David Morgan (Arizona politician)

David Morgan
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the Yavapai County district
In office
January 1921 – December 1922
Preceded byA. A. Johns
C. P. Hicks
Succeeded byCharles H. Rutherford
Howard Cornick
Member of the Arizona Territory House of Representatives
from the Yavapai County district
In office
1907–1908
Personal details
Born1866
Wales
DiedJanuary 11, 1930
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseEtta
ChildrenVictoria
Residence(s)Jerome, Arizona, Los Angeles
ProfessionPolitician, mining engineer

David Morgan was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 5th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Yavapai County.[1]

Biography

Morgan was born in Wales in 1866.[2][3] He immigrated to the United States in 1883. Upon his arrival in States, he briefly went to work in the coal mines in Pennsylvania, before heading further west, working in several different states, before ending up in Arizona.[2][4] Morgan was married to Etta Morgan. The couple had one daughter, Virginia.[2][4] Morgan lived in Jerome, Arizona.[5]

By 1900, Morgan was involved in the mining industry in Yuma County, Arizona.[6] In 1901 he had moved north, into Yavapai County, where he and a partner discovered the Lucky Dave mine.[7] In 1902 he was the foreman of the Congress Mine, as well as working his own mining claims.[8] It was discovered several years later that in 1902 Morgan was one of three mining officials targeted in a murder plot by union organizers at the Congress Mine. However, the plot was exposed prior to it being carried out, and the conspirators fled the jurisdiction.[9] In 1904 he left the Congress mine, and became the foreman of the Imperial Mine.[10]

In 1906 he was one of the three Republicans elected to the Arizona Territorial Legislature as members of the Arizona House of Representatives.[11][12] However, after his election, due to work considerations, Morgan did not feel that he could execute his duties as a representative and tendered his resignation prior to the legislature convening in January 1907.[13] Republican leaders asked him to reconsider, and he rescinded his resignation and joined the legislative body in February 1907.[14][15] In 1911, Morgan left his position at the Imperial mine.[16] He next went to work for the United Verde Extension Company, and while working for them was credited for the discovery of the large copper ore vein which made it the "biggest body of high grade copper ore in the world."[3][17] In 1917, Morgan moved on from the United Verde Extension to become the manager of the Verde Combination Mining Company.[18]

In 1920, he and Charles E. Burton, ran unopposed in the Republican primary for the two Arizona State Senate seats from Yavapai County.[19] Morgan and Burton easily defeated their Democrat opponents, incumbents A. A. Johns and C. P. Hicks, in the November general election.[20] During the election, Morgan was traveling through Europe. After his election to the Senate, his candidacy was called into question, since, being in Europe, he did not sign his nominating certificate.[21] By 1925, Morgan have moved from Jerome to Los Angeles, California.[22] In California, he worked as a consultant geologist.[23] Morgan died on January 11, 1930, in the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, California. While he had been in ill health for some time, his death was unexpected. At the time of his death he was the vice-president and general manager of the Zenda Gold Mining Company, near Barstow. He was a resident of Huntington Park.[2][3][24]

References

  1. ^ "History of the Arizona State Legislature 1912-1966". State of Arizona. p. 81. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Funeral Of Mining Man Awaits Kin". The Los Angeles Times. January 13, 1930. p. 36. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "David Morgan To Be Buried In Coast City". The Arizona Republican. January 14, 1930. p. 6. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Former Arizona Legislator Dead". Arizona Daily Star. January 15, 1930. p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Short Visit Here". The Arizona Republican. July 1, 1913. p. 10. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Yuma Records". The Arizona Sentinel. March 14, 1900. p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Public Records". Weekly Journal-Miner. June 5, 1901. p. 3. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Mines and Minerals of Arizona". The Arizona Republican. July 2, 1902. p. 3. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Did Moyer Plot to Murder Staunton". Bisbee Daily Review. June 7, 1907. p. 8. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Complimentary Comment". The Arizona Republican. August 8, 1904. p. 5. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Council Republican, House Democratic". Williams News. November 24, 1906. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Official Vote of Pima County, Arizona". Arizona Daily Star. December 29, 1906. p. 4. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Pima Assemblyman Tenders Resignation". The Tucson Citizen. January 24, 1907. p. 1. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Will Qualify at Phoenix Today". The Tucson Citizen. January 28, 1907. p. 5. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Assemblyman Reconsiders". Bisbee Daily Review. January 30, 1907. p. 3. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Morgan Returns From Tour of Europe". The Tucson Citizen. October 7, 1911. p. 10. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "What Brought On the Boom and Why It Will Continue". Bisbee Daily Review. April 23, 1916. pp. 3–4. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Jerome Looks Forward To Biggest Boom In History of Arizona". Bisbee Daily Review. August 19, 1917. p. 9. Retrieved August 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "John Dial Wins By 82 Votes As Nominee". Weekly Journal-Miner. September 22, 1920. p. 2. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Final Count In Yavapai Election". Weekly Journal-Miner. November 24, 1920. p. 5. Retrieved September 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Effort To Control State Senate Seen In Democrat Move". The Arizona Republican. November 25, 1920. p. 1. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Expert Points Out Kay Mine's Good Prospects". The Los Angeles Times. March 2, 1925. p. 12. Retrieved September 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "David Morgan Dies In California Home". Arizona Daily Star. January 13, 1930. p. 1. Retrieved September 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Morgan Funeral Gets Postponement". Evening Vanguard. January 13, 1930. p. 8. Retrieved August 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.