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KANAHWA COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA - BIOS: MORRIS, William R.
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Submitted to the West Virginia Biographies Project by:
SSpradling@aol.com
September 19, 1999
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History of Charleston and Kanawha County, West Virginia
W.S. Laidley
1911
p. 831
WILLIAM R. MORRIS, superintendent of mines for the Queen Shoal Coal Company
and general manager of their mercantile store at Queen Shoals, Clay county,
W. Va., was born July 18, 1872, at Clifton, W. Va., and is a son of James
Dickinson and Agnes L. (Haymaker) Morris.
James Dickinson Morris was horn sixty-nine years ago at Hanley, W. Va., and
now lives at Pratt. He was sixteen years old when he enlisted for service in
the Civil War. He served four years in Co. I, 8th Va. Vol. Cavalry, and after
being mustered out of the army, became a blacksmith, and still does
considerable work of that kind. He moved to Clifton ahout 1870 and has
resided there continuously since then. He has been a lifelong Democrat. He
married Agnes L.' Haymaker, who was born in Botetourt county, Va., and who is
a daughter of Michael Haymaker, who was a shoemaker by trade. The Morris
family came originally from Kentucky. Of the surviving children of James D.
Morris and wife, William R. is the eldest, the others being: Oscar L., who is
connected with the railroad at Thurmond, W. Va.; Eugene H., who is bookkeeper
for a coal com-pany in Kanawba county; and Henry E., who is a clerk with
Armour & Co., at Louisville, Ky. The father of the ahove family has been a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church at Clifton, for the past twenty-five
years.
William R. Morris attended school at Clifton and afterward was a clerk for
his uncle, W. S. Haymaker, for five years. He then followed the carpenter's
trade for two years. In 1891 he went with the Coal Valley Mining Company in
the capacity of clerk and book-keeper and remained for six years. For the
following five years he was with the Beury Coal and Coke Company; for one and
one-half years was buyer for the firm of Carver Bros, Montgomery, W. Va.; for
three years was with the Wacomab Coal Company; and for two years was with the
Paint Creek Colliery Com-pany, after which he came to the Queen Shoals Coal
Company, and occupies a responsible p~ Sition with this corporation. In
politics he is an active Prohibitionist. For two years he was also postmaster
at Queen Shoals.
Mr. Morris married Miss Edna Hughes, who was born in Fayette county, W. Va.,
a daughter of Ellis Hughes, who was horn in Wales, and emigrated to America
prior to his marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have two chil-dren: James, aged
ten years, and Agnes, aged six years. The family attends the First
Presby-terian church at Charleston. Mr. Morris belongs to the Khights of
Pythias, Uniform Rank, at Montgomery, W. Va.
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