Lewis Morris was brought up in the Parish of Llanfihangel in north-east Anglesey where his father was a carpenter and cooper., he had very little formal education, but an enquiring mind. From the beach where he played as a child he could see the coasters and other ships passing on their way to the port of Liverpool, and it is not surprising that it occurred to him that a survey was needed to help ships avoid the many uncharted dangers along the coast. His skill at mathematics was recognised, and his first appointment as estate surveyor to Owen Meyrick at Bodorgan in 1724. In 1729 he became a customs official at Holyhead and Beaumaris, and every day came into contact with sea captains and heard of the inadequacy of the existing charts in the face of the hidden dangers.