Robert Morgan letters, 1830-1843
9 items
This collection consists of nine letters written by Robert Morgan between 1830 and 1843 from Sharon, Pennsylvania; Freedom, Pennsylvania; and Quincy, Illinois. He wrote to his brother, William Morgan of Seaford, Delaware, about family news, tending to his large and growing family of eleven children, and provided details about living and working in Western Pennsylvania and Illinois. He wrote about the landscape, weather, diet, labor and wages, costs of provisions, health, as well as canals, religion and more.
In Sharon, the Morgans lived on the road from Pittsburgh to Lake Erie, and Robert commented on shipments of cheese and livestock coming from Ohio (October 30, 1830), and he noted the construction of canals (May 13, 1831). He encouraged his family in Delaware to move westward: "I think when you and George sees the paper you will leave that poor sickley corn fed part of the Country and Come out whare you can have a plenty." He remarked on the need for doctors and preachers, good wages, and plentiful opportunities as inducements.
Robert and William Morgan corresponded regularly about religion, particularly Methodism and opposing viewpoints about traditional and reformed practices. Robert noted his wife's refusal to read any books on Methodist reforms or listen to him discuss it (July 25, 1831), and he wrote about revivals, churches, and preachers in the region. In 1832 Robert Morgan and his family moved to the newly established Freedom, Pennsylvania, where he initially worked as a carpenter. He occasionally referenced politics, including Andrew Jackson and banking (June 30, 1834; October 12, 1834), and wrote frankly about the potential hazards of remarrying (October 12, 1834). Some letters include comments on sickness, including cholera, scarlet fever, and the deaths of children and grandchildren. The final letter was written from Quincy, Illinois, where several members of the Morgan family had emigrated.