Researching David Morgan

He was born in Christiana, New Castle, Delaware, the third child of Morgan Morgan and Catherine Garretson Morgan, traditionally stated to be the first white settler in West Virginia. Family tradition claims he was a friend of George Washington and Patrick Henry. Morgan was hired to help George Washington to survey the lands of Lord Fairfax's Virginia land holdings in 1746 and establish the northern border of Fairfax estate. This boundary became the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania. A monument placed at the northern branch of the Potomac River is known as Fairfax Stone. Afterwards, Washington hired David to survey his land on the Ohio River. The Morgan Family Bible states that he killed seven Indians in self-defense.

The most famous Indian fight he was in occurs in 1778 when he was bedridden in Prickett's Fort, he had a dream that his children were running around scalped. He grabbed his gun, ran outside, and found his children chasing a cow near two Indians on his land in present-day Rivesville, West Virginia. David sent them back to the fort, and as this happened, he shot and killed one Indian. Then, a second one threw a tomahawk at the back of his head as he ran back towards the fort, but David deflected it with his hand losing two fingers. He turned around to the Indian, fought hand to hand with him, and finally stabbed the Indian with the Indian's own knife. After a while, they tracked down the injured Indian and found him bounding his stomach wound which had corn seeping from it. The Indian told David “how do broder, how do broder,” trying to talk English peacefully to David and the other settlers. However the Indian died of his wounds. Another account tells that he killed another Indian and the settlers in Prickett's Fort made the Indian's skin into a shot pouch, and presented it to David as a souvenir. (David couldn't skin the Indian because he lost two of his fingers, and he wouldn't do it anyway because of his experience with war and the Indians.)

Morgan participated in many battles of the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Him and a younger brother Zackquill (Zackwell) Morgan first settled Morgantown, West Virginia in 1767, which is the town where West Virginia University is located. David and his brother Zackquill first came through the Morgantown area in 1767 and resided at what would be future Downtown Morgantown for a few years. (It wasn't until 1785 when Morgantown became an official city and Fort Morgan wasn't built until 1772) David lived here for two years before moving to Red Stone Creek in Pennsylvania. He then returned to live here in 1772 and built Fort Morgan before he finally moved to Fairmont, West Virginia.

In 1745, Morgan built a log cabin at Bunker Hill, Frederick (now Berkeley) County, (West) Virginia. (This structure was later expanded and became the Morgan-Gold House; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.) In 1772, he moved to Marion County, (West) Virginia. David also built and lived in the original Prickett's Fort State Park helping protect the bastion from Indians and British soldiers alongside Jacob Prickett. During his time in Fairmont, West Virginia he founded and established the community of Pettyjohn on the West side of Fairmont. The community had its own ferry, salt works, mail drop, and trading post, all thanks to David. Even though he may not have a large rank or as remembered as his brother Zackquill, he was still courageous, smart, and proud to fight for his family and his country.

Morgan is the 3rd great grandfather of West Virginia Governor Ephraim F. Morgan (1869–1950) and Congressman William S. Morgan (1801–1878).

Morgan is also chairman of Chi-X (Australia), deputy chairman of NIBC Bank in the Netherlands and a member of the supervisory board of HSH Nordbank in Germany. He is senior advisor to the board of Shinsei Bank in Japan. He was formerly a non-executive director of One Savings Bank and Castle Trust in the UK.

He is the former CEO of Westpac Banking Corporation, one of Australia's four major banks and a global top 20 bank by market capitalization. He is a former chairman of the Australian Bankers Association.

Morgan was Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, where he taught sociology from 1964, and where the Morgan Centre for the Study of Relationships and Personal Life is named in his honour. He also held Visiting Professorships at Keele University and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He was co-editor of the Palgrave Studies in Family Sociology book series.

He died on 17 June 2020 at the age of 82.

Morgan was born in Tredegar. In 1993 he succeeded Tony Lewis as Chairman of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, a position he held until 1997 when he joined the ECB board as deputy chairman to Lord MacLaurin. After MacLaurin stood down from the role in 2002, Morgan stood for election. In October 2002 he was elected the new chairman, gaining 11 votes to the eight of opposing candidate, Mike Soper. In 2004 and 2006 he was re-elected to this position without opposition.

In 2007 Morgan was nominated for the presidency of the ICC, he and opposing candidate Sharad Pawar received an equal number of votes so an agreement was reached enabling both men to serve as president. Morgan began his role in June 2008 and served for two years before being succeeded by Pawar in 2010. He is the President of Marylebone Cricket Club for 2014/5.

In 2008 Morgan was awarded the OBE for his services to cricket.

In the business world Morgan was commercial director of European Electrical Steels until 2001.

Morgan was the son of David Thomas Morgan of Whipps Cross, Walthamstow, Essex, and his wife Mary née Ridge. Born at the White House, High Road, Leytonstone, he was educated at Forest School, Walthamstow from 1853-1860 and at Vevey in Switzerland.

Morgan was a member of The Football Association at their fifth meeting on 1 December 1863, representing Forest School.

He entered business in the City of London, where he was a Russia merchant and member of the firm of Morgan, Gellibrand and Company. He was also a director of the Surrey Commercial Docks Company and of the Northampton Brewery Company. In 1867 he married Emily Bigland of Etloe House, Leyton.

Morgan entered politics when he was elected to the first Essex County Council formed in 1889, being returned as Conservative councillor for Leytonstone in a hard-fought contest. He later became councillor for Brentwood, having made his home at Bentley Mill near the town.

In 1900 he was selected as the Conservative and Unionist candidate to contest the South Western or Walthamstow Division of Essex. The seat was held by Sam Woods, elected as a Liberal-Labour Member of Parliament at a by-election in 1897.

The election was held at the height of the Second Boer War, and Morgan benefitted from the fact that he supported the government's policy, while Woods had abstained on a vote in the Commons supporting the war. Morgan won the seat by a large majority, and the gain of the seat was seen as one of the most significant government successes in the "khaki election".

Morgan only served one term in parliament, and did not contest the next general election in 1906 on medical advice.

Morgan was Master of the Worshipful Company of Bowyers of the City of London from 1902 to 1904.

Described as "[straddling] the transition in south Wales miners' politics from Lib-Labism to socialism, but ... never fully representative of either", Morgan encouraged Rhondda miners to enlist in the army in 1914 following the outbreak of the First World War, and was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his efforts. He initially served in the Welsh Regiment, before becoming a lieutenant-colonel in the Labour Corps. Morgan was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for bravery at the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, earning him the nickname "Dai Alphabet" in South Wales.

Born in Pen-y-groes in Carmarthenshire, Morgan began preaching at an early age in the Baptist church in nearby Llandybie. He studied at Ammanford Grammar School, where he befriended David Rees Griffiths, the school caretaker, who introduced him to Welsh literature.

Morgan won a scholarship to the University College of Swansea and graduated with a degree in Welsh, then studied theology at the Presbyterian College, Carmarthen, and finally the Baptist College in London. He was subsequently ordained and attached to a parish in Pisgah. During this time, he became active in Plaid Cymru, and stood unsuccessfully for the party in Llanelli at the 1950, 1951, 1955 and 1959 general elections. He also edited the party newspaper, Y Ddraig Goch.

In 1956, he moved to minister in Llandudno, then in 1960 he won a Fulbright Scholarship to the New York Union Seminary. However, he left early due to ill health, and returned to Llandudno. In 1967, he became a tutor in theology at the University College Bangor, and from 1971 until 1980, he served as principal of its Baptist College.

Morgan was also an active pacifist, and served as secretary of the Welsh Peace Society. He was the first secretary of the Welsh Hymn Society. He was also active in journalism; from 1960 to 1972, he was the editor of Seren Cymru, the newspaper of the Welsh Baptists, and from 1975 until 1977, he edited Seren Gomer.