morgant
Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, embracing
Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties, State of Washington",
published by Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904.
THOMAS
M. MORGAN who resides about twelve miles south from Lind is well-known
in various portions of this western country as a preacher of the gospel.
At the present time, he is dividing his time between that occupation and
farming, having a well improved estate where he lives. He was born
in Missouri in 1839. His parents moved thence to Kansas when he was
seven years old and there our subject received his education from personal
research and under the private instruction of various ministers of the
gospel. He remained in Kansas until thirty years of age, having taken
up preaching during the sixties. He followed that calling diligently
until 1874, when he came west and located in Coos county, Oregon.
There he also preached and later was traveling salesman for a medicine
company. He was in the Looking glass valley for a year then spent
a year in Lane county and a year and one half in Polk county and in 1882
located in Whitman county, between Palouse and Colfax. Two years
later, he journeyed to Dayton, and there organized the Christian church
in which he was pastor for three years. It was 1887, when he located
on his present place, his being the first family in this entire section.
It was necessary for him to draw water for five miles when he first came
here but he has improved his estate until it is now a very comfortable
rural abode, supplied with all conveniences and all the machinery needed
on a good wheat farm.
In 1861, Mr. Morgan
married Miss Rachel Barnes, of Indiana. She had come to Missouri
with her parents when young and there was married. To this union
eleven children have been born, named as follows; Ida R., deceased; Mary,
who taught three years in the Ritzville schools when first coming here;
Andrew, living in Adams county, near Lind; Albert, near Lind; William W.,
in California; Salmon, twelve miles south of Lind; Lester, in California;
Vesta, deceased; Vernon, twelve miles south of Lind; Lloyd, studying for
the ministry, and Charles, in California.
Politically, Mr. Morgan
is a Prohibitionist and always takes an active part in this realm and has
been candidate for various offices among which was county treasurer in
1902. Mr. Morgan has so manifested his faith in his walk that the
entire family are, with him, members of the Christian church. He
has traveled considerable in the gospel work, having been in Latah and
Shoshone counties, Idaho, also recently in California.
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