Christopher Morgan (June 4, 1808 – April 3, 1877) was an American attorney and politician from

Auburn, New York Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, th ...

. He was most notable for his service as a member of 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 1839 to 1843.

Early life

Morgan was born in Aurora, New York on June 4, 1808, a son of Christopher Morgan (1777-1834) and Nancy (Barber) Morgan. He was educated in

Cayuga County Cayuga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 76,248. Its county seat and largest city is Auburn. The county was named for the Cayuga people, one of the Indian tribes in the Iroquois Confed ...

and attended

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, from which he graduated in 1830. He began to study law with an attorney in Aurora, and completed his studies with Elijah Miller and

William H. Seward William Henry Seward (May 16, 1801 – October 10, 1872) was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of State from 1861 to 1869, and earlier served as governor of New York and as a United States Senator. A determined oppon ...

in Auburn. Morgan was then

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in Aurora.

Career

Morgan was elected as a Whig to represent the 24th District in the Twenty-sixth and Twenty-seventh Congresses (March 4, 1839 – March 3, 1843). After redistricting following the 1840 U.S. Census, Morgan ran for reelection to the Twenty-eighth Congress in the 25th District in 1842, and was defeated by George O. Rathbun. In the 24th District, Morgan was succeeded by Horace Wheaton. He moved to Auburn in 1843 and practiced law with Seward and

Samuel Blatchford Samuel M. Blatchford (March 9, 1820 – July 7, 1893) was an American attorney and judge. He was most notable for his service as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from April 3, 1882 until his death in 1893. Early ...

as Morgan, Blatchford & Seward from 1844 to 1847. He was

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat. Duties The secre ...

from 1847 to 1851, which included the additional duty of Superintendent of the New York public schools. After leaving office he resumed the practice of law in Auburn. He became 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 ...

at the party's organization in the mid-1850s. He served as mayor of Auburn from 1860 to 1861, and was a Trustee of the State lunatic asylum in

Utica, New York Utica () is a city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 U.S. Census. Located on the Mohawk River at the ...

Death and burial

Morgan died in Auburn on April 3, 1877. He was buried at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.

Family

In 1832, Morgan married Mary Elizabeth Pitney (1813-1893) of Auburn. They were the parents of a son who did not live to adulthood and three daughters: Cornelia Louise (b. 1834), the wife of C. Eugene Barber; Mary Elizabeth (b. 1835), the wife of William C. Barber; Joseph Pitney (1839-1841); and Frances Adelaide Morgan (b. 1841), the wife of William Beasley Benson. Morgan was the brother of

Edwin Barber Morgan Edwin Barber Morgan (May 2, 1806 – October 13, 1881) was an entrepreneur and politician from the Finger Lakes region of western New York. He was the first president of Wells Fargo & Company, founder of the United States Express Company, and di ...

and nephew of Noyes Barber.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Christopher 1808 births 1877 deaths American politicians with disabilities Secretaries of State of New York (state) Mayors of places in New York (state) New York (state) lawyers Yale College alumni New York (state) Republicans Burials in New York (state) Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers