The Morgan family collection consists primarily of the personal and business papers of Elijah W. Morgan, one of Ann Arbor's pioneer citizens who had a distinguished career as an attorney and banker; letters and other materials of his wife Lucy Stow Morgan; and autobiographies and scattered papers of Elijah's parents, Elisha and Polly Babcock Morgan of Watertown, New York.
The bulk of the collection consists of the personal and business papers of Elijah W. Morgan. This includes correspondence (1821-1889), autobiographical material, essays on religion and temperance, and a large section of business and financial papers generated as a result of his law practice or his various business dealings.
Elijah W. Morgan was born in Watertown, New York, on May 15, 1805. In his youth, he worked with his father Elisha repairing agricultural implements. At the age of 17, he entered Lowville Academy in Lewis County, New York, where he studied and where he for a time was a teacher. He later studied law in the office of Charles Dayan, and it was here that he heard many accounts of the "prairie country" and the prospects facing those who would settle in the Michigan territory. In 1829, Morgan journeyed to Detroit to learn first-hand about life in the midwest. After visiting Ann Arbor, Saline, Tecumseh, and Adrian, Morgan and his wife Lucy Stow selected Ann Arbor as the "healthiest" and most promising area in which to live.
Morgan quickly became a leader among the people of his adopted community. In 1830, he was admitted to the bar, and soon thereafter involved himself in the economic growth of the settlement. Morgan was one of five men who formed the Ann Arbor Land Company which donated 40 acres of land to the state of Michigan as the site for the future University of Michigan. He was also first president of the Toledo, Ann Arbor & Northern Railway Company. Morgan was director of the Bank of Washtenaw (1836-1839), and in 1896, he helped to found Ann Arbor Savings Bank. Morgan also held many county offices. He was prosecuting attorney, alderman, member of the first Ann Arbor Public School Board of Trustees, chairman of the Democratic County Committee, and was Commissioner of Deeds. For 50 years, Morgan played an active role in Ann Arbor's economic and civic development. He died January 21, 1892.
Lucy Stow Morgan of Middletown, Connecticut was a woman "of more than ordinary ability" and "very capable in human transactions." Before her marriage to Elijah she was a teacher in Lewis County, New York during the years 1821-1827. Following her marriage in 1829 and her move to Ann Arbor, Lucy Morgan invested in lands and amassed a large fortune in Washtenaw and Jackson counties. She died in 1887 at the age of 91.
