Early life

William Morton Grinnell was born in New York City on February 28, 1857, the son of William F. Grinnell and Mary (Morton) Grinnell (sister of Levi P. Morton). Another uncle, Daniel Oliver Morton (1815–59), served as the Mayor of Toledo, Ohio from 1849 to 1850. He was educated in Stuttgart and at Phillips Exeter Academy. He then studied at Harvard College, but left without taking a degree because of health problems, traveling to France, where his father had recently been appointed U.S. Consul at Saint-Étienne. William Morton Grinnell worked for a while for the United States Consulate in Lyon.
Early life
 William Morton Grinnell was born in New York City on February 28, 1857, the son of William F. Grinnell and Mary (Morton) Grinnell (sister of Levi P. Morton) . Another uncle, Daniel Oliver Morton (1815–59), served as the Mayor of Toledo, Ohio from 1849 to 1850. He was educated in Stuttgart and at Phillips Exeter Academy. He then studied at Harvard College, but left without taking a degree because of health problems, traveling to France, where his father had recently been appointed U.S. Consul at Saint-Étienne. William Morton Grinnell worked for a while for the United States Consulate in Lyon.