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Junius Spencer Morgan I was an American banker and financier as well as the father of J. P. Morgan.
Background
Junius Spencer Morgan was born on April 14, 1813, in West Springfield, Massachussets. He grew up in Hartford, Connecticut, where his father was a prosperous merchant with diverse business interests. The Morgan name is traced to Carmarthen, Wales, and the first known Morgan family ancestral is Hyfaidd ap Bleddri, third son of Bledri of Wales. Miles Morgan, ancestor to the Morgan family in America, emigrated from Bristol, England to Boston in 1636.
His sister, Lucy Morgan (d. 1890) was married to Major James Goodwin, one of the founders, and a president for many years, of the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company. Lucy was the mother of James J. Goodwin and the Rev. Francis Goodwin, chairman of the Hartford Parks Commission.
Education
Morgan entered the business world as an apprentice merchant at the age of 16 before going to New York to learn banking.
Career
He then became a partner in various mercantile firms. A trip to Europe in 1853 decisively altered Morgan's business career and life. He met George Peabody, an American in London, and was invited to become a partner in his merchant-banking firm, founded in 1852, which facilitated the flow of British capital to America.
Morgan moved to London in 1854 to take up his duties as junior partner. Peabody retired a decade later, and Morgan became director of the firm, whose name was changed to J. S. Morgan and Company. He also inherited the high standing of Peabody in England, an asset of incalculable value.
That and his abilities enabled him to build the firm into the most important American banking company in Europe. Morgan himself became the most influential American banker in that part of the world. Morgan met Andrew Carnegie in 1869 and in business dealings with him in 1873 was able to be helpful.
He also headed a syndicate which lent France money in 1870 to aid in the continuation of the Franco-Prussian War after a decisive French defeat.
Morgan, with his son as the manager, in 1879 sold in London a sizable block of the New York Central Railroad stock owned by William H. Vanderbilt. He financed Cecil Rhodes in the 1886 in his contest for control of the diamond market against Barney Barnato, who was supported by the banking family, the Rothschilds.
Morgan died on April 8, 1890, from injuries sustained in a carriage accident. At his funeral, the pallbearers were Roland Mather, Levi P. Morton, Anthony Joseph Drexel, Chauncey M. Depew, Cornelius Vanderbilt II, J. C. Rogers, J. Kearney Warren, and Edward John Phelps. He was interred at the family lot in Cedar Hill Cemetery.
Quotations:
After establishing himself in London, he did not return to the United States for 23 years, in 1877. In a dinner upon his return, Morgan stated: ". .. never do anything to cause evil to be spoken of the American name. "
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
One writer has speculated that this was "possibly the greatest single coup organized by Junius Morgan . .. and the whole operation was a sensation in the financial world. "
Connections
In 1836, Morgan married Juliet Pierpont (1816–1884), daughter of John Pierpont (1785–1866), a poet, lawyer, merchant, and Unitarian minister.