Biography:
Ms. Mary Morgan was born Mary Ellen Bowens in the late 1800s, perhaps as early as 1871. Her parents were Samuel and Eliza Jane Sanders Bowens. They lived near New Market in Frederick County, Maryland. The Linganore Lake would be created in the area in another 100 years.
In 1894, she married Mr. William Henry Morgan, a native of Westminster in Carroll County. By 1900, they were living in a rented house on Union Street, with two daughters.
In 1910, they were working along with her step-son, William Morgan Jr., at the Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College). Later, both Mr. and Mrs. Morgan worked as cooks, still living on Union Street. By 1930, most family members, including a granddaughter, were working for the college.
Mrs. Morgan was active in her church, as a member of the Ladies’ Aid Society and Sisterhood of the Union Street Methodist Episcopal Church. (Ladies’ Aid Societies were formed in many churches, originally during the Civil War.)
She lived, worked and worshipped within a few blocks in Westminster.
Mrs. Mary Ellen Bowen Morgan died of pneumonia on January 27, 1935. She is buried at Ellsworth Cemetery outside of Westminster, Maryland.
Maryland State Archives
Headstone