[1][2] The son of Robert Morgan, a Scottish veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, and Mary Ann Proctor, he was born in Quebec City.

His father died in 1846 and Morgan began work as a page in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada in 1853.

Around this time, he also studied law at McGill College and was called to the Quebec and Ontario bars in 1873.

In 1888, he was demoted to first-class clerk after he was accused of misappropriation of funds; Morgan was later cleared of this charge.

[1] In 2016, Morgan was named a Person of National Historic Significance by the Canadian government.