Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Morgan Morgan (November 1, 1688 — November 17, 1766) was an American pioneer. He was thought to have founded the first permanent settlement in present-day

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

at Cool Spring Farm.

Biography

Early life

Little direct evidence of Morgan's early life and education has survived. His birth date seems to have been November 1st, 1688 because Morgans Chapel at Bunker Hill, which he helped to found, recorded the following upon his death: "Colonel Morgan died November 17, 1766 aged 78 years November 1st." No British records have been found of where he was born or when or how he came to America, but according to American records he seems to have been born in

Glamorganshire Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the south of Wales. Originally an early medieval petty kingdom of varying bo ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

during the reign of

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily () * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg (1817–1890) N ...

Emigration to America

Morgan Morgan emigrated to the America as a single man at the age of 24, probably during the last years of the reign of Queen Anne. Arriving in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

in about 1712 or 1713, he soon afterward got married, but no record of the date has been found. Morgan commenced business as a merchant at the place now known as Christiana. Some Quaker records record that Morgan Morgan was educated at Cambridge University and went to Delaware as Crown Council. In 1713, Morgan married Catherine Garretson in what is now New Castle County, Delaware. Their first child, James, was born in the fall of 1715, and this is recorded in the church register. Morgan evidently arrived with some money and had a very respectable social standing, for the early records list him as a merchant and tailor, and in 1717 he was appointed as executor of the will of the Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. At that time what we now know as Delaware was a part of Pennsylvania. Since the trade guilds were very strong in England, one wonders if he learned the tailoring trade in London, from his father, or if he bypassed the law in the new country and started a combined mercantile and tailoring business. As well as working there as a merchant, he was also a magistrate. He has been claimed to have been an ordained

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man, and one who established a church in Westminster County in 1727, but there is no evidence to support this. Morgan is often incorrectly cited as having arrived at present-day West Virginia in 1727, although he was still living in

at that time, acting as the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

. His first land transaction on record dates from November 20, 1723, when he bought for the price of 70 pounds. Almost the whole of this land was cultivable. In 1924, a committee appointed by the

Governor of West Virginia A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

determined that the first crude shelter erected by William G. Morgan Great Grandson of Morgan Morgan was built on the Morgan Acres property.

Claim of first settlement in West Virginia

Morgan Morgan arrived in what is now

in 1731. In January 1734, he, among others, was appointed to the 'Commission of the Peace', meaning that he was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

. He probably received a Patent for ' the Forks of the

Rappahannock River The Rappahannock River is a river in eastern Virginia, in the United States, approximately in length.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It traverses the enti ...

& Westwood of Sherrando River' on December 12, 1734. The long-standing claim that he was the first permanent resident there is, however, doubtful. In fact, the area now known as

Shepherdstown, West Virginia Shepherdstown is a town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, United States, located in the lower Shenandoah Valley along the Potomac River. Home to Shepherd University, the town's population was 1,531 at the time of the 2020 census. The town wa ...

, was probably settled by German-speaking immigrants as early as 1727. Morgan died at Bunker Hill, Berkeley County, now in

, and was buried in the Morgan Chapel Graveyard.

Family

Morgan Morgan held military and civil positions in colonial Virginia which entitled his female descendants to membership in the

Colonial Dames of America The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization comprising women who descend from one or more ancestors who lived in British North America between 1607 and 1775, and who aided the colonies in public office, in military service, or ...

. Col. Morgan and his wife Catherine Garretson had the following issues: # James Morgan - Died at the age of # Ann Morgan (Considered one of the 'Lost Tribes' of the Morgan Family) # David Morgan (The Great Indian Fighter) # Charles Morgan (Considered one of the 'Lost Tribes' of the Morgan Family)I have Charles Morgan's Will. Charles Morgan had a daughter, Rachel Morgan. She married John Stewart, Rachel's husband witnessed Charles Morgan's Will. # Henry Morgan (Considered one of the 'Lost Tribes' of the Morgan Family) # Evan Morgan #

Zackquill Morgan Colonel Zackquill Morgan was the son of Welsh-born Colonel Morgan Morgan and Catherine Garretson, the first known white settlers in what would become the U.S. state of West Virginia. He was born in Orange est.html" ;"title="ow BerkeleyCounty ...

(Founder of Morgantown, West Virginia) # Morgan Morgan II

Y-DNA Haplogroup

The MORGAN Surname Y-DNA Project
has among the donor test subjects, a man with the surname Morgan who traced his paternal line to Morgan Morgan. His haplogroup is R-M269. However, this assignment is virtually useless, including all unbroken male-line descendants of a man who lived 6500 years ago. A project donor who traced his paternal line to Lewis Morgan of Rhea County, Tennessee also has the haplogroup R-M269. The donor is a descendant of Mary Morgan, a widow who brought her children Lewis, John, George Washington, Willis, and likely a daughter named Mary Morgan from South Carolina to Rhea County Tennessee . No primary source records stating or implying the identity of the patriarch of the family have been found. The maiden name of his wife Mary is also unproven. Autosomal DNA matches suggest that the Rhea County descendants could be among the "lost tribe" descendants of Charles Morgan or Henry Morgan.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Morgan 1688 births 1766 deaths 18th-century American Episcopal priests West Virginia pioneers People from colonial Delaware British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Morgan family (West Virginia) People from Berkeley County, West Virginia People from New Castle County, Delaware Welsh emigrants to the United States People from colonial Virginia People from pre-statehood West Virginia People from Bunker Hill, West Virginia