Upshur County, West Virginia Biography of MORGAN M. BROOKS This file was submitted by Valerie Crook, E-mail address: The submitter does not have a connection to the subject of this sketch. This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume III, pg. 440 Upshur MORGAN M. BROOKS, principal of the Buckhannon High School, has been connected with the educational affairs and institutions of West Virginia almost consecutively for thirty years. He is a school man of high ideals and with a most commendable record of administrative efficiency. Mr. Brooks was born on a farm in Upshur County July 23, 1873, son of Rev. B. B. and Seba (Morgan) Brooks. While Professor Brooks has devoted his life to education, he represents a line of Methodist ministers, including some of the pioneers in the church in West Virginia. His grand- father, Rev. E. L. Brooks, was born in the southern part of West Virginia, and for many years endured the burdens and hardships of an itinerant ministry over the state. He married Judith Atkins and was the father of two sons and four daughters, two of whom are still living. Rev. B. B. Brooks, now deceased, was born in Lincoln County, Virginia, June 10, 1842, had a public school education, pre- pared himself for the ministry of the Methodist Church, and while he was pastor of several churches and for many years a member of the Conference, he also owned a farm, cultivated it and conducted a store. He was a republican in politics. Rev. B. B. Brooks married Seba Morgan, a member of the historic family of Morgans in West Vir- ginia and a descendant of the pioneer Indian fighter David Morgan. Rev. B. B. Brooks and wife had thirteen chil- dren, and seven are still living: Genevra, widow of Samuel Barton, of Charleston, West Virginia; E. L., who grad- uated from the Glenville State Normal School, taught for fifteen years, and is now in the lumber business at Buck- hannon; Morgan M.; Helen, wife of Dan Price, of East Holden, Maine; Virginia, wife of Joseph Coffinduffer, of Jawesville, West Virginia; Orpha, wife of James Hoover, of Snow Hill, Maryland; Flora, wife of William E. Jones, of East Bank, West Virginia. Morgan M. Brooks grew up on a farm, acquired his early education in the common schools, graduated from the Glenville State Normal, and also took work in the West Virginia Wesleyan College, from which he graduated A. B. He also attended for several terms West Virginia University and Columbia University. Professor Brooks began teaching at the age of seventeen. From 1904 to 1913 he was principal of the Grafton High School and from 1914 to 1919 was principal of the Wesleyan Academy at Buckhannon. He has been principal of the high school of that city since 1919. In 1899 he married Mary C. Hamilton. They have two daughters: Martha V., born January 1, 1905, a graduate of high school and now attending West Virginia Wesleyan College; and Margaret E., born October 3, 1908, a student in the Junior High School at Buckhannon. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which Professor Morgan is on the Official Board. He is a past chancellor of Oak Hall Lodge No. 120, Knights of Pythias, and a member of Grafton Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has been a worker in the republican party, and is secretary of the County Committee of Upshur County.