A MORGAN FAMILY HISTORY
Sam Morgan came to the United States as a young man still in his teens. A permanent mark is necessary to establish ownership of an animal. It is only natural that when he established a claim on Museum Creek in early 1870 he found it necessary to chose a mark for livestock. This mark is referred to as a brand. His base of operation was very close to the place where Museum flowed into the Solomon River. Yes, at that time Museum was a flowing stream and the south fork of the Solomon was a river worthy of the name. Family tradition tells us that the date of his settlement is 1871. My older brother, Julius, assured me that this is correct. Due to this fact he chose to use the "71" as his brand. He used it for many years. Later Uncle Walt and Uncle Sandy used it in a partnership operation. Still later Uncle Sandy moved to Vona, Colorado in 1927. Since brands are registered by states, Uncle Walt became the owner of this brand. There is a Kansas brand registry book that will no doubt verify the above statement. Uncle Charley, another son, used the brand "17". My father, Frank Morgan, used a "7-". This brand is called a seven bar. He used it until his death in 1937. All of these brands were placed on the left hip. The same brand may be used in six different locations, namely; left hip, right hip, right side, right shoulder, left shoulder and the left side. I doubt if any of these brands are in use today, however they could be reregistered by anyone after the owner let his ownership expire. The reader will notice that all these brands used the same characters in different arrangements. It is interesting to note that all the above mentioned livestock wearing these brands were grazed within sight of the Solomon up stream from the Museum Creek operation. In 1953,1, a son of Frank Morgan, registered a brand called the M. The arrow is placed below the M This is the M arrow. It is interesting to note that the cattle wearing the M arrow brand were grazed on the Solomon even further upstream. All these bases of operation were and are in Sheridan County. When I am gone the Morgan brand in its various shapes will no doubt become history. My sons have no interest in livestock. The family tradition lives on. My daughter, Elsie, and her husband plan to continue a livestock operation at this location. They will use the "R lazy R." In this arrangement the lazy "R" is place beneath the first "R." Any numeral or letter placed in a horizontal postioon is referred to as lazy. The Rietchecks have a young son who has his own bucket fed calves so I believe it is fair to say that five generations of the family have owned livestock along this watercourse. It is no longer a flowing stream. The creek bed is dry except for occasional run off from heavy rains. It can be a raging flood. A short time after our family reunion in 1993 it flooded. The water came to the floor of our house. My wife and I waded to higher ground through waist deep water. The sound of the rushing water reminded me of the sound of the surf on the ocean. A neighbor said that it could be heard more than five miles away. An afterthought: A brand is produced by placing a red hot iron on the animal's hide. Another method that is widely used by horse owners is called freeze branding. It is produced by placing a super cold iron on the animal's hide. When properly done, the hair will turn white where the iron was placed. These irons are cooled in a solution of dry ice and alcohol. Liquid nitrogen may also be used. Note accompanying picture. Trees in background mark the south Solomon. W.M.