George Morgan (merchant)

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George Morgan (1743–1810) was merchant, land speculator, and United States Indian agent during the American Revolutionary War.

Morgan's parents were immigrants from Wales. His older brother was John Morgan. During the American Revolutionary War, George Morgan was commissioned a colonel and assigned to Fort Pitt to oversee diplomacy with Native Americans. He moved to the Ohio River Valley in hopes of becoming a land speculator, but to his disappointment in 1784 the United States government claimed much of the territory he hoped to claim.

In 1788, the Spanish offered to let him create a colony on the western half of the Mississippi River. He chose the location of New Madrid, Missouri. Morgan mapped out his new colony, naming the roads and designing the plans himself. However, he was disappointed with the lack of Spanish concessions and left after a few years. He died in Pennsylvania.

[edit] References

• Penick, James, Jr. The New Madrid Earthquake 1811–1812. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1976.

[edit] Further reading

• Savelle, Max. George Morgan: Colony Builder. New York: Columbia University Press, 1932.
• Schaaf, Gregory. Wampum Belts and Peace Trees: George Morgan, Native Americans, and Revolutionary Diplomacy. Golden, Colorado: Fulcrum, 1990.