Maria Morgan (November 22, 1828 - June 1, 1892), generally known as Middy Morgan, was an Irish-born agricultural journalist who became one of America's top

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

experts. At one time, she supervised the stables for King

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

Biography

Maria "Middy" Morgan was born in Cork, Ireland, the daughter of landowner Anthony Morgan. She became an expert

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

early in life and studied cattle and horse breeding. When her father died in 1865, she went to Rome, Italy, accompanying her sister Jane, who intended to study art. After two years, she moved to Florence, where she was hired to supervise the stables of King Victor Emanuel II and select horses for his Horse Guards. In 1869, she emigrated to the United States with letters of introduction to ''

New-York Tribune The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...

'' editor

Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and newspaper editor, editor of the ''New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congres ...

and ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' editor

Henry Jarvis Raymond Henry Jarvis Raymond (January 24, 1820 – June 18, 1869) was an American journalist, newspaper publisher, and politician who co-founded both the Republican Party and ''The New York Times''. He was a member of the New York State Assembly, the ...

. Her first published writing was a report for the ''Tribune'' on the horse races at Saratoga. Starting in the early 1870s, she was the livestock reporter for the ''New York Times'' for two decades. She also reported on livestock for periodicals such as ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'', ''Live-stock Reporter'', ''American Agriculturist'', ''

Country Gentleman ''The Country Gentleman'' (1852–1955) was an American agricultural magazine founded in 1852 in Albany, New York, by Luther Tucker.Frank Luther Mott (1938A History of American Magazines 1850–1865"The Country Gentleman", page 432, Harvard Univ ...

'', ''

Spirit of the Times The ''Spirit of the Times: A Chronicle of the Turf, Agriculture, Field Sports, Literature and the Stage'' was an American weekly newspaper published in New York City. The paper aimed for an upper class, upper-class readership made up largely ...

'', and '' The Turf, Field and Farm''. Morgan developed a reputation as one of the best judges of cattle in the United States After one trip to Europe on a cattle boat, Morgan wrote an exposé of the poor treatment of cattle on transatlantic crossings that led to improved conditions for the animals. One contemporary publication termed her "the most successful reporter among women", and

Edward Page Mitchell Edward Page Mitchell (1852–1927) was an American editorial and short story writer for ''The Sun'', a daily newspaper in New York City. He became that newspaper's editor in 1897, succeeding Charles Anderson Dana. Mitchell was recognized as a m ...

, editor of the New York ''

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

'', considered her the best woman reporter of the day. Unable to find enough work on the east coast, Morgan went west for a few years in the early 1880s. She spent time in Montana, where a rancher who initially hired her as a ranch hand later took her into partnership, and she served as adviser to the

Earl of Dunmore Earl of Dunmore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The title Earl of Dunmore was created in 1686 for Charles Murray, 1st Earl of Dunmore, Lord Charles Murray, son of John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl. The title passed down through genera ...

, who was planning to invest in ranching in Montana. Returning east, Morgan lived for a time in Robinvale, New Jersey, where she was custodian of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

station, in exchange for which she received free rail transport for her reporting. She later moved to

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

to live with her sister Jane. Her death in 1892 was in part a consequence of a stockyard accident the year before. Morgan bequeathed some of her valuables to the Metropolitan Museum of New York, including jewelry given to her by King Victor Emmanuel II.

References

External links

"Cupid with a Dog", gift of Maria Morgan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Maria 1828 births 1892 deaths Agricultural writers 19th-century American women journalists 19th-century American journalists 19th-century American writers