[117] Morgan notes something more than mere mention, since he plays an important role in the affairs of the Illinois country from 1765-1771. He was born in Philadelphia in 1741 and was educated at Princeton college. Through the influence of his father-in-law, James Baynton, he was admitted to the firm of Baynton and Wharton and in 1765 became the western representative of the firm. After his experiences in Illinois, Morgan served the Revolutionary cause in the capacity of Indian agent. He died in 1810. See Biography of Col. George Morgan, by Julia Morgan Harding, in the Washington (Pa.) Observer, May 21, 1904.
[118] This company had traded extensively among the Indians on the Penn. border prior to 1765. During the Indian wars the firm lost heavily and it was in an attempt to retrieve its fortune that a branch house was established in the Illinois Country.
[119] Morgan's MS Letter Book.
[120] Morgan's MS Letter Book.
[121] Five batteaus loaded with goods under the command of John Jennings, sailed from Fort Pitt, March 9, 1765. Joseph Dobson to Baynton, Wharton, and Morgan, March 9, 1765, MS letter, Pa. Hist. Soc. Lib.
[122] Morgan's MS Letter Book.
[123] Ibid.
[124] Ibid.
[125] Ibid.
[126] Gage wrote in 1770 that the "Company from Philadelphia (Baynton, Wharton, and Morgan) failed in the Ilinois trade." Gage to Hillsborough, Dec. 7, 1770, Pub. Rec. Office, A. & W. I., Vol. 128.