Edwin Barber Morgan (May 2, 1806 – October 13, 1881) was an entrepreneur and politician from the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...

region of western New York. He was the first president of

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

, founder of the United States Express Company, and director of American Express Company. He was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from New York and served for three terms.

Early life and education

Morgan was born in Aurora, New York, the eldest son of Christopher and Nancy (Barber) Morgan. Educated at the Cayuga Lake Academy, Morgan became a clerk in his father's mercantile enterprise at 13, and at 21 he took over the business. Christopher Morgan was Edwin's brother,

Lewis H. Morgan Lewis Henry Morgan (November 21, 1818 – December 17, 1881) was a pioneering American anthropologist and social theorist who worked as a railroad lawyer. He is best known for his work on kinship and social structure, his theories of social ev ...

his cousin and

Noyes Barber Noyes Barber (April 28, 1781 – January 3, 1844) was an American military veteran and politician who served seven terms as a United States representative from Connecticut from 1821 to 1835. Biography Barber was born in Groton, Connecticut son o ...

his uncle. He was a first cousin of Edwin Denison Morgan, governor of New York in 1859–1862.

Marriage and family

On September 27, 1829, Morgan married Charlotte Fidelia Wood of Aurora. The couple were the parents of a son, Alonzo and two daughters, Louise F. and Katharine.

Career

Morgan soon established a large enterprise in buying and shipping agricultural products, and also in boat-building, in which he was joined by his brothers. With his brothers, he also had extensive gypsum beds in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, and a starch-making business at Oswego, New York. In addition to his business career, Morgan was active in the

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the state defense force of New York State, also called The New York State Military Reserve. Originally called the New York State Militia it can trace its lineage back to the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Th ...

as inspector of the 2nd Division, which included units from Cayuga, Wayne,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Yates, Tompkins, and

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

Counties. According to New York's 1827 militia law, each division was authorized an inspector at the rank of colonel, and each brigade an inspector at the rank of major; from this military service, Morgan derived the title "Colonel" Morgan, by which he was known even after he was no longer active in the militia. He was a director and first president of

, organized March 18, 1852, by his fellow townsman

Henry Wells Henry Wells (December 12, 1805 – December 10, 1878) was an American businessman important in the history of both the American Express Company and Wells Fargo & Company. Wells worked as a freight agent before joining the express business. Hi ...

, who had been a founder of the American Express Company in 1850. Wells Fargo was developed specifically to offer express mail, shipping and banking services to California, where thousands of people were being drawn as the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

spurred migration and development. In 1854 Morgan founded the United States Express Company to provide similar express mail services for the Southern states. It connected with Wells Fargo at

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Also, from about this time until his death in 1881, Morgan was a director of American Express. By the time Morgan became involved, American Express had its headquarters in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Morgan was first nominated for a seat in Congress in 1850, but he was defeated by 14 votes. Morgan was elected to Congress in 1852 as a Whig, in 1854 as an

Opposition Party Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...

candidate, and in 1856 as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. He represented

New York's 25th congressional district The 25th congressional district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. It is currently represented by Democrat Joseph Morelle. The district is now located within Monroe County, New York, Monroe C ...

from March 4, 1853 until March 3, 1859. In 1855–1856 he was chairman of the Committee on Patents. Morgan was one of the members of Congress who rescued

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...

from the assault by

Preston Brooks Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving from 1853 until his resignation in July 1856 and again from August 1856 until his ...

on May 22, 1856.''Dictionary of American Biography'', op. cit. Early in his Congressional service, Morgan resigned as president of Wells Fargo but remained a member of the board of directors. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1858. On July 20, 1858, he resigned his seat on the Wells Fargo board, and N.H. Stockwell was elected to succeed him. In November 1858, however, Thomas M. Janes resigned, and Morgan was again elected to the board.

Later years

During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Morgan was active in raising and equipping regiments from New York. In the postwar period, he became active with colleges. He was a trustee of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

from 1865 until 1874. Working with his friend Henry Wells to found a college for women, he was a charter trustee of

Wells College Wells College is a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. The college has cross-enrollment with Cornell University and Ithaca College. For much of its history it was a women's college. Wells College is located in the Finger Lakes ...

from 1868 until 1881, where he served as president of the board from 1878 onward. He was also a trustee of the Auburn Theological Seminary from 1870 to 1881. He supported the secondary school of Cayuga Lake Academy in Aurora as well. Morgan was a director of Wells Fargo until the beginning of 1867. After a brief retirement, he was elected to the board in 1868 and served until 1870.Loomis, pp. 201, 212, 215. An original shareholder of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Morgan came to the paper's rescue in the midst of its fight against William Magear Tweed in 1871.

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song " He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...

, the editor, feared that ownership of the paper would pass into unfriendly hands. For $375,000, Morgan purchased enough stock to avert this, and contributed materially to Tweed's eventual downfall. Morgan was physically and mentally quick-moving and incessantly active, even in old age. He died at

Ledyard, New York Ledyard is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,654 at the 2020 census. The name of the town is from General Benjamin Ledyard, an early settler of the town. Ledyard is on the western edge of the county and is south ...

on October 13, 1881, at the age of 75. Interment was at Oak Glen Cemetery in Aurora.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Edward Barber 1806 births 1881 deaths People from Aurora, Cayuga County, New York American people of Welsh descent New York (state) Whigs Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) American financial businesspeople Wells Fargo Wells College trustees 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople