David Morgan was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figure ...

during the 5th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from

Yavapai County Yavapai County ( ) is a county near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Pr ...

Biography

Morgan was born in Wales in 1866. He immigrated to the United States in 1883. Upon his arrival in States, he briefly went to work in the coal mines in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, before heading further west, working in several different states, before ending up in Arizona. Morgan was married to Etta Morgan. The couple had one daughter, Virginia. Morgan lived in

Jerome, Arizona Jerome is a town in the Black Hills (Yavapai County), Black Hills of Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai County in the U.S. state of Arizona. Founded in the late 19th century on Cleopatra Hill overlooking the Verde Valley, Jerome is approximately ...

. By 1900, Morgan was involved in the mining industry in

Yuma County, Arizona Yuma County is a County (United States), county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 203,881. ...

. In 1901 he had moved north, into Yavapai County, where he and a partner discovered the Lucky Dave mine. In 1902 he was the foreman of the Congress Mine, as well as working his own mining claims. It was discovered several years later that in 1902 Morgan was one of three mining officials targeted in a murder plot by union organizers at the Congress Mine. However, the plot was exposed prior to it being carried out, and the conspirators fled the jurisdiction. In 1904 he left the Congress mine, and became the foreman of the Imperial Mine. In 1906 he was one of the three Republicans elected to the

Arizona Territorial Legislature The Arizona Territorial Legislature was the legislative body of Arizona Territory. It was a bicameral legislature consisting of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the council. Created by the Arizona Organic Act, the l ...

as members of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

. However, after his election, due to work considerations, Morgan did not feel that he could execute his duties as a representative and tendered his resignation prior to the legislature convening in January 1907. Republican leaders asked him to reconsider, and he rescinded his resignation and joined the legislative body in February 1907. In 1911, Morgan left his position at the Imperial mine. He next went to work for the United Verde Extension Company, and while working for them was credited for the discovery of the large copper ore vein which made it the "biggest body of high grade copper ore in the world." In 1917, Morgan moved on from the United Verde Extension to become the manager of the Verde Combination Mining Company. In 1920, he and Charles E. Burton, ran unopposed in the Republican primary for the two

seats from Yavapai County. Morgan and Burton easily defeated their Democrat opponents, incumbents A. A. Johns and C. P. Hicks, in the November general election. During the election, Morgan was traveling through

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. After his election to the Senate, his candidacy was called into question, since, being in Europe, he did not sign his nominating certificate. By 1925, Morgan have moved from Jerome to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. In California, he worked as a consultant geologist. Morgan died on January 11, 1930, in the Good Samaritan Hospital in

. While he had been in ill health for some time, his death was unexpected. At the time of his death he was the vice-president and general manager of the Zenda Gold Mining Company, near Barstow. He was a resident of

Huntington Park Huntington Park is a city located in the South Central region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The area includes the separate communities of Florence, California, Florence, Firestone Park, California, Firestone Park, Graham, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, David Republican Party Arizona state senators 20th-century members of the Arizona State Legislature Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature People from Jerome, Arizona 1866 births 1930 deaths