William Morris

WILLIAM MORRIS was appointed to the Camden Fire Department in the spring of 1884 as extra engineer, replacing John Campbell. He remained with the Fire Department through at least April 29, 1910.

William Morris’ early years are somewhat unclear. According to the 1860 and 1920 Census, William Morris was born in Georgia, most likely in 1848. He does not appear in the Camden’s 1878–1879 City Directory. The 1879–1880 Directory shows a William Morris at 260 Walnut Street, working as a fireman. This would not be in the sense of someone who was fighting fires, but rather as one who worked around steam equipment.

The 1880 Census shows William Morris and his wife Rachel living at 712 Oak Street in South Camden. Oak Street was renamed Locust Street a few years later. Living next door at 710 Oak Street was Wilson Bromley, both Bromley and William Morris were appointed to the Camden Fire Department in 1884. At the time of the 1880 Census there was one child, a son Courtney Morris, born in Delaware around 1862. The 1882 City Directory shows William Morris at 712 Oak Street, working as an engineer for the American Dredging Company. By the spring of 1884 he had moved to 714 Oak Street and Wilson Bromley had moved to 716 Oak Street, and both men were members of the Camden Fire Department, William Morris as the Department’s extra engineer, and Bromley as an extra man with Engine Company 1. When the Fire Department was reorganized in July of 1885 and many of the extra men were dropped, both Morris and Bromley were kept on.

William Morris stated at 714 Locust Street as late as 1890. By the middle of 1892 he had moved to 712 Locust Street, where he remained through 1894.

The 1894 Camden City Directory lists Engine Company 2’s personnel as consisting of the following: Foreman Harry C. Grosscup; Engineer, William Morris; Driver, john p. long; albert jones, George Wade, william hertline, David Andrews.

The 1896, 1897, and 1898 Camden City Directory indicates that William Morris had moved to 339 Spruce Street. The 1899 City Directory and subsequent Directories and Census records state that he lived at 337 Spruce Street.

The 1900 Census shows William Morris at 337 Spruce Street, and states that he was married. His wife, however, was not living at the address. Listed as boarders there were Augusta “Gussie” Tesmire, her brothers Herman and William, as well as a married couple, Berry and Josephine Humphrey. The 1910 Census shows that William Morris and Augusta Tesmire had married and that he was still an engineer with the Camden Fire Department. He was then, according the that census, 65 years old.

William Morris does not appear in the 1914 City Directory. By January of 1920 he and his wife Augusta were living in a home they owned at 233 Chestnut Avenue in North Wildwood, New Jersey. William Morris does not appear in the 1930 Census and most likely had passed away.