Justin Morgan (February 28, 1747 – March 22, 1798) was a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

horse breeder and composer. He was born in

West Springfield, Massachusetts West Springfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 28,835 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is also known as "West ...

, and by 1788 had settled in Vermont. In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of singing; in that capacity he traveled considerably throughout the northeastern states. He died in Randolph, Vermont, where he also served as town clerk. Justin Morgan was the owner of a stallion named

Figure Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif * Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...

, who became the sire of the

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

breed. Morgan received Figure along with two other horses as payment of a debt. As Figure grew older, people began to recognize his skill in a variety of areas. Figure became a prolific breeding stallion; his descendants, still noted for their versatility and friendly personality, became the first American breed of horse to survive to the present. Figure's grave is marked by a stone in Tunbridge, Vermont. Justin Morgan's original 1798 gravestone is preserved in the Randolph Historical Society Museum. His burial site in the Randolph Center Cemetery is marked by a more recent stone.

Music

Morgan was a composer, best known for his

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s and

fuguing tune The fuguing tune (often spelled fuging tune) is a variety of Anglo-American vernacular choral music. Fuguing tunes form a significant number of the songs found in the American Sacred Harp singing tradition. They first flourished in the mid-18th ce ...

s. While not so famous as those by

William Billings William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) was an American composer and is regarded as the first American choral composer and leading member of the First New England School. Life William Billings was born in Boston, Province ...

, his works share the same characteristic roughness, directness, and folk-like simplicity. Publications containing his work include ''The Federal Harmony'' (New Haven, 1790), and ''The Philadelphia Harmony'', 4th ed. (Philadelphia, 1791). The former collection includes what perhaps is his most famous composition entitled, "Amanda," a setting of

Isaac Watts Isaac Watts (17 July 1674 – 25 November 1748) was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns. His works include " When I Survey th ...

's poem based on Psalm 90. This hymn was the basis for a classical work written by American composer Thomas Canning in 1946, "Fantasy on a Hymn Tune by Justin Morgan." The tune "Despair," in the 1791 collection, cites the death of "Amanda" (referring to his wife, Martha Day, who died on March 20 that year, ten days after giving birth to their youngest daughter, Polly) in a paraphrase of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

's Ode on Solitude. Morgan's setting of Psalm 63, entitled ''Montgomery'', was a popular

, included among the 100 hymn-tunes most frequently printed during the eighteenth century. Four of his tunes, including ''Montgomery'', are in the 1991 edition of ''The Sacred Harp''; three more songs, including "Amanda" and "Despair," both grieving over the death of his wife, are in the Shenandoah Harmony. Its voice-leading, as is common in works by early American composers, contains numerous unabashed parallel fifths, giving the music a folk-like quality. Another work of his, the ''Judgment Anthem'', is tonally adventurous, moving back and forth between E minor and E♭ major; it was the first anthem published in

shape note Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and Sing-along, social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in ...

s, appearing in Little and Smith's '' The Easy Instructor'' (1801), and many tunebooks thereafter.

In literature

Morgan and his horse-breeding venture is the subject of a children's book by Marguerite Henry, '' Justin Morgan Had a Horse'', that won the

Newbery Honor The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

in 1946. In 1972, the book was adapted as a film by

Disney Studios The Walt Disney Studios is a major division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company best known for housing its multifaceted film studio divisions. Founded on October 16, 1923, and based mainly at the namesake s ...

. Justin Morgan Had a Horse#Adaptations

References and further reading

* Nym Cooke: "Justin Morgan", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed December 3, 2005)
(subscription access)
* W. Thomas Marrocco and Harold Gleason, eds. ''Music in America''. New York, W.W. Norton & Co., 1964. * Betty Bandel: "Sing the Lord's Song in a Strange Land, The Life of Justin Morgan". With musical appendix by James G. Chapman. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1981 *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Justin 1747 births 1798 deaths Shape note People from Randolph, Vermont People from West Springfield, Massachusetts Musicians from Vermont Musicians from Massachusetts 18th-century American male composers 18th-century American composers