Mount Etna Morris

Mount Etna Morris
33rd, 35th & 37th State Treasurer of Missouri
In office January 1965 – January 1969
Governor	Warren E. Hearnes
Preceded by	Milton Carpenter
Succeeded by	William Edmond Robinson
In office January 1957 – January 1961
Governor	James T. Blair, Jr.
Preceded by	George Hubert Bates
Succeeded by	Milton Carpenter
In office January 1949 – January 1953
Governor	Forrest Smith
Preceded by	Richard R. Nacy
Succeeded by	George Hubert Bates
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
In office 1932–1936
Personal details
Born	September 1, 1900 Dadeville, Missouri, USA
Died	July 8, 1988 (aged 87)
Spouse(s)	Helen (Adamson) Morris Margery (Lott)(Adamson) Morrison
Children	Four (two with first wife, two step-children)
Alma mater	Southwest Missouri State College University of Missouri
Profession	Banking Politics
Religion	Presbyterian

Mount Etna Morris (September 1, 1900 – July 8, 1988) was a U.S. 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.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

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.

References

1. "Honorary Members". White River Valley Historical Quarterly. 1964-06-01. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
2. "Obituary". Dexter Daily Statesman. 2008-06-27. Retrieved 2011-05-31.

• Missouri State Treasurer-Past Treasurer's Biography