Morgan Hotel. Rushing things as fast as I can! Concluded.

(Continued from here.)

1890
November 20-21. With a storm threatening John Morgan worked about the building then took a train to Kaysville to hurry up the brick making there—they were behind.

November 22
Rented the Hotel property to J. H. Clark for ten years. Had some difficulty in getting money to pay the men off today, but succeeded at last.

These December journal entries typified the progress and delays John Morgan continued to experience while building his hotel; 8th-Pushed the work on the building. Got the roof nearly completed and the transoms glassed in, 9th-Finished the roof and nearly the fire walls, and columns, 10th-Indications of rain and storm. The transom roof going on slowly, 13th-Arranged with Pratt Brothers and had sufficient to pay the men off today, 15th-Started washing down the brick work on outside of building and fixing for the cornice, 16th-Called and saw Mr. J. H. Bacon about money, 17th-Pushed the work on the building. Ran out of coke to dry plastering. Money very scarce and hard to get, 18th-Met Mr. Bacon again today and have some prospect of getting some money, 19th-Succeeded in making partial arrangements for money today through Mr. Bacon with Jarvis Conklin Company. Telegraphed that I would start for Colorado Sunday.

December 20
Drew and paid five thousand dollars today and kept very busy getting affairs into shape to leave. Brother Jas. A. Morgan came to the city and was with me most of the day. Worked until quite late at night.

Note: Who is Brother Jas. A. Morgan? It first appeared to me that he came “to the city” to oversee the general contracting work of the Morgan Hotel Construction in John’s approaching absence. Is Brother Jas. A. Morgan John's brother? No, wouldn't he call his brother “Jimmie,” as he always had. Could this man be a family member, or someone John wanted to invest in the Hotel? He wasn't mentioned again.

December 21
Brother Grow came up and we talked over work to be done during my absence. Attended services at the Tabernacle. … left for Colorado over the Rio Grande Western.

Note: It was four more months of the same pace before John Morgan’s hotel was completed. There is some reference to the building project in this earlier post.

1891
April 30
Finished the building and turned it over to J. H. Clark the renter. Began tearing down the old building on the 26th of May, 1890 and began excavating on the 24th of June. Attended Council Meeting at 11 a.m.

May 1
The Hotel opened today with a large crowd of boarders and visitors …

May 2
Rustling for some money to pay the men off and succeeded fairly well. Everything seems to be moving smoothly in the Hotel.

May 3
At home all day except attending Ward Meeting in the evening. Brother Roberts with us most of the day.

May 4
Looked after the work about the building and made arrangements to go to Colorado.

May 5
Had lease for the building signed today and settled up with a number of the contractors. At 10 p.m. left for Colorado …

June 1
[Salt Lake] Called at the Hotel and had a look over it. A number of doors had shrunk so as to not close. Met N. V. Jones about getting some money …

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

John Hamilton Morgan, Journal 1891, Nov. 20-23.

John Morgan’s chair.
Thank you, John Morgan descendant, Karen for sharing this picture of John Morgan's chair. Be certain to click on the picture so you can see the fine detailed craftsmanship.

In the following entries from John Morgan' Journal, he appears to be traveling from Salt Lake City to Nephi, Utah to visit Mary Ann Linton Morgan, and their son, Linton, born September 21, 1890.

1891
November 20
Went to Nephi on 4 p.m. train. Found all well.

November 21
Quiet in the house all day.

November 22
Reading Stanley’s “Darkest Africa.” Several called in during the day. Some stacks of hay caught fire and burned belonging to brother [probably George] Teasdale.

November 23
Left for the city on the 5:30 a.m train and read Stanley’s return from Africa on the way. At work on my accounts all day.

In 1993 when we closed up Glenn and Helen Rex Frazier’s home in Salt Lake, there emerged a box of miscellanea. There were two of eight old books in this box of “stuff” my father and mother must have brought back from Randolph years earlier. They didn’t mean anything to me then, and these two seemed to me unlikely books from Randolph. My eyes only looked for evidences of Bessie’s life, or so I thought. I would deal with these books later. I put the other six in zip-lock-bags because they were disintegrating, and stood these two on my bookshelf. After a time these books just became “something my husband must have picked up from somewhere.”

I began reading and studying John Morgan’s journal in April of this year. I had to read these 1891 entries on a couple of different occasions before wondering about the book, In Darkest Africa. What is it about? Why would John Morgan be reading it? I did a Google search. About the same time I was also re-organizing the shelf these books were stored on to free up some space. I considered getting rid of them, and handled them a couple of different times.

Then it hit, these are the same books John Morgan talked about reading. I pulled them off the shelf, looked through them carefully, and looked at the title page. In Darkest Africa, or the Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin Governor of Equatoria, by Henry M. Stanley, with two steel engravings, and one hundred and fifty illustrations and maps in two volumes, published 1890, by Charles Schribner’s Sons. These books came from Randolph because Bessie inherited them from her father, John Morgan.

I softened up the dried up old leather on them with some saddle soap the other day. And I am amazed I have a set of books on my bookshelf my great grandfather, John Morgan, was reading in 1891. Without my interest in his journal, I’m not sure where they’d be now.

Bessie Morgan Rex Part 1

Bessie Morgan Rex
b. 11 Jan 1891, Salt Lake City, Utah
p. John Hamilton Morgan, Helen Melvina Groesbeck
m. 12 Jun 1912, Salt Lake Temple, Percy Harold Rex
d. 12 Nov 1938, Salt Lake City, Utah
b. 15 Nov 1938, Randolph Cemetery, Randolph, Utah

At the time of Bessie’s birth her mother was 39 years old. Her father was 49 years old. Her living siblings were Helen Melvina (21) married Andrew Burt 1888, Eliza Ann (16), Ruth (13), Nicholas Groesbeck (7), Gail (3), and Bessie (newborn). Two younger brothers would follow, Gerard Earl (1892), and John Hamilton (1894).

[These portions of John Morgan’s journal entries mention Bessie. On January 3, 1891, after a twelve-day stay at his Manassa, Colorado home, John Morgan returned to Salt Lake City.]

1891
January 10 … Mellie was confined tonight and a girl born. Very cold.

January 11 At home during the day. Took care of Mellie.

June 27 … Arrived at home this a.m. and found that Nicholas [born 1884] and the baby had the measles during my absence.

June 30 … Our baby very sick today.

July 5 … children improving slowly from the measles and the colds that follow.

July 6 [John Morgan took the train to Ogden for political business, stayed the day and night, returning the next morning.]

July 7 … found Mellie’s baby quite feeble and growing weaker.

July 11 … Sent Mellie and two children to Granite to see little Mellie and baby [probably Wallace J. Burt born 1890], the latter being sick.

August 8 Obtained some money this morning and met a lot of my debts, which was a perfect Godsend to me. Arranged to start to Colorado tomorrow. In the evening assisted by brother B. H.[Brigham Henry] Roberts blessed the baby with the name of Bessie.

1892
March 27 [After a two week stay in Colorado.] ... Arrived home at midnight and found Bessie quite sick with whooping cough and pneumonia.

March 28 After working with Bessie a while, went to the office and afterwards to the President’s office where I met President Woodruff and Smith, Afterwards met John Henry [Smith]. At Groesbeck office and with Hyrum [Groesbeck] talked over the situation. Administered to Bessie a couple of times today. Cold and snowing all day.

March 29 Bessie very sick today. Spent most of the day and night working with her. ...

March 30 Bessie better today. …

The final entry in The John Morgan journal [Marriott Library, University of Utah copy] is for November 20, 1892. He died August 14, 1894 in Preston, Idaho when he was 52 years old. His death was unexpected.

Read the scanned article about John Morgan's death by Nicholas Groesbeck Morgan, published in 1964 here. When Mellie was told of her husband’s death, she already knew they had lost her entire Groesbeck inheritance and the home they were living in. Following John Morgan’s death his family experiences multiple moves and poverty. I will post about them later under Helen Melvina Groesbeck Morgan history.

In 1900 Bessie's brother, Nicholas, describes himself working with his siblings.

“… glancing into the adjoining field at his crew of farm hands and business
associates.

“Two of them were his sisters, Gail, twelve, and Bessie, nine, whose long gingham dresses were dirt-smeared. Two were his brothers, Earl, nearly eight, and Jack, six. The fifth was his nephew, Wallace Burt, now living with the Morgans. Jack was a game little worker—at times. At the moment he was threading one dandelion stem into another. Bessie was watching fascinated.

“The small clod was thrown underhanded, but the aim was
true, and Jack squalled as it hit him on the side of the neck. He stood up and
yelled, strangely enough, “Ten cents! Ten cents!” Bessie, looking down at her
dirty, folded hands, chimed in, “Yeah, you’re cheap, Nick. We oughta get more
than ten cents a day.”

“Nick cleared his throat, marshaling his patience, It was nearing sunset and he’d been up since five. “Look, kids, you want to eat next winter, don’t you? You want potatoes and beans and corn and pumpkins. Pumkin pie. That’s why we’re working for ten cents a day. You know that. So we can eat. NOW PICK THOSE BEANS!”

Bessie and her siblings attended the Waterloo School and the Farmers Ward District School. They attended two wards of the church; Farmers and Waterloo (1623 South 5th East).
You can find Bessie by counting children left to right from the upper lefthand corner (return to the left after each row). She may have written her friends names in as she remembered them in 1936. The names below are written on the back of this picture in what appears to be her hand. The picture was copied by Shipler photo service in 1936.
This 14” by 17” certificate below was folded and pasted in Bessie Morgan Rex’s scrapbook. It reads:

Certificate of Graduation Salt Lake County Public Schools.
This is to certify Bessie Morgan has pursued and completed in a satisfactory manner the course of study prescribed for the first eight grades of the public schools of the Salt Lake County, Utah and is entitled to this certificate.
In testimony whereof we have hereunto appended our signatures, given at Farmers District No. 40, this Sixth day of June
Edwin S. Sheets Principal,
John W. Smith County Superintendent
[The year is not written or printed on the certificate.]

(To be continued.)

Picture of Bessie abt. 18 yrs. and school children from Helen Rex Frazier collection. Graduation Certificate scanned from Bessie Morgan Rex scrapbook. Nicholas Groesbeck Morgan, the Man Who Moved City Hall, by Jean R. Paulson, copyright, 1979 by Marjories Morgan Gray, p. 59.