John H. Morgan was born on October 12, 1820, in Pulaski County, Kentucky, to William Morgan and Nancy Edwards. The family moved to Illinois when he was a child, and he married Mary Young in Shelby County, Illinois, on October 1, 1846. They had at least three children: Ruth, born around 1847; Thomas, born around 1849; and Nancy, born around 1853. They moved to Putnam County, Missouri, in 1854. By 1860, Morgan was working as a blacksmith, and he owned $200 of real estate and $300 of personal property. He enlisted in the Union army early in 1861 and mustered in as a 2^nd lieutenant in Company B of the 18^th Missouri Infantry. He became the “regimental blacksmith” in February 1862. He developed hepatitis soon afterward, and army officials ultimately discharged him.

 

Morgan returned home to Putnam County, and by 1870, he was working as a wagon maker. He owned $2,000 of real estate and $2,000 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in April 1882, complaining of chronic diarrhea and piles. His wife Mary died on January 2, 1881, and he married Hannah S. McVay on August 4, 1881. She died on September 10, 1897, and he married Francis Huston on May 14, 1899. He passed away in Unionville, Missouri, on August 12, 1904.

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