Joseph Morgan (1808 - 1838)

Born 21 Jan 1808 in Chorley, Lancashire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Hardman) Birch — married 28 Jun 1828 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 10 Mar 1838 at age 30 in Preston, Lancashire, England

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Biography

Joseph Morgan Contributed By BezoldMarlaEllen · 15 January 2014 · 1 Comments Edit Story Joseph Morgan was the son of John Morgan and Mary Mitchell Morgan. He was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England on 21 Jan 1808 and christened at St. Laurence parish. He was the oldest of eleven children born to this couple.

Joseph married Elizabeth Hardman on 28 June 1828 in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was born 22 March 1810 in Salwick, Lancashire, England. She was the daughter of Richard Hardman and Elizabeth Hodskinson Hardman. Joseph was 20 years and Elizabeth was 18 years of age when they married.

They had six children, three of whom died in childhood. The six children were:

1. Mary, born 3 January 1829 in Preston Lancashire, England; died 1842 in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States. Mary was about 13 years old when she died. She never married while alive.

2. John, born 28 March 1830 in Preston, Lancashire, England; christened 18 April 1830 at St. John's in Preston, Lancashire, England; died on 7 April 1909 in Mill Creek, Salt Lake, Utah, United States.

3. Robert, born 1832 in Salwick, Lancashire, England.

4. William, born 23 December 1832 in Preston, Lancashire, England, christened 20 January 1833 in Preston Lancashire, England. Died at age 1 1/2 years in June 1834 in Preston, Lancashire, England.

5. Joseph, born 5 October 1835 in Preston, Lancashire, England; christened 1 November 1835 at St. Johns, Preston, Lancashire, England. Joseph died 6 November 1840. He was only 5 years old.

6. Edward, born 20 October 1838 in Preston, Lancashire, England; christened 1 November 1838 in Preston, Lancashire, England; died 1 January 1928 in Nibley, Cache, Utah, buried in Salt Lake City, Utah after funeral services held in Mill Creek, Salt Lake, Utah.

Joseph was a brick mason by trade. He was the Grand Master of a Free Mason Lodge. The Mormon elders had arrived in Preston and had held a few meetings there. It happened that the Mormon meetings were held the same nights as the Lodge meetings, so he was not privileged to attend any of their meetings.

One day while at work Joseph became seriously ill and was taken home to his wife. He grew rapidly worse and, according to his son Edward's autobiography, died in a few days. He died in Preston, Lancashire, England on 10 March 1838. He was buried 13 March 1838. Joseph was only 30 years old when he died. He had been married not quite 11 years.

Elizabeth, who was expecting a new baby, was suddenly a widow who also had two young children to raise. The oldest, Mary, was 11 years old. John was 8 years old. About seven months after his father's death, Edward was born on 20 October 1838. He was blessed by Willard Richards, so his christening date which is listed might actually be his blessing date. If so, the date should be deleted as a baby's blessing is not listed under the christening date on Family Search records.

Shortly after her husband's death two Mormon elders came to Elizabeth's door preaching the gospel. She became converted and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in England, her native land. She was baptized 18 December 1838 when Edward, her new baby, was about 2 months old.

In the spring of 1841, Elizabeth and her three living children emigrated to America in a sailing ship. They landed in New Orleans on April 13, 1841. From there they traveled to Nauvooo, Illinois, arriving on 1 June 1841. Christopher Marley took Elizabeth, Edward and John to live with him. Hyrum Smith, brother to the Prophet Joseph Smith, took Mary into his home. Mary, the oldest child in the family, died while she was living with Hyrum Smith's family in 1842. She was about 13 years old at the time of her death.

Elizabeth married a second time in 1842, according to her son Edward's autobiography, probably in Nauvoo, Illinois. The man she married was named Francis Birch. Elizabeth and Francis Birch remained in Nauvoo until 1846 when they moved to Alton, Illinois.

After being in Alton for four years, the family left for the west on April 13, 1850 in Stephen Markham's Company. They traveled across the plains by ox team, arriving in Salt Lake City on 6 October 1850. It took them six months to cross the plains.They moved into the Eleventh Ward in Salt Lake City until the spring of 1851 when they moved to Mill Creek.

Elizabeth spent much time helping with the sick and afflicted. She went through many hardships incident to pioneer life. Her second husband Francis Birch died at their home in Mill Creek on 30 April 1875, leaving Elizabeth a widow for the second time in her life.

Elizabeth, a faithful Latter-day Saint, died on 10 March 1882 in Mill Creek, Salt Lake, Utah of pneumonia. John and Edward Morgan, her two living sons, loved and cared for their mother throughout her lifetime, and lived near her even after they married. Both sons served missions for the church, raised large families, and were well respected for their faithfulness and leadership in their communities. Their father, Joseph Morgan, would have been proud of the legacy he left--two righteous men who were raised by a woman who did not fear crossing the Atlantic Ocean to build a new life with her children. His widow and two sons were brave, strong, and faithful early pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley.

Sources

• 1. Family history of John Morgan & Ann Gillott

2. Journal of Edward Morgan, son of Joseph Morgan & Elizabeth Hardman 3. Obituaries of Edward Morgan & John Morgan, sons of Joseph M. & Elizabeth Hardman

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/150282491/joseph-morgan