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<\/a>Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. “Rev. J. R. V. Morgan.” New York Public Library Digital Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n
Reverend John R. V. Morgan was born in Kent County, Maryland, in the 1820s and grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[note]Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, Baltimore, Maryland [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.[\/note] Throughout his life, he lived in multiple cities including Baltimore, Denver, and San Francisco. He married Mary Ann Harmon and had a son named Joseph H. Morgan (born November 15, 1843).[note]Twentieth-Century Negro Literature or Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vita Topics Relating to American Negro<\/em>. (Library of Alexandria, 1969). Link<\/a>.[\/note] Around 1857, Mary Ann Harmon died, and a family from Philadelphia adopted J. H. Morgan.[note]Twentieth-Century Negro Literature<\/em>[\/note] At the time, Rev. J. R. V. Morgan was serving as missionary pastor in Liberia, Africa.[note]Larry G. Murphy, J. Gordon Melton, and Gary L. Ward. Encyclopedia of African American Religions<\/em>. (New York: Routledge, 2011), 12.[\/note] Given the time period\u2019s slow transportation and communication systems, it is highly likely that J. R. V. Morgan received news of his wife\u2019s death months after the actual event. In Morgan\u2019s absence, his teenage son sought to be independent, selling cakes and pies at the wharves; later on, he trained as a barber.[note]Twentieth-Century Negro Literature<\/em>[\/note]<\/p>\n The 1855 National Colored Convention in Philadelphia is one of the last conventions or meetings that Rev. J. R. V. Morgan attended before he set off to Liberia. He came back to the United States in 1859 (or perhaps earlier) due to lack of support from the AME Church. This, however, did not discourage his firm advocacy for the AME that same year, he attended an AME Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, along with Bishop McNeal Turner, John Peck, and others. The conference resolved to acknowledge antislavery insurrectionist Captain John Brown as a patriot, hero, and a Christian and collected money for Brown\u2019s family.[note]\u201cMeeting in Pittsburgh.\u201d The Weekly Anglo-African<\/em>, 17 Dec. 1859. US African American Newspapers, 1829-1947 via Ancestry.com[\/note]<\/p>\n Rev. Morgan\u2019s active participation in the church kept him away from his son, and for much of their lives, the two lived in different cities. However, the fact that Joseph H. Morgan eventually became a pastor for the AME Church like his father suggests that they kept a close relationship. Joseph H. Morgan understood the demands of being a reverend and an activist. Once ordained as reverend, Joseph H. Morgan published a book about the AME Church and its history; in it, he includes a profile of his father, himself, and other pastors.[note]For further reading, see Morgan’s History of the New Jersey Conference of the A.M.E. Church, from 1872 to 1887<\/em> and of the several churches, as far as possible, from date of organization, with biographical sketches of members of the conference.[\/note] The depth of Rev. J. R. V. Morgan\u2019s influence over his son is clear. His much lauded oratorical ability, devotion to racial uplift, and bravery made an immense impression on the young Joseph. During the Civil War, Rev. J. R. V. Morgan, by then in his early forties, served in Company C, 43rd Regiment\u2013Infantry\u2013United Colored Troops.[note]Records of Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War, 1861\u20131865<\/em>. Vol 2. (J. L. Murphy, 1876), 1553. Link<\/a>.[\/note] His son tried to enlist as a soldier but was hired as cook instead.[note]Twentieth-Century Negro Literature<\/em>[\/note] This suggests the J. H. Morgan tried to follow his father\u2019s footsteps as much as he could.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.0.7″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”text_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ text_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_vertical_length=”text_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ text_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” text_text_shadow_blur_strength=”text_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ text_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” link_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”link_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ link_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_vertical_length=”link_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ link_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” link_text_shadow_blur_strength=”link_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ link_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ul_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_vertical_length=”ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ul_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ul_text_shadow_blur_strength=”ul_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ul_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ol_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_vertical_length=”ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ol_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” ol_text_shadow_blur_strength=”ol_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ ol_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ quote_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_vertical_length=”quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ quote_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” quote_text_shadow_blur_strength=”quote_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ quote_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_2_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_2_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_2_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_2_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_2_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_2_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_3_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_3_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_3_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_3_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_3_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_3_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_4_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_4_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_4_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_4_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_4_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_4_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_5_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_5_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_5_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_5_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_5_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_5_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length=”header_6_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_6_text_shadow_horizontal_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length=”header_6_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_6_text_shadow_vertical_length_tablet=”0px” header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength=”header_6_text_shadow_style,%91object Object%93″ header_6_text_shadow_blur_strength_tablet=”1px” box_shadow_horizontal_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_vertical_tablet=”0px” box_shadow_blur_tablet=”40px” box_shadow_spread_tablet=”0px” z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n Rev. Joseph H. Morgan, son of Rev. J. R. V. Morgan. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. “Rev. Joseph H. Morgan.” New York Public Library Digital Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n The quartermaster of the 43rd Regiment Sergeant John C. Brock wrote letters to the editor of The Christian Recorder<\/em>, which serve as a window to what it was like to be in the company of Rev. Morgan. In his letters, he hints on Morgan\u2019s oratorical abilities: \u201cWe had the pleasure of hearing Rev. Jake [John] R. V. Morgan. . . preach, on Sabbath evening last. It revived our memory of days past and gone, when we often had the pleasure of listening to \u201cthe Old Man Eloquent.\u201d We find that he has lost none of his enthusiasm, but is still as eloquent as ever. He held the audience spellbound, for almost one hour, listing[sic] to his stirring remarks.\u201d[note]William Alan Blair and William Pencak. Making and Remaking Pennsylvania\u2019s Civil War<\/em>. (University Park: Penn State P, 2001), 152.[\/note] Morgan\u2019s ability to lift the morale of soldiers was an invaluable contribution, and his eloquence would make more lasting impressions among those who heard him preach.<\/p>\n![\"black](\"https:\/\/oldsite.coloredconventions.org\/black-mobility\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/Rev-J-H-Morgan-235x300.jpeg\")
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