He was known for "establishing critical settlements down the Shenandoah Valley along the Great Wagon Road in the Southeast.

[2] His family left Ireland for Denmark after Bryan's grandfather opposed Oliver Cromwell.

Soon after, he moved to the western side of Chester County, where he may have traded furs with Native Americans for goods along the Conestoga River.

[3] In 1729, Bryan and his friend Alexander Ross explored the Shenandoah Valley for potential colonization.

On October 28, 1730, they presented a proposal to the Council of Virginia and the Colonial Governor William Gooch and were granted a 100,000-acre tract for the colonization of 100 families.

[3][9] Bryan had connections with the Irish immigrant community who were Ulster Presbyterians and Ross with Quakers, which helped find 70 families that settled the tract of land.

His sons scouted lands south of the Shenandoah Valley to establish a settlement for his large family, and with Bryan decided to establish themselves on Lord Granville's land south of the Virginia border.

[3] In the fall of 1748, Morgan and Martha Bryan and their children and grandchildren traveled south to the Granville District in the Province of North Carolina.

Bryan, said to be the first settler to use the trail, was said to have needed to take his wagon apart at some point to make it through an impassible area and continue the journey.

[16][18] On November 28, 1748[5] or in the spring of 1749, the clan settled near Shallow Ford in the Forks of Yadkin, an area that became known as the Bryan Settlement and is now the town of Farmington, North Carolina.

[21] Bryan continued to earn income as a land speculator, as friends and others from Pennsylvania and Virginia settled in Rowan County into the 1750s.

[22] Moravians also moved into the Yadkin River valley area and provided religious support for the Bryans, including performing baptisms and wedding ceremonies.

[3] His son Captain Morgan Bryan Jr. led militiamen throughout the area to guard settlements.

[3] A historic marker in Advance, North Carolina identifies the site of the Bryan Settlement Cemetery and their house and tells of Morgan and Martha's roles as settlers in the region.

[3][6] Son Samuel served for the Torys, while James, John, Joseph, William, and Morgan fought for the colonists.