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 R. W. D. MORGAN, a rising young physician of this county is the descendant of
a prominent pioneer family, and resides
in the village of Rardin, Morgan Town. He was born Oct. 8, 1856, in this township,
which received its name in honor of his grandfather, David Morgan, one of the early settlers of
this county in 1835. David Morgan was a farmer
and stock-grower in Indiana prior to his removal
to Illinois. He was active and enterprising in business, and identified himself with the new and rapidly developing community into which he moved,
and with his family aided in building up the political and social interests of the township. His death occurred here in 1860. Dr. Morgan is the son of William Morgan, who was born Dec. 13, 1827, in Sullivan County, Ind. He was eight years of age when his parents removed to Illinois. The country was then little more than an unbroken wilderness inhabited by Indians, and the home of the wolf, deer and other wild animals, and from his home in the northern part of what is now Morgan Township to within a half mile of Charleston, a distance of twelve miles, there was not a single habitation. William Morgan married Miss Margaret Shirrs, Sept. 6, 1850. Mrs. Morgan was born in Glasgow, Scotland, May 28, 1835. Immediately after his marriage Mr. Morgan engaged in farming for himself, in which he has been very successful. The homestead contains 320 acres in other parts of the township. Dr. Morgan passed his boyhood and youth at home, assisting his father on the farm in the summer and attending school in the winter until he was twenty years of age. His father, who was brought up in the pioneer days and suffered from he limited educational advantages of that period, spared no pains in the education of his family. Dr. Morgan attended school two years at Oakland and in 1874 studied one year at the Iowa University in Keokuk. In 1875 he commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Peak, who was graduated by a medical college in Philadelphia and one in St. Louis. In the autumn of the following year he entered the Chicago Medical College, where he remained three years, applying himself closely to the study of his chosen profession, and was graduated in 1879. Immediately after his graduation Dr. Morgan began the practice of medicine in Rardin, and on the Christmas Day following, his marriage to Miss Florence Jeffrey took place. Mrs. Morgan was born in Rockford, and is the daughter of John and Mary M. (Lonbaker) Jeffrey. She is a charming and accomplished lady, and a graduate of the Rockford Seminary. Her only brother, Arthur, is engaged in the lumber business in Chicago. Mr. Jeffrey’s family is of English extraction. He was a skillful machinist and had charge of the machine-shops at Rockford for twenty-six years. His wife died in 1880, and after the marriage of his daughter he came to Rardin to live with her, but after remaining a year missed the home scenes and faces and returned to Rockford, where his death occurred in 1886, at the age of seventy-four. He was a highly esteemed member of the Methodist Church, and had been a Deacon for five years prior to his death. In politics he was a Republican. Dr. Morgan owns his residence and office in Rardin. He keeps a full line of drugs for his own use in the practice of his profession, and has a valuable medical library, comprising all of the best authors. He is a constant student and reader, keeping himself well informed in regard to all the recent discoveries in medical science and the current literature of his profession, recognizing the great fact that to excel one must always keep learning. By his energy and skill he has built up a fine and constantly increasing practice in Rardin and throughout the surrounding country. He is a member of the Coles County Medical Association, and with his wife is a prominent member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. A view of the handsome residence of Dr. Morgan is shown elsewhere in this work. |
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