Berkeley County, West Virginia          Biography of John Thorburn MORGAN

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The History of West Virginia, Old and New
Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc.,
Chicago and New York, Volume II,
Page 244

   John Thorburn Morgan, member of the historic Morgan family of West
Virginia, is a mechanical engineer by profession, and has been closely
associated with the upbuilding and success of the Charleston Electrical
Supply Company, of which he is sales manager, secretary and one of the
directors.
   Both he and present governor, Ephriam F. Morgan, are descendants of
Col. Morgan Morgan, and both are descendants of the historic
character,David Morgan, a son of Col. Morgan Morgan. Col. Morgan Morgan
was born in Wales, was educated in London, and during the reign of
William 111 came to America, living for a time in the Colony of Delaware
and subsequently moving to the vicinity of Winchester, Virginia. About
1727 he is credited with having made the first white settlement and
having built the first church in what is now Berkeley Co., West
Virginia. One of his sons, Zackwell Morgan, served as a colonel in the
Continental Army during the Revolutionary war, and had previously
founded Morgantown. Stephen H. Morgan, who was the grandson of David
Morgan, was the father of Smallwood G. Morgan, grandfather of the
Charleston business man.
   Benjamin S. Morgan, son of Smallwood G. and Oliza (Thorn) Morgan, has
been a distinguished figure in West Virginia educational affairs and
also as a member of the bar of Charleston. He was born in Marion Co. in
1854,  and graduated from the University of West Virginia at Morgantown
in 1878, subsequently taking the law course and receiving the LL. B.
degree in 1883. As a youth he took up educational work, and he served as
superintendent of the public schools of Morgantown from 1878 to 1881 and
was county superintendent of the schools for Monongalia County from 1881
to 1885. In the general election of 1884 he was democratic candidate for
state superintendent of free schools, was elected, and was nominated and
reelected in 1888, each time receiving the largest vote given to any
candidate for state office. Eight years of service as state superintend
ate of schools could be characterized as a period of special growth and
improvement in the educational facilities and the enlightened opinion of
the state regarding the use and development of school facilities. He
inaugurated and put into practice a number of  features that are still
part of the state's policies in regard to the control and management of
schools. At the close of his second term as state superintendent
Benjamin S. Morgan began the private practice of law at Charleston,
where he is still a prominent member of the bar. He married Annie
Thoburn, a daughter of John and Jane (Miller) Thoburn, both natives of
Belfast, Ireland,
   John Thorburn Morgan, their son, was born November 25, 1889, at
Charleston and was educated in the public schools of his native city,
and for three years, from 1906 to 1909, was a student in the University
of West Virginia, where he specialized in engineering. In 1909 he
entered the service of the Charleston Electrical Supply Company. He was
one of the first of the type of modern salesman who combines technical
knowledge and engineering with salesmanship. To this firm has given the
best of his abilities and through various promotions has reached the
post of sales manager and secretary of the corporation. From 1913 to
1917 he was employed by the Ohio Brass Company of Mansfield, Ohio, as
district sales agent in Southern West Virginia, Southwestern Virginia
and Eastern Kentucky.
   The Charleston Electrical Supply Company was founded in 1902 by the
late Howard S. Johnson, who was president until his death in February,
1921. It is exclusively a wholesale electrical supply house and
undoubtedly one of the largest and best equipped concerns of its kind in
the country, and has contributed not a little to Charleston's prestige
as a wholesale center. Mr. Morgan has a staff of highly trained and
expert salesmen covering the territory. These salesmen might more
properly be classified as sales engineers, since they carry out the long
standing policy of the house that its representatives should technical
men as well as salesmen. There is an efficiency and organization,
developed through years of practice, that gives this house justified
precedence throughout its trade territory.
   Mr. Morgan is an associate member of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, associate member of the American Institute of
Mining, and Metallurgical Engineers, associate member of the Institute
of Radio Engineers and an active member of the Society of American
Military Engineers. Membership in the latter order recalls the two years
spent in the American army during the World war as an engineer. He held
the rank of captain. He entered the First Officers' Training Camp at
Fort Myer, Virginia, in 1917, joined the Engineer Officer's Training
Camp at Belvoir, Virginia ( later Camp Humphreys), received further
training in the American University Camp at Washington, and went
overseas with the Three Hundred and Fifth Engineers of the Eightieth
Division, reaching France early in June, 1918. During the summer that
marked the climax of the allied efforts against the german armies he was
with his division on the British front, in the Argonne, and after the
armistice he was ordered to Coblenz, being attached to the staff of the
chief engineer of the Third Army. While still in Europe he received
discharge and reached home May 30, 1919. Before returning home he spent
two months in France and England on special sales investigation work for
the Ohio Brass Company of Mansfield , Ohio.
   Mr. Morgan married Miss Rebecca Putney, member of the prominent
Putney family of the Kanawha Valley. Through her mother she is a member
of the Littlepage family. Her parents were Alexander Mosely and Albirta
Rebecca ( Littlepage) Putney, of Kanawha County. Her father was a
grandson of Dr. Richard Ellis Putney, one of the foremost citizens of
his day in this valley. Her mother is a sister of the late Adam B.
Littlepage, who represented the Charleston District in Congress and was
one of the really eminent lawyers and men of affairs in the state.
   To Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were born on December 6, 1921, a son and
daughter ( twins), John Thoburn Morgan Jr., deceased, and Rebecca Putney
Morgan.