Scope and Contents:
George Morgan was a junior member of the Baynton, Wharton, and Morgan company who came to Illinois in 1766 to direct the firm's venture in western trade. This collection documents Morgan's personal and business activities, as well as the lives of his descendents. A significant portion of the correspondence in this collection is between Morgan, Baynton, and Wharton, along with transcripts of three letterbooks (1774-79) which were written when Morgan was serving as an Indian agent at Fort Pitt. Other papers include letters and documents concerning Thomas Hutchins (1730-89), a military engineer and geographer, who was appointed "geographer to the United States" in 1781, and more papers of Morgan, such as estimates of the expenses of the Indiana Company (1763-93), transcripts of proceedings of a Court of Inquiry at Fort Chartres, French maps illustrating surveys, and a speech he gave to various Indian tribes.
Between 1928 and 1930 the Survey purchased from Col. Robert Reed of Washington, Penn., a descendant of George Morgan, a collection of 251 documents, throwing light on all phases of Morgan's career, including a large body of the material relating to his sojourn in the Illinois country and to his later speculation in Missouri lands in connection with the colony of New Madrid. An additional nine items were given to the Survey in the years 1956-1958 by Mr. L. A. Hopkins of San Francisco, Calif.
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