Morgan, Gib, 1842-1909

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Gilbert "Gib" Morgan was an oil well driller who attained mythical status in American folklore. Stories about Morgan include how he built a vast hotel marvelously adapted to the southwestern climate, how he brought in a difficult well using a needle and thread for a cable and drill stem and how he had to shoot a bouncing tool dresser to keep him from starving to death. The real Gib Morgan was born in 1842 and grew up in the frontier of Western Pennsylvania. He fought in the Union Army and with the end of the Civil War returned home to an oil boom in Pennsylvania. He married and had three children. After the death of his wife, Morgan became a roving driller, spreading tall tales about himself across the northern oil industry for two decades before retiring in the 1890s. Morgan died February 19, 1909.

From the description of Morgan, Gilbert "Gib," papers, 1887-1944. (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 467272636

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Gilbert “Gib” Morgan Papers 68-179., 1887-1909, 1944 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Harold W. Felton, Papers, 1881-1988, 1920-1980 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
creatorOf Morgan, Gib, 1842-1909. Morgan, Gilbert "Gib," papers, 1887-1944. University of Texas Libraries
referencedIn Felton, Harold W., 1902-1991. Papers, 1881-1988 1920-1980. University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Felton, Harold W., 1902-1991. person
associatedWith Morgan, Gib person
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Subject
Folklore
Military pension
Petroleum industry and trade
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1842

Death 1909

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