1890 Morgan Hotel progress. Linton's birth September 21, 1890.

Continued from here.

Several buildings being built in Salt Lake City about the same time John Morgan built the Morgan Hotel 1890-1891 are pictured here. The Odd Fellows Hall is in this earlier post. And a picture of ZCMI, circa 1889 is here. The Templeton Building, circa 1890 is here.

Like his father-in-law and brothers-in-law, John Morgan is listed in the “Utah directory and gazetteer for 1879-80” as being in the real estate business.

On August 27, 1890, John Morgan was in Salt Lake City, after returning from Manassa, Colorado.

1890

August 28
Met Grow and talked over plans and specifications of building. At 11 a.m. attended Council Meeting …

August 29
At work about the building and other work about town.

August 30
Settled with the men for work done and got settled up with Grow …

September 1
Secured bids for the building and got affairs into shape to push the building.

September 2
At work piling lumber this forenoon. Assisted in setting some 25 or 30 Missionaries apart to go to various parts of the earth. At 5 p.m. left for Idaho.

September 3

Arrived at Preston at 12 M. Have spent the day quietly resting and visiting.

September 4
Wrote some letters this a.m. Had a visit from brother and sister Hale. Cool.

September 5
Left on the 5:30 a.m. train for home. Arrived at 12 m., busy about the building during the afternoon.

September 6
Payed [sic] the men off and got back accounts fixed up. Met Auntie Udall and accompanied her to Preston.

September 7
Remained quiet at home all day. Weather turned quite cold. Brought the stove in and fixed it up …

September 9

[back in Salt Lake] At work about the building and arranged with Saville and Baker to start the brick work. Left on the 5 p.m. train for Preston. Arrived at 11:30 p.m.

[Note: During this month John made six trips to Preston, Idaho to be with Mary Ann Linton Morgan, his 3rd wife. He would return to Salt Lake on a morning train a day or two later to work on his building and attend to Salt Lake affairs. He repeated that trip pattern until September 21, 1890, when Mary Ann, gave birth to their first child.]

September 20
At work about the building. Today our expense account was nearly $1,500, the heaviest weeks expense yet. Left on the 5 p.m. train for Idaho, arriving at 11:30 p.m.

September 21, 1890
Mary was delivered of a fine boy at 4:20 p.m. today. Got along very nicely for the first one.

September 22
Left on the 5:30 a.m. train for home and arrived at 11 a.m. and busy about the building during the p.m. The work went slowly owing to lack of men.

September 23
At work about the building and other matters about home.

September 24
Endeavoring to get money matters fixed up so that I can start to Colorado, but failed …

September 28
Returned to Logan ... returned to Idaho on the 10 p.m. train.

September 29
Remained quiet all day. A number of visitors called. In the afternoon blessed the baby giving it the name of Linton.

John Morgan Journal, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah. Picture of Morgan Hotel from descendant Karen M. Thank you so very much!

Frazier Family Dinner at the Rock House in Woodruff, Utah prior to 1918.

This Stephen Vestal Frazier family picture was probably taken in the dining room at the rock house at the Frazier Ranch in Woodruff, Utah. That would be Stephen Vestal in the arm chair in front, and his wife Elizabeth Walton Frazier facing him from across the table. The woman behind the right side of Stephen's arm chair looks like his daughter Maude Frazier Eastman. I can't tell who the others are, but you can see an earlier labeled picture of them here. Elizabeth was 78 years old when she died in 1918. Stephen lived until 1923.

Thank you to Susan Walton descendant, Marla, for this lovely picture of Susan Peabody Walton Virgin Walton Houghton . Susan is mother to Elizabeth Walton Frazier, in the top picture. More on Susan's family can be found here.

Morgan Hotel Building begins May 1890

I snapped these pictures of the Odd Fellows Hall (Independent Order of Odd Fellows I.O.O.F.) while taking a walking tour of downtown Salt Lake City earlier this year. According to this newspaper article, the Odd Fellows Hall was built in 1891. John Morgan began construction of the Morgan Hotel in 1890.

When John Morgan descendant, Karen M., sent me a picture of the Morgan Hotel, I realized the two buildings look similar. Regardless of which side of the street the Odd Fellow Hall is now on, it was built at the time, in a similar style, and within three downtown blocks of the Morgan Hotel at 144 West First South. That site is presently in the middle of the Salt Place.

John Morgan constructed his hotel on the same lot his school had been built on. In 1890 John mortgaged their 15-room home at 163 South First West, and the five rental properties, tenement row, behind it to fund the Morgan Hotel project. The tenement row building posts are here. Part 1,Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 concluded.

May 12, 1890 is the first time John Morgan wrote anything about his next building project.

1890
May 12
Arranged with Hyrum Groesbeck to secure the distribution of his mother’s estate and a number of other matters about town.

May 13
Hunted up parties to excavate a cellar and tear down the old college building, preparatory to the erection of another building …

Three earlier posts from 1890 are here:

June 27-July 4 (travels to Idaho and Nephi, Utah)
July 5-August 7 (death of daughter Myrtle 1887-1890 in Manassa, Colorado)
August 7-17 (Colorado fishing trip, and visit from First Presidency)

July 5
Have finished tearing down the old building and the men are getting out the cellar for the new rapidly.

July 6 to 22
Have been busy with my building work and other duties…

John Morgan Journal, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah. The Man Who Moved City Hall, by Jean R. Paulson, 1979, pg 9.

John Morgan building tenement row. Dec 10-Dec 17, 1889. Part six. Concluded.

Continued from here.

1889
December 10
In the house most of the day owing to heavy rains. The streets were almost impassable. Have been reading Brancroft’s “Utah” and find it a fair and impartial history. Spoke at 6 and 14 political club meetings.

… December 12
At work about the house building and other matters during the day. Commenced building up the south wall of the Tenement row. More or less showery almost every day during the week so far.

December 13
Still pushing the building ahead and getting along nicely.

December 14
Finished the walls and roof today, closing the house in and secure against storm. Plasterers and carpenters at work.

December 15-17 John Morgan traveled to Provo for a Sunday School Conference. He traveled home to Salt Lake with B. H. Roberts

December 18
Buying Christmas things for Annie and the children. … attended the theatre at night.

December 19
Stormed during the day and no chance to get out. Read Brancroft’s History of Utah, which on the whole is the fairest and most reliable historical work ever published on the Territory and will doubtless do much good in alloying prejudice and carrying information into quarters where no Elder could reach.

December 20
Reading Brancroft’s History. Weather stormy and streets nearly impassable on account of mud. Owing to continued snow and rain storms the roads in every direction are nearly past traveling.

December 21
Talked the sale of some Real Estate with some agents of business about town….

December 23
Attended family prayers at 930 a.m. and Fast Meeting at 10 a.m....

December 24
Looked after matters about home. Brother Roberts called and we canvassed matters pertaining to a Mission East talked of. Made arrangements to sell a piece of property in the 17th Ward today.

December 25
At home, the first Christmas in five years and quietly enjoyed ourselves. The day passed very pleasantly indeed. Warm and spring-like. Rained some.

December 26
Set some men to work fencing the back lot of the tenement row and piling up rock. Attended a reunion of the old folks and widows of the 16th Ward. Songs, speeches and recitations occupied the time.

December 27
Leveling up around the tenement row with gravel and finishing the fence. Attended Council Meeting at 12 M … Received a notice from the First Presidency that brother B. H. Roberts and myself had been called to a Mission in the Eastern States to try to convert public opinion on the Mormon question.

[Note: I haven’t found another journal entry where John Morgan mentions this building project, or his tenement row. I assume he is now finished building it.]

(Concluded.)
John Hamilton Morgan journal, Special Collections, Marriott Library, University of Utah.

John Morgan building tenement row. Nov 13-Dec 9, 1889. Part five.

Continued from here.

1889
On November 13 John Morgan returned to Salt Lake City, where he attended council meeting. … President Gates accompanied me home to dinner.

November 14
Busy about the building shining [sic. shinning (1829--Webster’s 9th Collegiate Dictionary)] up the cellar bank of the Chamber of Commerce Building.

November 15
Still busy about the building and other work. An investigation is going on in the Third District Court to prove the disloyalty of the Saints, a number of Apostates have testified with great bitterness against the Church. The Court Attorneys and others are doing all they can to urge them to do so.

Brother Jas. Tillman and family from the Southern States Mission arrived last night. I met them at the Windsor Hotel and assisted them in getting into quarters at the Tithing Emigrants House. The investigation in the Court is still going on and more terrible lies are being sworn to by traitors.

November 16
Sold 80 acres of land in Colorado to C. J. Brain and received the money today. Kept quite busy with the building and other work.

November 17-25 Mellie accompanied John Morgan on his travels to American Fork on Sunday School and Quorum business. He obtained a goat for his son, Nicholas [1884-1971], while in Lehi, and returned to Salt Lake where rain prevented work on his building. Following a council meeting B. H. Roberts remained with him for a night. They were notified of the death of a brother Whittaker and asked to attend his funeral in Centerville. Which they did. They both spoke at the funeral, where the attendance was sparse because of a report that the deceased died of Diphtheria. On the 23rd he wrote, got Nicholas' goat wagon and harness together and hitched up for him.

November 26
Had an interview with President Woodruff and council this morning and presented to them the condition of many quorums filled with men too old to fill missions and suggested that they be ordained High Priests. After some little discussion, a vote was taken and it was carried. Thus opening the way for young men to fill up the quorums. At 4 p.m. left for Nephi where I arrived at 9 p.m.

November 27
Spent the day quietly and pleasantly reading and visiting some company in the evening.

November 28
Took 5:30 a.m. train for home. Arrived at 10 a.m. Busy about the building during the day and had thanksgiving turkey at home. The first time in several years. Hyrum [Groesbeck] and wife [Ann Groesbeck], Mellie [his daughter (1878-1952)] and Andrew [Burt, his son-in-law] were with us.

November 29
Made an effort to get the contractor on the Chamber of Commerce Building build a wall so that we could go ahead with our wall. He made fair promises.

November 30
At work about the building and attending to affairs about home.

December 1-4 Council and other meetings, and work on his building.

December 5
Tried to arrange the sale of some Real Estate and quite busy.

December 6
At work getting in water pipe extension to the new building. The mason at work on Chamber of Commerce wall.

December 7
Storming today and the men could only work part of the day. A heavy rain in the evening.

December 8
Left for Springville in company with brother Goddard and Eliza [presumably his daughter (1875-1952)].

December 9 Back in Salt Lake City. ... The city a sea of mud.

(To be continued.)