Simpson Harris Morgan (1821 – December 15, 1864) was a lawyer, farmer, and railroad promoter who served in the Confederate States House of Representatives from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Born in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, Morgan moved to Texas, where he eventually settled in Clarksville and practiced law. He also farmed and served as the president of the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railway. In 1863, he defeated incumbent William Bacon Wright for a seat in the Confederate House of Representatives in the

Second Confederate Congress The 2nd Confederate States Congress, consisting of the Confederate States Senate and the Confederate States House of Representatives, met from May 2, 1864, to March 18, 1865, during the last year of Jefferson Davis's presidency, at the Virginia ...

. In Congress, Morgan generally supported strengthening the Confederate central government, although he opposed certain agricultural taxes. While traveling to the second session of the Second Confederate Congress, Morgan died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Monticello, Arkansas Monticello ( ) is a college town in, and the county seat of, Drew County, Arkansas. As of 2023, it had an estimated population of 8,175. Founded in 1849 in the Arkansas Timberlands near the Arkansas Delta region, the city has long been a comm ...

Biography

Morgan was born in 1821 in

Rutherford County, Tennessee Rutherford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located in Middle Tennessee. As of a 2023 estimate, the population was 367,101, making it the fifth-most populous county in Tennessee. A study conducted by the Univer ...

, although the exact date is not known according to his descendents. The details of his early life are obscure, and little is known about him in general. After an education in the local schools of Rutherford County, he moved to

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

, in 1844 along with the lawyer R. K. Clark. Morgan then moved to Clarksville, where he worked as a lawyer. The historians Ezra J. Warner and W. Buck Yearns state that Morgan "became one of the most prominent citizens of Clarksville and its vicinity". The

1850 United States census The 1850 United States census was the seventh decennial United States Census Conducted by the Census Office, it determined the resident population of the United States to be 23,191,876—an increase of 35.9 percent over the 17,069,453 persons ...

listed Morgan as the owner of property valued at $500 (). On September 7, 1852, he married a sister of future Confederate congressmen Rufus K. Garland and Augustus H. Garland, although she died on March 1 of the next year. He was involved in the promotion of the Memphis, El Paso and Pacific Railway, which received its charter in 1853, and spent some time as the railroad's president, in addition to farming. Morgan remarried in 1859 to a Tennessean named Laura. The couple had one daughter, who was reported to be one month old at the time of the 1860 United States census, which valued his real estate holdings at $18,150 () and his personal property at $8,000 (). In November 1863, Morgan was elected to the

, beating the incumbent William Bacon Wright. Warner and Yearns state that the election was "evidently based upon personalities rather than issues". The seat was for Texas's 6th District in the Confederate States House of Representatives. Morgan only attended the first session of the Second Confederate Congress, where he opposed certain agricultural taxes, but otherwise supported strengthening the Confederate national government's ability to continue the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. The historian Jon L. Wakelyn states that Morgan was part of the Impressment and Judiciary committees in the Confederate Congress, while Warner and Yearns only list the Judiciary committee. The historian Joseph Milton Nance lists the Impressment and Judicial committees, as well as the Select Compensation and Mileage committee. He generally did not engage in congressional debate. Morgan developed

while he was traveling to the next congressional session, which was to be held at

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. He died at

, on December 15, 1864, and was buried in the family plot in Clarksville. Morgan's son-in-law was

Albert B. Fall Albert Bacon Fall (November 26, 1861November 30, 1944) was a United States senator from New Mexico and United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior under President of the United States, President Warren G. Harding who becam ...

, a future

United States Secretary of the Interior The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

who was involved in the

Teapot Dome scandal The Teapot Dome scandal was a political corruption scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Warren G. Harding. It centered on Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall, who had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Do ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Simpson Harris 1821 births 1864 deaths People from Rutherford County, Tennessee People from Clarksville, Texas Members of the Confederate House of Representatives from Texas Deaths from pneumonia in Arkansas