Governor Warren E. Hearnes Succeeded by Milton Carpenter Spouse Margery Morrison Preceded by George Hubert Bates Died July 8, 1988 | Governor James T. Blair, Jr. Role Politician Preceded by Milton Carpenter Name Mount Morris | |
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Succeeded by William Edmond Robinson Education University of Missouri, Missouri State University | ||
Mount Etna Morris (September 1, 1900 – July 8, 1988) was an American politician from Missouri. A Democrat, he served three non-consecutive terms as State Treasurer of Missouri as well as Missouri Director of Revenue and two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives.
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Early life and education
Mount Etna Morris was born September 1, 1900 in Dadeville, Missouri to hardware merchant Albert G. Morris and his wife. He had two siblings; brother A. George Morris, an official with the Missouri Department of Conservation, and sister Lucille (Morris) Upton, an author and newspaper reporter. Following graduation from Walnut Grove High School, M.E. Morris served his nation during World War One. After his military service Morris attended Southwest Missouri State College in Springfield and later the University of Missouri. On December 24, 1922, he married the former Helen Adamson of Everton, Missouri, and had two children. In April, 1967 he married Margery (Lott) Adamson, the widow of his first wife's relative.
Business and politics
In 1928, Morris founded and managed the People's Bank in Miller, Missouri. From 1932 to 1936, he served two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. Following his service in the state legislature, he served as CEO of the Trenton National Bank from 1936 to 1945. He re-joined state government in 1945, serving for a year as commissioner of the state Division of Finance, before becoming the first director of the newly created Missouri Department of Revenue in July 1946, in the Cabinet of Governor Phil M. Donnelly, serving until his election as state treasurer. From 1949 to 1953, he served as State Treasurer of Missouri. He served again as director of the state Department of Revenue from 1953 to 1956, during Phil Donnelly's second term as governor, before resigning to seek a second term as state treasurer, which he served from 1957 to 1961. He was subsequently reelected to a third term, serving from 1965 to 1969.