| Office: | New York State Comptroller |
| Term Start: | 1899 |
| Term End: | 1900 |
| Successor: | Theodore P. Gilman |
| Office1: | Collector of the Port of Buffalo |
| Term Start1: | 1889 |
| Term End1: | 1893 |
| Appointed1: | Benjamin Harrison |
| Predecessor1: | Arthur D. Bissell |
| Successor1: | Peter C. Doyle |
| Birth Date: | 16 October 1840 |
| Birth Place: | Peterborough, Upper Canada |
| Death Place: | Albany, New York |
| Branch: | Union Army |
| Unit: | 116th New York Volunteer Infantry |
| Rank: | Lieutenant Colonel (bvt) |
| Battles: | American Civil War |
William James Morgan (October 16, 1840 – September 5, 1900) was an American newspaper editor and politician.
Morgan was born on October 16, 1840, in Peterborough, Ontario, Upper Canada.
He came to the United States when 10 years old, and attended the public schools in Buffalo, New York.
At the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted as a private in the 116th New York Volunteer Infantry, and fought in the Siege of Port Hudson and Battle of Cedar Creek. He was several times wounded, and retired in 1864 as a brevet lieutenant colonel of volunteers. Upon his return to Buffalo, he joined the editorial staff of The Buffalo Commercial newspaper in 1869, where he worked for the next 20 years.
In 1880, Governor Alonzo B. Cornell appointed him a canal appraiser, and he served as Chairman of the Canal Board. President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Collector of Customs at the Port of Buffalo in 1889, serving until 1893.
In 1894, he was appointed Deputy Comptroller by James A. Roberts, and in 1898 was elected New York State Comptroller to succeed Roberts.[1] He died on the day of his re-nomination by the Republican state convention.
In 1869, Morgan married Mary Catherine Reese (1843–1909), a daughter of George Reese and Susannah (Brower) Reese.[2] Together, they were the parents of three daughters and two sons, including:
Morgan died of heart disease on September 5, 1900, at 1 Main Avenue, his home in Albany, New York. His home in Buffalo was 407 Norwood Avenue.[9] Services in Buffalo were held at the Richmond Avenue Methodist-Episcopal Church with the pall bearers as Secretary of State John T. McDonough, State Engineer Edward A. Bond, Attorney General John C. Davies, State Treasurer John P. Jaeckel, Superintendent of Public Works John Nelson Partridge, Speaker of the Assembly S. Frederick Nixon, Deputy Controller Theodore P. Gilman, Thomas Austin, and Judge D. S. Potter of Glens Falls.[10] His wife died in 1909 at the home of their daughter Mai.[11]