Many references state that Rob Morris was born on August 31, 1818, near .
However, there is some evidence that he was born Robert Williams Peckham, in [[New York]], and that he adopted the name of his [[foster parent]]s after the death of his birth parents, later shortening his name to Rob to avoid confusion with another poet named Robert Morris. He grew up in New York, where he (apparently) also went to college.
He worked as a teacher for 10 years before moving to , where he continued teaching at Mount Sylvan Academy, a school established by Freemasons. While living in Oxford, he met Charlotte Mendenhall, whom he married on August 26, 1841.