My Genealogy Hound

Col. T. J. Morgan, farmer and stock-raiser, and one of the best known men in Independence County, was born near Hamburg, S. C., in the year 1827. He is a son of John and Mary Ann (Vaughn) Morgan, of Edgefield District, South Carolina, and Augusta, Ga., respectively, who were married in Abbeville District, South Carolina, where they resided until 1832, and then emigrated to Independence County, Ark. The parents were among the earlier settlers, and came here when Independence County was a wilderness. They bought some land and began improving it, and in time, as the country began to settle up, the father became one of its leading men. He was a successful farmer and a highly respected citizen, and for some years held the office of justice of the peace, being also associate judge of the Independence County court. His father, William Morgan, was also a native of South Carolina, of Irish and Welsh descent, and fought in the War of 1812. In 1832 he moved to Texas, where he resided until his decease, his occupation during that time being that of farmer, trader and saw-mill operator. His father, Elias Morgan, was a native of Ireland, who emigrated to America when a young man and resided in South Carolina for the remainder of his life. The maternal grandfather, Thomas J. Vaughn, was a prominent contractor and builder, of English and Welsh origin, who died when Mrs. John Morgan was a girl. Col. Thomas J. Morgan was the oldest of four sons and seven daughters, of whom four are yet living, and all residing in Independence County. He is strictly a self-made man, having attended school but very little in his younger days, but is possessed of a wonderful amount of knowledge and information on almost every conceivable subject, which his natural ability and fine intellect have enabled him to understand thoroughly. At eighteen years of age he enlisted in Company D, of Yell’s Arkansas regiment, and at the battle of Buena Vista was a member of Wood’s division of Gen. Taylor’s army. He gave four year’s service to the Confederacy, and distinguished himself in every action, winning promotion from a private up to his present title. He left the army at Corinth, Miss., and shortly afterward assisted in the organization of Company C, of Col. Robert Newton’s regiment of Arkansas Cavalry, and commanded that company until the fall of 1863, when he was promoted to colonel, his regiment being known as Morgan’s regiment. He never lost a day by sickness or any other cause, and was in almost every battle of note, as well as Price’s raids through Missouri. After the surrender at Jacksonport he returned to his home and family to enjoy the peace he was so well entitled to. Col. Morgan was married in 1855 to Miss Sarah Elizabeth, daughter of Abram and Sebilla Allen, of Alabama, who were among the early settlers of this State, first locating in the river country, and a few years afterwards moving to Independence County, where Mr. Allen became a successful and wealthy farmer. Nine children were born to Col. Morgan and his wife, of whom five sons and two daughters are still living — Eliza Jane, wife of H. F. Dwight; Andrew David, Jefferson D., Mary Ann, wife of John T. Powell; William A., Thomas E. and John A., all of them having been well educated. Col. Morgan and his family lived in different portions of Arkansas and bought land in various sections. He owns 340 acres in one tract, 640 acres in another and 150 acres in still another, besides giving each of his children a generous portion, and has about 300 acres under cultivation. In 1874-75 he represented his county in the legislature, after repeated solicitation, but since then he has had no further political aspirations. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the A. F. & A. M., belonging to Neill Lodge No. 285. His grandfather, Elias Morgan, was a cousin of the famous Gen. Daniel Morgan, of Revolutionary fame, and it is believed that they were the only two of the Morgan family who ever came to America.