Where our ancestors lie, having finished their lives and gone on before us.

Above is a picture of the Rigby, Idaho Pioneer Cemetery taken in the 1900's (Perhaps 1930? The white tombstone in the right foreground for Edwin A. Walker-who was the father of Lucy Walker who married William Morgan's son Golden 'Jack' Morgan- was placed in 1926). A few Morgan's are buried in this cemetery but there are more Morgan's buried in the Shelton, Idaho and American Falls, Idaho Cemeteries.

The Thomas Morgan grave in the Shelton, Idaho Cemetery. Buried here also are the two wives with whom he had children: Nancy Jane Radford Ryset Morgan and Ann Ollen Watkins Morgan. In addition, a woman he married late in his life is buried here: Susan Augusta Byington Morgan. The names of Ann Watkins and Nancy Jane Radford are engraved on the side of the white marble stone.

If you look closely at Thomas Morgan's white marble stone you will see that his birth date is not listed on it. This is because there has been confusion about his birth date and at the time this stone was placed no one was sure of the date so they left it off. However, recent careful, documented, research in England and America by Leon Pitman, Polly Rubery and James Morgan has established Thomas Morgan's birth date as 1821. To read the report documenting this research click on the "Thomas Morgan" link in this website and then click on the "Thomas and Ann Morgan in England link" on the Thomas Morgan page.

Thomas Morgan Funeral

Click on the link above to see a picture of the card that was handed out to people who attended the funeral of Thomas Morgan in 1915. And another picture of Thomas Morgan's grave stone in the Shelton, Idaho Cemetery.

The picture above is a composite made from pictures of Morgan gravestones that are in the Shelton, Idaho Cemetery. The Shelton, Idaho Cemetery is the clan home for the early Thomas Morgan Families and a rich historical center for those of us doing family history research. A visit to this cemetery is highly recommended to anyone interested in the early Thomas Morgan families in America.

Thomas Morgan died at his daughter Pricilla's home at Perry Ward, Jefferson County, Idaho, 6 July 1915. He is buried behind the white marble stone shown in the center of the picture above. He was 94 years old. The picture below was not on Thomas Morgan's headstone, but it sums up his life, and the life of his early families, beautifully.

Hannah Elizabeth Morgan Hadden, a granddaughter of Thomas Morgan, only lived to be just over 20 years old and she lived her entire life in pioneering conditions on new homesteads. Click on the link below to be taken to a page with pictures of her grave in Wyoming.

Hannah Elizabeth Morgan Hadden burial site

Click on the link above to be taken to a page with pictures of the site in Wyoming where one member of our family, Hannah Elizabeth Morgan Hadden, was buried during some of the most difficult times our pioneer families experienced.

More on Morgan family graveyards

Click on the link above to be taken to another page on graveyards.

Shelton Cemetery and the Moore Legacy

Click on the link above to see a picture of the Shelton Cemetery and the Moore homestead from which it was carved.

Thomas Morgan was probably born in 1821 and in his older years he either forgot his birthdate or found it interesting to string people along with tales of being older than he actually was. He is reported to have told people that his father was wounded in the Battle of Waterloo and that he could distinctly remember his father coming home and dying one year later from wounds received in the battle. Because he claimed March 25, 1808 as his birth date this information found it's way into newspaper articles and oldtimer stories about him in his later years. For example, this story is recorded in a history written about him: "In many ways he was a remarkable character. In 1906, when he was 99 years old, he purchased the ferry across the South Fork of Snake River and successfully operated it personally, for five years."

Thomas Morgan lived a strenuous and often difficult life. Even today, with better medical care, better nutrition and less hard work, people don't often live beyond the age on 94. The stories about him being nearly 99 years old when he purchased the Upper Heise Ferry and 100 years old when he married Susan Wilbur are great stories and it is fun to read them but such stories were not true (and I think he knew it because in all of the census he reports his age more correctly).