The son of an Episcopal bishop, Morris studied at the Bishop Scott School in Portland, Oregon; St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire; and Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. Following these studies he received an architectural degree from Columbia University in 1894. The following two years were spent at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris
Back in New York, Morris worked for four years in the firm of Carrere and Hastings. In 1900, a year before his marriage to Alice F. Goodwin, he opened his own office. Ten years later, he formed a partnership with C. Grant La Farge. Among other buildings, they were responsible for the Union League Club, New York, and several buildings at Princeton University. By 1930, Morris had become the senior partner in the firm of Morris and O'Connor. In the final years of his life he lived in Mt. Kisco, New York.
