University of Houston Libraries
Department of Special Collections
Colonel James Morgan (1787-1866) was an early Texas settler, merchant, and land speculator. Having started out in Texas with a mercantile business, in 1835 Morgan became a real estate agent for the New Washington Association and began to purchase large tracts of land for development.
During the Texas Revolution, Morgan was the commander at Galveston Island, where he was in charge of the 1836 fortification of the island. President Sam Houston later charged him with mismanaging this project.
After the revolution, Morgan turned his interests to improving what would eventually become the Houston Ship Channel, and experimenting with cattle breeds and crop cultivation.
The Col. James Morgan Papers Collection consists of personal, business, and military correspondence, as well as various indenture and tenant documents, military orders, receipts, and folk remedies. When available, hand written transcriptions are filed behind the original documents. Manuscripts date from 1836 to 1859, with the bulk of the collection dating from the 1830s. The collection comprises 1 manuscript box with 43 individual items.
The collection is divided into two series: correspondence and other materials. The correspondence series is alphabetized by the last name of the sender. If one correspondent is represented by more than one letter, that section is then additionally alphabetized by the name of the recipient. If the writer has sent more than one letter to the same person, they are filed chronologically. The other, non-correspondence series is alphabetized by main entry.
The majority of this collections was given to the University of Houston Libraries by Mr. and Mrs. Henry David in December of 1969.
Photocopying decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis by Special Collections staff. Patrons are responsible for obtaining permission to publish from copyright holders.
K. Fox, October 1996
(outside letter sheet only)
(captured Mexican officers)
(outside letter sheet only, in the hand of Sam Houston)