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 directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

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 a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

, founder of the United States Express Company, and director of

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

Company. He was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from New York and served for three terms, each term under a different party label.

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 e ...

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 the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, and a starch-making business at

Oswego, New York Oswego () is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 16,921 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oswego is situated at the mouth of the Oswego River (New York), Osw ...

. In addition to his business career, Morgan was active in the

New York Militia The New York Guard (NYG) is the State Defense Force (SDF) of New York State, and is one of the four branches of the New York Military Forces (NYMF), the other three branches being the New York Army National Guard, New York Air National Guard a ...

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

Cayuga Cayuga often refers to: * Cayuga people, a native tribe to North America, part of the Iroquois Confederacy * Cayuga language, the language of the Cayuga Cayuga may also refer to: Places Canada *Cayuga, Ontario United States * Cayuga, Illinois ...

, Wayne,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Yates, Tompkins, and

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People, fictional characters and language * Seneca (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname : :* Seneca the Elder (c. 54 BC – c. AD 39), a Roman rhetorician, writer and father ...

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

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, ...

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 ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. 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 ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. 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 In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of a city, region, state, coun ...

candidate, and in 1856 as a Republican. He represented

New York's 25th congressional district New York's 25th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. It is currently represented by Democrat Joseph Morelle. Since 2023, the district has been located within Monroe County, New York, ...

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 lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

from the

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

Preston Brooks Preston Smith Brooks (August 5, 1819 – January 27, 1857) was an American slaver, politician, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina, serving as a member of the Democratic Party from 1853 until his resignation i ...

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, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, 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 university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

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 was a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York, a village in the Finger Lakes region of the state. From its founding in 1868 until it became coeducational in 2005, Wells was a women's college. The college maintained acad ...

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 Auburn Theological Seminary, located in New York City, teaches students about progressive social issues by offering workshops, providing consulting, and conducting research on faith leadership development. The seminary was established in Auburn, ...

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'' (''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 ...

'', 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 music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, 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 Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Cayuga County, New York, Cayuga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,654 at the 2020 census. The town was named in honor of Revolutionary War Genera ...

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 bank presidents Wells Fargo employees Wells College trustees 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century New York (state) politicians 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives