Harvey Edward Morgan (1833 - 1912)

Born 15 Dec 1833 in Springfield Township, Clark, Ohio, United States

Husband of Isabell (Bell) Morgan — married 18 Oct 1854 in Xenia, Greene, Ohio, United States

Died 19 Jul 1912 at age 78 in Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio, United States

Biography

Harvey Morgan is a part of US Black heritage.

Much of what we know of Harvey's life was documented in a local newspaper article celebrating his life. ^[1] At the time the article was written, Harvey was nearly 75 years old and a barber. ^[2] He was thought to be one of the oldest barbers in the United States and was still in good health and working every day. ^[3] He was also famed because he had cut the hair of President James Buchanan, and a few celebraties. ^[4]

Harvey started life as the youngest of seven sons of Nimrod Morgan and Nancy Unknown. ^{[5] [6]} He also had six sisters. Nimrod and Nancy were born enslaved in Virginia. ^[7] They were moved to Kentucky and eventually purchased their freedom and came to Ohio in 1825. ^[8] Harvey was born free 15 December 1833 in Springfield Township, Clark County, Ohio. ^{[9] [10]} He thought to follow his father in the blacksmith and horseshoing trade and was working in his father's shop at age sixteen. His plan was to eventually learn the brazier trade. ^[11]

One day a butcher named Luty, brought in his mule to be shod. ^[12] This particular mule was known to be unpredictable and was normally put in stocks for safety. On this particular day, the stocks were already being used and Harvey didn't want to wait. ^[13] He thought his skill was such that he could accomplish the task without being kicked. He worked very close to the animal and got as far as removing the old shoes and even got one nail in a new shoe, when the mule "lifted up his leg sidewise like an old cow and just pushed" Harvey across the shop where he landed against a wagon wheel. ^[14] His back was injured and he was laid up all summer. ^[15] Afterward, he was unable to do hard work, so he went to Cincinnati and learned the barber trade. ^{[16] [17]}

Harvey had a shop aboard the old steamboat Cincinnati which ran up and down the Mississippi River between Cincinnati, Ohio and New Orleans, Louisiana. Sometimes he also worked the northern route from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ^[18] During this time,

"Mr. Morgan was brought into contact with the southern planters and cotton kings of the 'South before the War' and was a free colored man of the north, saw his fello-men in bondage in the south." ^[19]

Harvey located his business in Dayton and then Mansfield, Ohio. Business people who visited him from Bucyrus, persuaded him to relocate there. ^[20] So he relocated there in 1858 and remained the rest of his life. ^[21] During the Civil War, he was targeted frequently for abuse despite the fact that he was "quiet, inoffensive and attended strictly to his own business," and eventually the animosities died down. ^[22]

He was very well known in Bucyrus and worked until aged about 77 when his health began to fail. ^[23] He suffered from asthma and bronchitis. ^[24] He was remembered as a man of superior intelligence, despite having almost no schooling. He was well-read, well informed, and educated by his own efforts. ^[25] He spoke both German and English. ^[26]

Marriage

Harvey married Isabell C. Bell on 18 October 1854 in Xenia, Ohio. ^[27]

Children

• Alice (Morgan) Woodson (1856-)
• Lucinda (Morgan) Strauter (1858-)
• Laura Bell Morgan (1860-1862)
• Lillian (Morgan) Davis (1862-1915)
• Edward Henry Morgan (1867-1935)
• Jay Morgan (1870-1905)
• Frederick D. Morgan ( 1870-)
• May Morgan (1874-1876)
• Carl Morgan (1878-)

Death

Harvey passed away 19 July 1912 in Bucyrus, Ohio. ^[28] He had recently sold his farm and was living in a room in Bucyrus. He was found dead on the floor of his room and an inquest was held. ^[29] His cause of death was determined to be natural causes due to organic heart disease. ^[30] The informant on his death certificate was his daughter, Lillian. She did not know the name of Harvey's mother which may mean that she had died before or not long after Lillian's birth in 1862. ^[31] His will was probated on 3 December 1913 in Crawford, Ohio. ^[32]

Sources

1. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
2. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
3. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
4. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
5. ↑ Death certificate
6. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
7. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
8. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
9. ↑ Death certificate
10. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
11. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
12. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
13. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
14. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
15. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
16. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
17. ↑ Death certificate (barber)
18. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
19. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
20. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
21. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
22. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
23. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
24. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
25. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
26. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
27. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
28. ↑ The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph
29. ↑ Death certificate
30. ↑ Death certificate
31. ↑ Death certificate
32. ↑ Will record

• The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph (Bucyrus, Ohio), Saturday, 14 December 1907, pg. 3, col. 1.
• The Bucyrus Evening Telegraph (Bucyrus, Ohio), Tuesday, 23 July 1912, pg. 3, col. 3.
• "Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X86W-WQN : 15 August 2019), Harvey E Morgan, 19 Jul 1912; citing Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio, reference fn 36536; FHL microfilm 1,953,422.
• Ohio County, District and Probate Courts; database and digital images, "Ohio, Wills and Probate Records, 1786-1998," Ancestry.com Operations,Inc., 2015 Ancestry Record 8801 #15464615: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Administrator's Account Record, 1852-1916; Probate Place: Crawford, Ohio.

Census Record

• Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.; database and digital images, "1850 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009 Ancestry Record 8054 #13326626: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Year: 1850; Census Place: Springfield, Clark, Ohio; Roll: M432_666; Page: 185A; Image: 375
• 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.; database and digital images, "1860 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009 Ancestry Record 7667 #42719937: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Year: 1860; Census Place: Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio; Roll: M653_951; Page: 77; Family History Library Film: 803951
• 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.; database and digital images, "1870 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009 Ancestry Record 7163 #38930415: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Year: 1870; Census Place: Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio; Roll: M593_1186; Page: 366A; Family History Library Film: 552685
• Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; database and digital images, "1880 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010 Ancestry Record 6742 #25231515: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Year: 1880; Census Place: Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio; Roll: 1003; Page: 350B; Enumeration District: 097
  FamilySearch Record: MZ15-L6N (accessed 29 April 2024)
  FamilySearch Image: 33S7-9YBC-B8L
  Harvey Morgan (47), married, Barber, head of household in Bucyrus, Crawford, Ohio, United States. Born in Ohio, United States.
• United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls; database and digital images, "1900 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004 Ancestry Record 7602 #39223202: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Year: 1900; Census Place: Bucyrus Ward 2, Crawford, Ohio; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0006; FHL microfilm: 1241251
• Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; database and digital images, "1910 United States Federal Census," Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006 Ancestry Record 7884 #21296997: accessed 7 February 2020; citing Year: 1910; Census Place: Bucyrus Ward 2, Crawford, Ohio; Roll: T624_1163; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 0006; FHL microfilm: 1375176
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/121353676/harvey_e-morgan: accessed April 1, 2024), memorial page for Harvey E. Morgan (15 Dec 1833–19 Jul 1912), Find A Grave: Memorial #121353676, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Bucyrus, Crawford County, Ohio, USA; Maintained by Linda Kaple (contributor 47582120).