He attended Ohio University for two years, returning home to help on the family farm and to teach school.
He entered Miami University in 1846 and conceived the idea for the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, which he founded with five other students on December 26, 1848.
[2] Morrison's career as a minister, editor of religious publications, and teacher took him to Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Missouri.
[3] He was also co-editor of the Louisville True Presbyterian,[4] which was suppressed by Union military authorities in 1863, during the American Civil War.
[2] In September 1869, Morrison established Westminster Academy, a co-educational school in Waterford, Ohio, where he was principal for six years.