The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1884-10-04

A Traditional Story from Abroad
Concerning the Murder of.
Morgan Family on the
Site of Morgantown
The Pioneer Nor
gans not Blood
thirsty.

So 60 HpN u ~ Il ShtiS yiNditts'
History.
Shortly after Robert Baird, ST.,
settled in Fayette County, Pa,
G777) a family by the name of
Morgan settled near where Nor
gantown, w. Va, now stands.
The Indians were troublesome; the
men who cleared the lands had to
keep their guns with them or near
at hand in the fields.
On one occasion the elder son
of the Morgans went away on bus
mess, and when he returned he
found their house burned, and his
father, mother, one brother and
sister murdered by the Indians.
He stood terror-stricken. Two of
the younger children, a boy and
girl, had run away and hidden
themselves. John Morgan, then
and there, took an oath that he
would kill every Indian he ever set
eyes on. Several years after this,
during which time he did kill many
a redskin, he went to Baltimore
for salt with his paekhorses. In
the city one day he saw small
crowd of men and boys who were
having fun over something; as he
looked in among them he saw an
Indian cutting pranks. Capt. Jack
Morgan turned pale as he started
away, and remembering his oath,
he turned, went back, pushed into
the crowd, and with his knife stab
bed the Indian to the heart and
walked away. OF course he was
remanded to Jail for trial for muir
der. His attorney heard his story,
his oath, &c, then asked if he had
no friend that could testify to these
things. He said Robert Baird, of
Western Pennsylvania, could. So
Baird was sent for, and when he
heard of Capt. Jacks bad luck went
to him in time to give testimony
before the court and jury that tried
the case. After the hearing the
jury returned a verdict of not ,eMlty.
Capt. Morgan and Mr.. Baird came
home together, with their train Of
pack-horses laden with salt &c.,
they were fast friends. "
The author of the above is in
error concerning the Morgan family
that settled where Morgantown
stands. There were two families
instead of one. David Morgan's
family and blackwell Morgan's fam
lily. In neither family was there
son by the name of John or Jack
and the writer has no knowledge
of any other family of Morgans be-
ing in the present county during
the days of pack horse travel for
salt to Baltimore. As for Nor
gan family being here shortly after
I777 blackwell Morgan was here
as early as 1906, and his name
occurs on the records in the Court
House in I774.
Undoubtedly the account is ira
ditional derived from some ones
when boy Of what
he heard his father or grandfather
tell of what some one told them.
All traditional matter has to be
accepted very cautiously for in
many cases it conflicts with records.
AS for the murder none of the
Morgans were ever murdered ex-
cept the family of VIM. Morgan
near Kingwood in Preston county,
w. Va, and we have no account
or even tradition in that county of
any member of that family bearing
the name of John or Jack or any
oath ofvengeance being taken then
and there. Most likely the muir
der of the Deckers and the oath Of
taken by Capt. Jack the
black hunter of the Juniata (Pa)
were woven in with the Morgan
name and furnished the basis Of
this tradition.
AS for the ferocity so often coup
led with the names of the pioneer
Morgans nothing is more erroneous.
They were a hardy, energetic, keen,
fearless race, rather retiring in dis
position, but little given to talking
yet frank and obliging, though
stern yet not ferocious. The story
SO long current of David Morgan
skinning the Indian in I777 near
Prickett's Fort upon careful and
patient investigation by the writer
turned out to be erroneous. While
the Indian was skinned yet David
Morgan had neither hand in it nor
information of it until after the
deed was performed. The Nor
gans, like all the pioneers, fought
killed and scalped Indians during
the Indian Wars but we have no
account of any of them ever killing
a peaceable Indian. S. t. w.