In addition to being a horse breeder and farmer, he was a teacher of singing; in that capacity he traveled considerably throughout the northeastern states.
The former collection includes what perhaps is his most famous composition entitled, "Amanda," a setting of Isaac Watts's poem based on Psalm 90.
"[1] The tune "Despair," in the 1791 collection, cites the death of "Amanda" (referring to his wife, Martha Day, who died on March 20 that year, ten days after giving birth to their youngest daughter, Polly)[2]: p. 130 in a paraphrase of Alexander Pope's Ode on Solitude.
Morgan's setting of Psalm 63, entitled Montgomery, was a popular fuguing tune, included among the 100 hymn-tunes most frequently printed during the eighteenth century.[2]: p.
[4] Its voice-leading, as is common in works by early American composers, contains numerous unabashed parallel fifths, giving the music a folk-like quality.