morgan was born in athens, tennessee into a family of welsh origin whose ancestor, james b. morgan (1607–1704), settled in the connecticut colony. john t. morgan was initially educated by his mother. in 1833, he moved with his parents to calhoun county, alabama, where he attended frontier schools and then studied law in tuskegee with justice william parish chilton, his brother-in-law. after admission to the bar he established a practice in talladega. ten years later, morgan moved to dallas county and resumed the practice of law in selma and cahaba.