Albion LaBat and Lydia Elizabeth Jones Morgan, both natives of
Chautauqua County, New York, came to Wilcox County in 1866.
Morgan was among the first of the Carpetbag Radical Republicans to
come to Wilcox County, Alabama in 1866. He aligned himself with
others of his political ideology and when Federal authorities made
appointments to county offices, he became Clerk of the County Court
and a County Commissioner. After holding these offices for a
number of years, he was appointed U. S. Revenue Collector for the Mobile
District by President Garfield. He represented Wilcox County to
the State Constitutional Convention of 1867.
Although he came to the county as a Republican, over the years his
political views changed. His obituary, which was published in the
Wilcox Progressive Era of March 22, 1917, noted that he had become
affiliated with the Democratic Party and had voted for Woodrow Wilson
for President.
The Morgans were the parents of two
daughters, Minnie, who was born June 23, 1864 in Jamestown, NY and
Edith, born July 28, 1875 in Camden, Alabama. Minnie married
Charles G. Washburn of Nashville, TN and lived the remainder of her life
away from Camden. Miss Edith never married and devoted her life to
enriching the lives of Camden's youth and to ministering to the
spiritual needs of the County's people.
As a young woman, she studied at the Art
Institute of Chicago, where she became an accomplished photographer and
artist. Her photographs of Camden and many of its residents, both
black and white, are studies in the character of her subjects. Her
camera seems to have captured the essence of the individual with her
work to develop and print the photographs only enhancing her
work.
Upon her return to Camden, she organized
art classes for the young girls of the Camden vicinity. The
classes taught the use of the camera, developing and printing of
photographs, as well as pastel and watercolor painting. An
appreciation of music and other worthwhile cultural endeavors were part
of the curriculum of Miss Edith's classes.
The August 17, 1905 edition
of the Wilcox Progressive Era published a notice of an Art
Reception to be held the following Tuesday afternoon. All lovers
of art were invited to attend the event to be held in Miss Edith's Art
Studio near her home on Clifton Road. Although works by all
students would be displayed, older students Norrie Logue, Mattie
Hollinger, and Nettie Harris were to be especially honored.
Miss Edith was also very concerned
about the education of the Black children of the county. There was
an area of her kitchen set aside as a study room where several children
would go each day to be assisted and encouraged in their learning.
Although her work with Camden's
young people was important, her greater accomplishments came from her
ministry as a Bible teacher. This important avocation began in her
kitchen as she taught her cook, a middle aged woman, to read from the
Bible. As word of the lessons spread, Miss Edith was urged to
begin a class for other Black people. After beginning the class,
Miss Edith continued it for many years. White women from every
congregation in Camden and the surrounding area also sought
classes. At the time of her last illness and death in 1939, she
was teaching every day of the week, holding classes within a 15 mile
radius of Camden. Out of the Bible classes in the country, several
Sunday Schools grew. Miss Edith was director and teacher of the
Shawnee Sunday School for several years.
One of the many tributes, which
followed her death, reads, "The great heart of Camden was wrung
with pain and anguish, when tidings of the departure of Miss Edith
Morgan, were received early Monday morning. She left at 9 o'clock
Sunday night, April 2, 1939, for home in heaven." The article
continues, "Camden and vicinity and Wilcox County will miss her
untiring service, her kindly deeds, deeds inspired, deeds of sacrifice,
deeds of mercy, deeds of love, and friendship, accommodating deeds, and
deeds of every admirable and gracious character.
Sources: Wilcox Progressive Era newspapers, Dictionary of
Alabama Biography, and Wilcox County Records.
By: Ouida Starr Woodson
