The Morgan Families of Washington County, Iowa

At the time of his death, which occurred May 5, 1904, Henry Morgan was one of the oldest residents of Washington county, not only in the years which his life record covered, but also in the years of his connection with this part of the state. He came here in pioneer times and for an extended period was closely associated with agricultural interests and with the work of general! progress and improvement. During the evening of his life he was not only regarded as one of the most venerable but also as one of the most highly respected citizens of his locality. He was born on a farm in Tennessee on the 9th of April, 1818, and in 1832, when a youth of fourteen years, he accompanied his parents on their removal to Indiana, where many evidences of frontier life were still to be seen. There he was reared and educated, attending the common schools of that state and in 1846. when twenty-eight years of age, he came to Iowa, thinking to have better business opportunities in this later settled but rapidly growing state.

In the meantime, however, a most important even in his life had occurred — his marriage on the 13th of May, 1840, to Miss Dicey H. Barnett, who was born in Ohio on he 13th of Janviary, 1823, and when but two years old was taken by her parents to Huntsville, Indiana. Mr. Morgan was a member of the Quaker church until the time of his marriage but his wife was not identified with that sect and for marrying outside of the church he was expelled from that communion. He withdrew gracefully, however, and for sixty-five years he and the lady for whom he had sacrificed his church connections but not his Christianity, shared together the joys and sorrows of life.

After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Morgan resided for six years in Indiana, where he was employed most of the time in a flourmill. As a young man he was very strong, often carrying a three hundred pound sack of wheat to the second floor of the mill. He was also active and influential in community affairs and in 1845, the year before the removal to Iowa, he was a candidate for state senator on the abolition ticket but at that time the party was weak and he therefore failed of election. The following" year, packing all of his goods that he could into a spring wagon driven by two horses, he and his wife started for Iowa.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

C. B. MORGAN.

C. B. Morgan is one of the extensive landowners of 'washington county, his property interests comprising five hundred and sixty acres in the home place, also one hundred and thirty acres elsewhere in Clay township with one hundred and sixty-six acres in Van Buren county, Iowa, and twenty-two acres adjoining the city of Des Moines. His investments have been judiciously made and he is therefore classed among the prosperous residents of this locality. He gives his time and attention largely to general farming and stock raising and his home place is well equipped with all of the necessary accessories and conveniences for carrying on his work in accordance with modern methods. He was born in Scotland about ten miles from the city of Glasgow, March 22, 1851, and is a son of John and Margaret (Russell) Morgan, who were likewise natives of the land of hills and weather. In the year 1854 the father came with his family to the United States, taking passage on a sailing vessel which was six weeks in making the voyage to New York. He first settled in the midst of the Allegheny mountains and later took up his above in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, and later became a resident of Paradise, Kentucky, where he lived until his removal to Knox county, Illinois. He afterward went to Buffalo county, Wisconsin, and then again established his home in Illinois. Later he crossed the Mississippi into Iowa, settling in Jasper county and from that place went to Webster county, Iowa, where he died in 1907. His entire life was devoted to mining and he acted as superintendent of mines in Knox county, Illinois, and in Jasper county, Iowa. His life was one of industry and honor and whatever success he enjoyed was attributable entirely to his own labors. He had for ten years survived his wife who passed away in 1897 and was laid to rest at Gowrie, Iowa. In the family of this worthy and respected couple were ten children who are yet living and one who has passed away, the second child having died in infancy. C. B. Morgan is the eldest, while the other members of the family are as follows: Bertha, the wife of Valentine Coats, a blacksmith residing in Des Moines, Iowa: Thomas, who follows farming in Webster county, this state; John, who is living in Murdo, South Dakota; William, of Des Moines, who is with the Percena Hub & Willow Company; Barbara, who is the wife of James Somerville, a ranchman and mine superintendent living at Rock Springs, Wyoming; Robert, a farmer of Keokuk county; George, who follows farming near Fort Dodge, Iowa; James, a railroad engineer living at St. Paul, Minnesota; and Jeannette, the wife of Edward Starry, a traveling salesman.

C. B. Morgan was only four years of age when he accompanied his parents on their embarkation to the new world. He spent his boyhood and youth under the parental roof, remaining at home until twenty-one years of age, after which he engaged in farming for a year. He then removed to Polk county, Iowa, where he had charge of the operation of a mine for six years. On the expiration of that period he turned his attention to general agricultural pursuits in Clay township, making investment in land to which he has added from time to time as his financial resources have increased until his holdings are now extensive and bring to him a gratifying annual revenue. The home property of five hundred and sixty acres is a valuable tract, well improved and presenting a most attractive appearance. He has in addition one hundred and thirty acres in Clay township and one hundred and sixty-six acres in Van Buren county together with twenty-two acres near Des Moines. He was likewise one of the organizers and is one of the directors of the Rubio Savings Bank and he also owns real estate in the town of Rubio.

In 1877 J. Morgan was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Waters, whose father was one of the first school teachers in Washington county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have been born five children: Margaret, the wife of P. B. Johnson, a farmer of Clay township; Annie, the wife of Otto Schmitter, also a farmer: C. E., who is associated with his father in business; Pearl, a miller of Seattle. Washington; and Orville, at home.

In his political views Mr. Morgan is a republican, giving stalwart support to the party. He belongs to the Mutual Benevolent Association, is a member of the Friends church and is a stanch advocate of the cause of temperance. Indeed his influence is always given on the side of morality, justice.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

W. MORGAN, M. D., of the firm of Morgan & Gardner, Wellman, Iowa, was born in Tal)le (grove. Fulton Co.. 111., Dec. 8, 1837, and is the son of Joseph and Lydia (Thomas) Morgan, both of whom were natives of New York. They moved from Oneida County, N. Y., in 1830, to Chicago, Ill., where they remained until 1832, and then moved to near Table Grove, Fulton Coinity. In that place he )purchased eighty.acres of land, remaining on it until 184.i, and then purchased another farm in the same county, where he remained until 18G2, then sold out and moved to i, the village of Cuba, in the same county. The reason assigned for selling the farm was that his sons iuid enlisted in the service of their country, and he did not feel like continuing to actively engage in farm work.

After making his home in Cuba for about five years, Mr. Morgan removed to Bushnell, McDonough Co., Ill., where he remained till his death, which occurred from Bright's disease, in 1877. His remains were buried in the cemetery at Bushnell. For many years lie was a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal Cluirch, and did much for the advancement of the Lord's cause. He was a sincere Christian, and a man who enjoyed the respect of all who knew him. His wife, who yet survives him, has passed her eighty-sixth birthday, and is now making her home with her children. They were the parents of eleven children: D. T. was for a number of j'ears a practicing physician in Bushnell, Ill., and died in 1881; William, a farmer residing in Sumner County, Kan., was a member of the id Illinois Infantry, and was discharged on account of disability' after the second battle of Corinth; Joseph died at the age of four years, from the bite of a snake; J. W., our subject, was next in order of birth. A. R. was a member of the 8th Illinois Infantry, and served three years during the war of the Rebellion; he is now a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is stationed at Moline, Ill. R. A. is engaged in farming near Bushnell, Ill.; he was a member of the 17th Illinois Infantry during the war of the Rebellion, and served three years. Mary A. is the wife of G. W. Moss, of Cuba, Ill. Three died in infancy.

J. W. Morgan, the subject of this sketch, was reared upon his father's farm, and attended schools generally until twenty-two years of age, when he commenced reading medicine in the office of his brother, Ur. D. T. Morgan, of Bushnell, Ill. He continued with his brother for about four years, and then attended the Keokuk Medical College, from which institution he was graduated in 1876. Before his graduation, he practiced for a time in Illinois. In 1868 he came to Lexington, Washington Co., Iowa, and there engaged in practice one year. He then removed to the old town of Dayton, in Lime Creek Township, where he remained-4- until 1882. The railroad having been completed and the village of Wellman laid out, he removed to the latter place, where he has since continued to reside, and is actively engaged in the practice of his profession.

Ur. Morgan was united in marriage, July 4, 1861, with Miss Mary E. Wright, a native of Licking County, Ohio, and daughter of George Wright. She died Oct. 3, 1863, leaving one child, Nellie, born Dec. 15, 1862. Nellie grew to womanhood, married 0. W. Moon, a resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and died in June. 1887. Dr. Morgan, Jan. 31, 1865, married Miss Mary A. Long, a native of Indiana and daughter of James and Nancy (Jones) Long. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Doctor is also a member of the Masonic fraternity. He is a member of the Medical Association of Washington County.

Dr. Morgan is a great admirer of good horses, and has in his stable two Harabletonian horses which are numbered among the finest in Washington County. For one colt he refused #500 when it was three years old. He has also one Membrino and one English Foxhunter horse. As a physician. Dr. Morgan ranks high in the profession, and has a practice probably second to no physician in Washington County. He is of a jovial disposition, enjoys a joke well, and is a fine judge of human nature.

jl G. FORDYCE, farmer and stock-raiser, section 5, Highland Township, was born in Greene County, Pa., in 1840. He is the son of James H. and Nancy (Bowers) Fordyce, both natives of Greene County, the former born in 1804, and the latter in 1809. The father was an old and highly respected citizen of that county, and died at the advanced age of seventy-nine years, in 1883. He was a member of the Methodist Protestant Church. The mother is still living at the old home. They were the parents of eleven children, six of whom are now living.

The subject of this sketch w.as reared upon a farm, and received his education in the district schools. At the age of twenty-one he answered the call to firms, and in 1861 enlisted in the ist

Peiuisylvaniu Cavalry, and served three years, pavticipatiiijriii the following engagements: Fredericksburg, second battle of Bull Hun, Shenandoah catnpagn, Chanceliorsville, battle of the Wilderness, and with Sheridan at Richmond. At Hays' Church he was wounded in the arm. and at JIalvern Hill was wounded in the leg. lie also participated in the battles of Petersburg and (Gettysburg, and was several times detailed on important duty as dispatclinian. Once while foraging he was surrounded by rebels and shot at six times, but escaped, though his horse was shot. At another time he was surrounded and ordered to surrender, which he did, but afterward made his escape. At Baltimore Cross Roads, Va., he was shot at, the ball coming so close to his head that the shock sturmed him. He was discharged Sept. 9, 1864, at that time being compelled to walk on crutches on account of the wound in his leg. Returning to Greene County, Pa., he engaged in the oil business for a j'car and then emigrated to Washington County, Iowa, in the spring of 1866, locating on section 6, Highland Township, where he bought forty acres of land which he in)i)moved and to which he has since added until he now owns 240.acres of land in a high state of cultivation.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.