Atkeson-Morgan Family Papers

Access and use

Location of collection:
West Virginia and Regional History Center
West Virginia & Regional History Center
West Virginia University
P.O. Box 6069
1549 University Avenue
Morgantown, WV 26506
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Lori Hostuttler
Phone: (304) 293-3536
Restrictions:

No special access restriction applies.

Terms of access:

Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.

Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Atkeson-Morgan Family Papers, A&M 3372, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Summary

Extent:
1.9 Linear Feet Summary: 23 in. (4 document cases, 1 flat storage box)
Creator:
Atkeson-Morgan Family
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Atkeson-Morgan Family Papers, A&M 3372, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.

Background

Scope and content:

Papers of John and Sarah Atkeson-Morgan documenting Atkeson-Morgan family history and the history of the Morgan home and farm in Putnam County, West Virginia for period ca. 1840-1900.

Materials include Civil War papers; personal and business correspondence; legal documents; school compositions and poetry; one photograph; and invoices and receipts.

Subjects include: personal business (such as health, travel, and courtship), farm business, hunting, education (particularly at Barboursville College), and steamboat travel (including the vessels 'Active' and 'Chesapeake'), among others.

Individuals who are prominently documented in the collection include: John Morgan, Sr., John Morgan, Jr., James 'Jim' Morgan, Semantha Atkeson-Morgan, John Beale, James Beale, Samuel Moore, Thomas Atkeson Morgan, Rembrandt Morgan, Albert Sidney Morgan, Anna Jackson, Thomas Atkeson, and Virginia Wells.

West Virginia and Virginia locations of significance to the family include: Walnut Grove, Kanawha County; Point Pleasant; Kanawha Court House; Buffalo, Putnam County; Poca or Poca Bottom; Pocatalico or Pocatalico Bottom; Mount Jackson; Gallipolis, Raymond City, Putnam County; Barboursville; Winfield; Charleston; Rio, Hardy and Hampshire Counties; Orkney Springs; Edge Hill, Virginia; Lewisburg; Letart; Huntington; and Fowlers, Brooke County. Other states of interest include: New York, Ohio, Indiana, and Washington, D.C.

This series includes several Civil War-related letters from or to members of the Atkeson-Morgan family and a copy of a poem about the Confederacy.

This series includes business correspondence from John Morgan, Sr., John Morgan, Jr., and James Beale.

This series consists of correspondence written to John Morgan, Sr. by his siblings, his sons, James Beale, and Samuel Moore.

This series includes correspondence to and from John Morgan, Jr..

This series consists of correspondence of the sons of John Morgan, Jr. and Semantha Atkeson-Morgan: John, Thomas Atkeson, Rembrandt, and Albert Sidney; and grandson, William Morgan.

These letters originate in Mt. Jackson and Orkney Springs, and reference a local flu epidemic and related fatalities, including the youngest son of Charles Moore. They also mention the death of John's son Maurice. An 1860 letter describes the family's recent move to Orkney and the smoother ride over well graded roads. Samuel Moore also discusses business, selling forty-three acres and a mill for $14,000 and his decision to sell more land in a better market.

These letters are all written from "Home." In addition to reports of health and visitors, the letters primarily regard farm business, such as the selling of livestock in Ohio, crop prices, news of hay, straw, wheat, hogs, corn, and cattle. One letter (1867) is written from Portsmouth, Ohio while Jim was on a trip.

John reports an incident on the Kanawha River in which he had to save himself on a sinking skiff. Farm news includes information about the tobacco crop and the traps they are setting to catch the culprits who are poisoning the hounds. He also relates "ma's" cough remedy, as boiled down bourbon, sweetened with sugar or molasses. In 1860, he is trying to muster forty-five men into a company of men at "Mouth Poca."

This series consists of correspondence written to John Morgan, Jr. by several of his relatives.

This series includes general correspondence written to John Morgan, Jr. by S.A. Miller and B.B. Harding.

The majority of these letters are related to Mrs. Morgan's art supply orders.

This series includes correspondence written to Semantha Atkeson-Morgan by various relatives.

This series includes assorted correspondence written to Semantha Atkeson-Morgan by various friends and acquaintances.

This series includes correspondence written by John Beale, father of Elizabeth A. Beale-Morgan and maternal grandfather to John Morgan, Jr..

This series includes assorted correspondence not explicitly written to or by any members of the Atkeson-Morgan family.

This series includes assorted legal documents.

This series documents assorted transactions of John Morgan, Jr. and Sr. with businesses in Charleston, West Virginia and locations in Putnam County and southwestern West Virginia. Letterhead includes names of businesses and their owners and employees, addresses, goods and services offered, etc..

This series documents assorted transactions of James Beale, John Morgan, Jr., and John Morgan, Sr..

This series includes assorted ephemera regarding the Atkeson-Morgan family, including business, greeting, and other cards, checks, etc..

This series includes material regarding General Daniel Morgan's involvement in the Revolutionary War and medical regimen for one of the John Morgans.

This series includes receipts of John Morgan, Sr. and Jr. from businesses in various locations in West Virginia, including Poca, Pt. Pleasant, and Charleston.

Biographical / historical:

John Morgan, born in Shenandoah County, Virginia on October 10, 1840, was brought by his parents, John and Elizabeth A. (Beale) Morgan, to Putnam County where they settled in 1846.

John Morgan was married to Samantha J., daughter of Thomas and Virginia (Brown) Atkeson. She was born in Mason County in January 1843, and was married to John Morgan on 12 October 1875 in Putnam County by Reverend Crooks. They had three sons: John (born 18 August 1876), Thomas Atkeson (15 April 1878), and Rembrandt (19 June 1880).

During the Civil War John Morgan enlisted in 1863 in Company A, 22nd Virginia Regiment, Confederate Army, serving till the surrender. His brother William S. Morgan, a member of Company A., 36th Regiment, Confederate Army, was killed at Fayette Courthouse in 1862. John Morgan was a farmer who lived on bottom land opposite the mouth of the Poca River in Putnam County, West Virginia. (From West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia, 1976)

Physical location:
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard