Morris, James Lewis | Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada

MORRIS, James Lewis (1862-1946) was known best as an engineer, active in Pembroke, Ont. where he later served as mayor of the town. Born in Greenlaw, Ont. on 26 November 1862 he was one of the first engineering students to graduate from the School of Practical Science at the Univ. of Toronto in 1881. He later became one of the founding members of the Ontario Association of Architects, and registered with them on 29 October 1890, and successfully practised as an 'architect, C.E. and P.L.S' for more than a decade (Union Pub Co., Directory of Carleton, Dundas, Glengarry & Grenville, 1899, 186). Only one architectural commission can be found that can be credited to him, that for a public school at CHALK RIVER, ONT., 1899 (C.R., x, 28 June 1899, 2, t.c.), but additional research may shed light on other works by him in the Pembroke area in the late 19th C. Morris continued to work as an engineer after 1900, and received an Honorary Doctorate from the Univ. of Toronto in 1927 for his achievements. He retired in 1943, and died in Toronto on 21 February 1946 (obit. Globe & Mail [Toronto], 22 Feb. 1946, 4; Toronto Star, 22 Feb. 1946, 2; inf. Mrs. Mary Tasker, Toronto)