Morrison was born in 1857 in Detroit, Michigan, but moved to Chicago at the beginning of the American Civil War.
He began working in a photography studio at the age of ten.
He attended the Metropolitan Business College in Chicago, graduating in 1879, and he used his education to manage a series of photography studios until 1889, when he opened his own studio, located in the Haymarket Theatre.
[2] In addition to photography, Morrison had numerous business interests, including real estate and ranching.
[3] Photographer Clara Louise Hagins worked for Morrison.