Henry Morgan (merchant)

Henry Morgan was born into a family of humble circumstances in Saline, which was an isolated village six miles (10 km) northwest of the royal burgh of Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland.

In 1844, after he had gained sound knowledge of the textile business, saved a small amount of money from ten years of hard work, and obtained a loan from his brother-in-law John Davie, the ambitious Henry Morgan decided to emigrate.

Encouraged by David Smith, a fellow Scot in Montreal, Quebec]], Morgan believed that a better life existed in Canada than in Scotland, which was faced with "the Clearances", and he planned to put his training to good use and open a business there.

Immediately upon his arrival in Montreal, Morgan joined with his friend David Smith to begin preparations to set up a retail dry goods store in rented premises on Notre-Dame Street.

[citation needed] Morgan traveled to Europe on merchandise buying trips, and in Paris, France, he visited Le Bon Marché, that country's first department store.