Samuel Asa Leland Morgan Sr. (1885 - 1954)

Born 7 Sep 1885 in Cedar Valley, Travis Co., TX

Ancestors

Husband of Verna (Johnson) Morgan — married 21 Dec 1913 in Vernon, TX

Descendants

Died 4 Dec 1954 at age 69 in Amarillo, TX

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Biography

An article from the Amarillo Globe-News about S.A.L. Morgan.

Samuel Asa Leland was always known, professionally and formally, as S.A.L. For some reason, WikiTree will not allow a capital A or L at the top of the page.

Judge Samuel Asa Leland "S.A.L." Morgan was born in 1885 in central Texas, the son of John R. Morgan, a pioneer ranchman, and Narcissus Evelyn Lewis Morgan.

He graduated from a one-room country school in Cedar Valley. He started teaching school when he was 16 at Round Mountain. At that time, he rented living quarters from the grandmother of former president Lyndon B. Johnson.

Schoolmates at the University of Texas called him "Sal" because of his initials, and the nickname stuck through the years.

In 1904, Morgan went to the Philippines, where he worked as superintendent of country schools for two years.

He returned to the United States and worked as a principal in Atlanta, Texas, while pursuing a law degree.

He married Verna Johnson in 1913 in Atlanta. They had four children.

He first practiced law in Vernon with W.D. Berry and W.N. Stokes. They formed the firm of Berry, Stokes and Morgan. While in Vernon, he served as county attorney for Wilbarger County.

In 1926, he moved to Amarillo, which was booming from nearby discoveries of oil. In January 1930, he formed the firm Morgan, Morgan and Britain. Morgan retained his association with the firm - known as Morgan, Culton, Morgan, Britain and White - until 1951.

During the 1930s, he argued several cases before the Supreme Court. In 1937, he became a special attorney for the Texas Co. participating in litigation involving hundreds of millions of dollars.

Morgan gained national recognition in antitrust litigation between the federal government and the oil and gas industry.

In 1949, he went to Chicago to serve as vice president and general counsel for Natural Gas Pipeline Corp., the parent company of Texhoma Natural Gas Co., for which he had done much legal work.

A hallmark of Morgan's career was his drafting of the legislation that gave jurisdiction on the conservation of Texas oil and gas resources to the Texas Railroad Commission.

He initiated litigation to prohibit the flaring of natural gas, thus introducing pipelines for the commercial development and sale of natural gas in the Texas Panhandle.

Morgan served as president of the Amarillo School Board, was on the founding board of Amarillo College and was a member of Polk Street United Methodist Church. He also supported many community organizations.

He died in 1954. His wife died in 1969.

The Morgans' children are Mary Tom Rasco Crain of Amarillo, a former Globe-News reporter who has been extensively involved in and recognized for her volunteerism and humanitarian efforts; Sally Fitzgerald of Boston, a noted author and editor; S.A.L. Morgan Jr., a retired advertising executive of Los Angeles, Calif; and the late John C. "Red" Morgan, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service during World War II.

Sources

• The book Oak Hill-Cedar Valley Pioneers; May 200 article in the Amarillo Globe-News.