35th Regiment of Foot in 1758 , Morris served in Fort Frederick in Nova Scotia . Morris joined the Louisbourg Grenadiers ( a special corps made up of the Grenadiers of the 22nd , 40th and 45th Regiments ) during General James Wolfe ' s invasion of French controlled Quebec where he participated in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham on 13 September 1759 . During the battle the Louisbourg , Grenadiers suffered a loss of fifty - five killed and wounded . In May 1760 , Morris was promoted to lieutenant - colonel of the 47th Regiment of Foot shortly after the Battle of Sainte - Foy , and participated in General Jeffrey Amherst ' s assault and capture of Montreal on 8 September 1760 ending French rule in North America . Morris retired from the army in 1764 and settled in New York City with his American wife , Mary Philipse ( daughter of Frederick Philipse ) who had married in 1758 . The following year , he had a large mansion named " Mount Morris " , later called the Morris - Jumel Mansion , built on a hilltop in northern Manhattan in Harlem Heights . The property was confiscated in 1776 . The house was Washington ' s headquarters at one time . Morris ' s plate and furniture were sold by auction some weeks later . When the American Revolutionary War began in 1776 , Morris , who was a Loyalist , returned to England with his wife . He died in York , England on 13 September 1794 , at age 77 . His wife died in 1825 at the age of 96 . A monument is erected over their graves in St Saviour ' s Church , St Saviourgate in York . Family . There were two sons and two daughters by the marriage . The eldest son , Amherst Morris , entered the royal navy , and was first lieutenant of the " Nymphe " frigate , Captain Sir Edward Pellew , afterwards Viscount Exmouth , in her famous action with the French frigate " La Cleopatre " . He died in 1802 . The other son , Henry Gage Morris , also saw much service in the navy , and rose to the rank of rear - admiral . He afterwards resided at York and at Beverley . He died at Beverley in 1852 , and was buried in Beverley Minster . He was father of Francis Orpen Morris the naturalist . The English attorney - general having given his opinion that property inherited by children at the demise of their parents was not included in the aforesaid attainder , in law or equity , the surviving children of Roger and Mary Morris in 1809 , sold their reversionary interests to John Jacob Astor of New York for a sum of £20 , 000 , to which the British government added £17 , 000 , in compensation for their parents ' losses .