Early Years
Most authorities believe that Morgan was born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. All four of his grandparents were Welsh immigrants who lived in Pennsylvania. Morgan was the fifth of seven children of James Morgan (1702–1782) and Eleanor Lloyd (1706–1748). When Morgan was 17, he left home following a fight with his father. After working at odd jobs in Pennsylvania, he moved to the Shenandoah Valley. He finally settled on the Virginia frontier, near what is now Winchester, Virginia.
Morgan was a large man, poorly educated, and often enjoyed drinking and gambling. He worked clearing land, in a sawmill, and as a teamster. In just a year, he saved enough to buy his own team. Morgan had served as a civilian teamster during the French and Indian War. After returning from the advance on Fort Duquesne (Pittsburgh) by General Braddock's command, he was punished with 499 lashes (a usually fatal sentence) for punching his superior officer. Morgan thus acquired a hatred for the British Army.
He later served as a rifleman in the Provincial forces assigned to protect the western border settlements from French-backed Indian raids. Some time after the end of the war, he purchased a farm situated between Winchester and Battletown. By 1774, he had grown so prosperous that he owned ten slaves. That year he served in Dunmore's War taking part in raids on Shawnee villages in the Ohio Country.
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