William Morgan was not only one of the first Oxford Methodists, but the first of them to enter heaven. The Wesleys and Kirkham were the sons of English clergymen. Morgan was the son of an Irish gentleman, resident in Dublin. As already stated, he was a Commoner of Christ Church; and Samuel Wesley, junior, who was well acquainted with him, speaks of him in the highest terms. From his childhood, he had been devout and diligent; he revered and loved his father; was a warm-hearted, faithful friend; a welcome visitor of orphans, widows, and prisoners; neither a formalist nor an enthusiast; but a man whose life was a beautiful gospel sermon, in a practical, embodied form. A short extract from Samuel Wesley’s poem, on Mr. Morgan’s death, will not be out of place.
“Wise in his prime, he waited not till noon,
Convinced that mortals ‘never lived too soon.’
As if foreboding then his little stay,
He made his morning bear the heat of day.
Fixed, while unfading glory he pursues,
No ill to hazard, and no good to lose;
No fair occasion glides unheeded by;
Snatching the golden moments as they fly,
He, by fleeting hours, ensures eternity.