Morrison was born in
Livermore, Maine. His first business was as a merchant supporting the lumber industry near
Bangor, Maine. In 1854, Morrison visited Minnesota to investigate potential lumber interests. He was sufficiently impressed that he sold his businesses in Maine and moved to St. Anthony, Minnesota within a year. He became involved in the local lumber and milling industries (along with his fellow Mainer
William D. Washburn) and became an early investor in the Minneapolis Milling Company (forerunner of today's
General Mills). In 1863, Morrison was elected to represent the 5th district in the
Minnesota State Senate and served from 1864 to 1865. When the city of Minneapolis was formally incorporated in 1867, Morrison was elected as its first mayor. He was re-elected to a second term in 1869 and ran unsuccessfully for a third in 1872. Morrison supported the initial construction of the
Northern Pacific Railroad along with William Washburn,
George A. Brackett,
William S. King and others. Around that same time, he began building a
streetcar line in the city. He joined with other businessmen, and eventually hired
Thomas Lowry, who got the line up and running in 1875. The line eventually merged with a line in neighboring
St. Paul to become
Twin City Rapid Transit. Morrison died at his home on June 26, 1897. He was buried in
Lakewood Cemetery. ==Electoral history==