Morgan, George, 1743-1810

Indian agent and land speculator.

From the description of George Morgan papers, 1776-1786. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70981775

Born at Philadelphia, 1743. Junior partner of Baynton, Warton and Morgan and engaged in extensive trade on upper Mississippi after British conquest of Canada. 25 years later, ruined, he embarked on a project of founding a principality in Spanish Louisiana, opposite the mouth of the Ohio. Died 1810. MMQ (from Savelle. "George Morgan Colony Builder" (New York ; 1932.)

From the description of George Morgan papers, 1776,1791. (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 320471535

George Morgan was born in Philadelphia on February 14, 1743, the son of Evan Morgan and Joanna Biles. As a teenager, he worked for the Philadelphia firm Baynton & Wharton, which became Baynton, Wharton & Morgan in 1763. He married Mary Baynton, the senior partner's daughter, with whom he had 11 children. Morgan became involved in the Illinois trade shortly after the end of the French and Indian War, and he traveled west with George Croghan around 1766. He returned to Philadelphia in the early 1770s, following a long-running feud with British army officer John Wilkins. Baynton, Wharton & Morgan dissolved around this period, and Morgan became involved in the Indiana Company until the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. In 1776, he was appointed Indian agent for the Middle Department, a position he held until his resignation in May 1779. He lived in Prospect, New Jersey, until 1789, when he led an expedition to "New Madrid" in Spanish-held territory. In 1796, he moved to Morganza, Pennsylvania, where he died on March 10, 1810.

From the guide to the George Morgan, writings in Jedidiah Morse's The American Geography, 1789, Morgan, George, writings in Jedidiah Morse's The American Geography, 1789, 1789-[ca. 1791], (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)

George Morgan was an Indian trader and speculator in western lands.

From the description of George Morgan letterbook, 1767-1768 (inclusive), [microform]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 122453001

George Morgan was born in either 1741 or 1743 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1760 he joined John Baynton and Samuel Wharton to form the firm of Baynton, Wharton, and Morgan. Their trading post at Fort Pitt dealt mainly in the trading of food stuffs and ammunition with Native Americans and colonists. In 1776, Morgan was appointed Indian Agent of the Middle Department and served successfully until his resignation in 1777. During his time as Indian Agent he also served as Deputy Commissary General of Purchases at Fort Pitt. In 1796, Morgan moved to his final home in Morganza in Washington County, Pa. During his final years, he testified as a witness against Aaron Burr in his famous trial in Richmond, Va. George Morgan died at Morganza on Mar. 10, 1810.

From the description of Morgan family papers 1768-1821. (Historical Society of W Pennsylvania). WorldCat record id: 50809483

Indian agent and land speculator.

Morgan served 1776-1779 as Indian agent for the United States in the middle department and as deputy commissary-general of purchases for the western district, with headquarters at Fort Pitt. He was instructed by Congress to cultivate harmony and friendship betweeen Indians and whites, and to preserve the peace. In the fall of 1776 at Fort Pitt, Morgan and congressional commissioners negotiated the first formal U.S.-Indian peace treaty with chiefs of the Lenni Lenape, Munsee, Mohican, Shawnee, and Iroquois tribes.

From the description of Letter : Baltimore, [Md.], to John Hancock, [Philadelphia, Pa.], 1777 Jan. 4. (Newberry Library). WorldCat record id: 38943173