The following information was assembled from numerous sources and cannot be used directly as proof of Qualifying Service or Lineage.
It is considered a research aid and is intended to assist in locating sources that can be used as proof.
State of Service: PA
Qualifying Service: Colonel / Patriotic Service
An above-ground box tomb with an inscribed tomb lid, contemporary with the death of the Patriot
DAR plaque and an unidentified stake marker
Find A Grave Sep 2023; No CemLotNo, No NSSAR Marker
Directions to Cemetery / Gravesite:
Behind the church on the northwest side of the cemtery
Author: David J. Perkins
Jacob Morgan was born in Wales on 7 Nov 1716 and came to Pennsylvania before 1718 from Wales with his parents, Thomas Morgan and Elizabeth Abrey, and his four older brothers. The Morgan family settled near Caernarvon Township, in an area that includes the village of Morgantown.,
In 1739, he married Rachel Piersol. She was born in 1723, the daughter of Richard and Bridget (Brown) Piersol. They had the following known children in Caernarvon, Pennsylvania:
Rebecca was born in 1741 and married John Price
Jacob Jr. was born in 1742 and married Barbara Leisure Jenkins.
Benjamin was born in about 1745 and married on 27 June 1793 to Harriett Ashton.
Mary was born on 20 Jun 1748, and married on 20 June 1768 to John Hudson.
Sarah was born in about 1750 and married Joseph Jenkins.
Frances was born in about 1752 [not listed in his father’s Will].
John was born in about 1755
With both senior and junior versions of Jacob Morgan men in Pennsylvania, both active in military duty at the General/Colonel level, there are some confusing details in the region’s histories.
Jacob Sr. amassed a large amount of land over his years, inheriting about 400 acres from his father, Thomas Morgan, when he died in 1740. When Jacob died, he owned over 5,000 acres of land.
From 1755 to 1760, he was a Captain in the First Battalion of the Pennsylvania Regiment; later, his company formed part of the Second Battalion in the "Seven Years War" or the French and Indian Wars, receiving 3,000 acres for his service as Captain. He enlisted again in the Revolutionary War, from June 1776 to December 1780, receiving the title of Colonel.
“From 22 May 1777 until 8 January 1781, he was County Lieutenant of Berks County, with the rank of Colonel, and as such, was at the head of military affairs in that county and rendered constant and most valuable services to the cause of Independence."
Jacob and his wife, Rachel, apparently moved to Philadelphia after 1784, where Rachel died on 19 December 1791 at the age of 68.
A year later, on 11 November 1792, Jacob died at the age of 76 and is buried in the cemetery of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Morgantown, Caernarvon township, Berks, Pennsylvania.
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Send your submission1, in a Microsoft Word compatible format, to patriotbios@sar.org for inclusion in this space 1Upon submission of a patriot biography, the patriot biography becomes the property of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and may be edited to conform to the patriot biography submission standards.
Additional Information:
Application states second wife surname as PURSAL
Application ststes second wife surname as PIERSAL (Kent Knight Henkel NSSAR National Number 90037 19 Oct 2023)