Anna Livingston Reade Street was born on May 18, 1846, in Poughkeepsie, New York, the daughter of William Ingram Street (died 1863) and Susan Watts (née Kearney) Street (1819–1893).
After they married, her husband became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1879, serving until 1881 when he was appointed the United States Minister to France by President James A. Garfield in 1881. Morton was U.S. Minister until May 14, 1885, and Anna was noted for as a highly cultivated French scholar.
During her husband's term as Vice President of the United States under President Benjamin Harrison, she was Second Lady of the United States from 1889 to 1893 and often handled entertaining duties for the administration due to First LadyCaroline Harrison's illness and ultimate death. During this time, the Mortons lived on Scott CircleinWashington, D.C., and Mrs. Morton "became the leader of society in Washington, and there was never a more brilliant and popular leader than she. It was her innate graciousness, her innate tact, and her kindness of heart . . . which won her admiration and respect of all".[1]
After the Mortons left Washington, Levi became the Governor of New York and Anna served as the First Lady of New York from 1895 to 1896.
In 1873, Anna was married to Levi Parsons Morton (1824–1920), just two years after the death of his first wife, Lucy Young Kimball, in 1871. Together, Anna and Levi had five daughters and a son together. A son, Lewis died at the age of four months in London, and daughters Lena and Alice predeceased their mother.
In December 1904, the Mortons anonymously gave $600,000 to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. In January 1905, The New York Times revealed that the Mortons were the givers, including funds for the purchase of an organ in memory of their daughter Lena who died in Paris the June previous.[11]
^"MISS MARY MORTON". The New York Times. 23 April 1932. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
^"Mrs. Levi P. Morton Dies At Home in Rhinecliff, N.Y.", Boston Daily Globe, Thursday, August 15, 1918, Boston, Massachusetts, United States Of America.
