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 Henry Miller Morgan
N 32° 21.045 W 095° 17.944
15S E 283647 N 3581638
Texas Historical Marker at 212 E Erwin St, Tyler, TX, noting the lengthy civic and professional career of Henry Miller Morgan, who paved the way for African American barbers when society was less enlightened.
Waymark Code: WMY5F5
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 04/25/2018
Views: 2
A City of Tyler historical marker has a photo and some complementary background:
Henry Miller Morgan
August 25, 1895 - May 9, 1961
"A Legend Gone, but not
Forgotten"
Henry M. Morgan was born in Smith County, Texas. Mr. Morgan furthered his education at East Texas Academy, later named Butler College. He received a LLB degree from Summerville Law College, Dallas, Texas, and also studied at Wiley College.
Mr. Morgan was actively and politically involved in various organizations including organizing the H.M. Morgan Lodge, serving as Exalted Ruler; President of the Tyler Chapter of the NAACP; Vice President of the 1936 Tyler Negro Chamber of Commerce, and elected chairman of East Texas District at the State Republican Convention, San Antonio, TX.
Mr. Morgan worked at Star Barber Shop as a barber and an entrepreneur in dry cleaning, construction and radio repair.
He was a member of St. Louis Baptist Church, trustee of Butler College, President of National and Texas Association of Tonsorial Artists, President of Tyler Democratic Progressive Voters League, and Vice-President of Texas Association of Barber Schools.
Marker Number: 13089
Marker Text:
On August 25, 1895, Henry Miller Morgan was born in Tyler's St. Louis community to Henry and Alice Ingram Morgan. He attended school in the St. Louis community, completing his education at East Texas Academy, which later became Butler College. He is listed as a barber in Tyler's 1918 city directory. He and his wife, Mabel (McLellan), had two daughters and one son.
In the 1920s, Texas enacted laws requiring licenses for barbers, but African Americans were excluded from the requisite education. In 1929, Morgan began developing ideas for a barber college for African Americans. By 1933, he opened a college on Erwin Street with five chairs. He established male and female student dormitories, and in 1937 he opened a branch in Houston. In 1945, he opened a location in Jackson, Mississippi, adding a branch in Little Rock, Arkansas the next year. In 1948, his Manhattan location opened, and a Dallas branch opened in 1949. The Tyler headquarters quickly grew to accommodate the expanding business, and at one time the school reportedly was training a majority of the nation's African American barbers. The school's curriculum included subjects ranging from scalp and skin diseases to electricity, chemistry and anatomy.
Morgan went on to help found the Texas Association of Tonsorial Artists, a professional barbers' organization, as well as the Tyler chapter of the Democratic Progressive Voters League. He also served as vice-president of the Texas Association of Barber Schools and as a trustee of Butler College. He was an active member at St. Louis Baptist Church.
Morgan died in 1961 and is buried in Tyler's Evergreen Cemetery. Today, he is remembered as a civic and political activist, as well as a leader in his profession. (2005)
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