Alex Morgan (1854-after 1931)
Alex, the son of Melinda Perkins and Cato Morgan, was born in 1854 in Bexar County. He was 16 years old in the 1870 Census. Cato Morgan and Melinda Perkins were married on 5 January 1867. They had lived together as man and wife at the Polley plantation for al least ten years before that. Before Emancipation slaves were not allowed to be legally married. They celebrated their marriage legally soon after it was allowed.
According to Josephine Golson in Bailey’s Light, Cato Morgan had married a woman belonging to a neighboring stockman. J. H. Polley purchased the woman and her son so that the family would not be separated.
Mildred Burrows Garret, in “A Scrapbook of Memories,” records this story from Alex.
“I used to go to San Antonio with Jim [Bailey]. We would load a hundred bushels of corn in the big wagon and start out with three oxen pulling. Lots of times we would mire down but it made no difference because Jim was driving his oxen. He never laid a whip but he could talk them oxen into doing anything he wanted them to. It was something to see and hear, I tell you. What I like best, though, was to drive the mistress and the girls in the carriage to San Antonio. We always went by Scull Crossing and St. Hedwig and stopped to visit all along the way.”
Alex Morgan was involved in some oil, gas, and mineral leases in 1929-1931 that involved the original Crews Colony and the Zion Fair Baptist Church.
I have not been able to find any other information about Alex Morgan.
His quilt square is “Wheels.”
This biographical selection is from The Enslaved People of J. H. Polley Plantation, Whitehall, Sutherland Springs, Texas 1836-1865. The collection is the work of independent scholar, Dr. Melinda Creech. Dr. Creech compiled and presents a biographical sketch of each of the enslaved along with a unique historic Texas quilt for each individual since photos of the 28 enslaved are not available. The collection is available to view in person at the Sutherland Springs Historical Museum.
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