Historical Information

I have been unable to learn much about the history of Morgan Cemetery. The Pulaski County Morgans were involved in establishing the Methodist Church in the New River valley. According to the late Clarita Morgan's (my mother) book, Edward Morgan, Pioneer Minister in Southwest Virginia, the Reverend Edward Morgan immigrated from England to America in 1767. In 1773 he was involved in building a Methodist chapel in Pulaski County, Pages Meeting House, about one mile north of the future location of Morgan Cemetery. Clarita Morgan reported that Rev. Morgan sold his home place to a son Francis Asbury Morgan in 1836 and, in 1844, Rev. Morgan died at Francis' home and is buried in Page's Cemetery.

Clarita Morgan further reports that a new Methodist Church, Morgan Chapel (today is called Morgan's Chapel United Methodist Church), was built in the community of New River and dedicated in 1876. According to findagrave.com the first burials recorded at Morgan Cemetery were two children Frank and Charles McLemore in 1876. Is this just a coincidence? Clarita Morgan's daughter, Clarita Rader, remembers hearing that at some point Morgan Cemetery was "given" to Morgan Chapel.

The third reported burial at Morgan Cemetery was Edward Morgan Jr., a son of Rev. Morgan, who died on May 21, 1878. In his will dated May 13, 1878 he directed "I desire my body to be decently buried at Newton J. Morgan's, where his child was buried." Newton Morgan was his son. Over the first 10 years 13 persons were buried in the cemetery including four McLemores, three Morgans, three Criggers, a Hawkins, a Landrum and a Turner. Clearly the cemetery was more then a family cemetery. Data reported by findagrave.com indicates that there were at least 71 internments in the cemetery from 1876 to 1945.