Granddaughter of early Gazette editor dies
Members of Peabody Historical Society were notified this week of the death of Virginia Morgan Obrig in Greenwich, Conn. She was the granddaughter of early Peabody Gazette editor William H. Morgan.
Obrig was 97 years old, the daughter of George and Carrie (Brewer) Morgan. She was born at Peabody in 1909 and lived in the "Morgan House," now part of the museum complex at the corner of Division and Walnut streets.
Obrig visited Peabody several years ago and occasionally contacted historical society president Marilyn Jones with remembered bits of Peabody history. She recalled sleeping in the second floor middle bedroom which historical society members refer to as "the child's room" and sitting in front of the house before the streets were paved.
With her family, she left Peabody for Boston as a young child, later married New York City industrial designer Gordon Obrig, and raised a son and daughter in Greenwich, Conn. Obrig was an English and business teacher. She was active in community groups and service organizations.
Research by Jones about the Morgans and the Morgan House indicates that Obrig's grandfather, William Morgan came to Peabody with his second wife Arthemise, and two children — 15-year-old George and baby Ivy who was five months old. George worked with his father at the Gazette and briefly tried running the newspaper, but decided it was not a lifetime pursuit that interested him. He left Kansas with his family to enter the seminary in Boston and become a minister.
The newspaper was sold to Oscar Stauffer who operated it for a number of years and went on to found the well-known Stauffer Communications dynasty.
Several years ago, following a visit to Peabody, Virginia Obrig contacted the historical society about her intention to name it as the recipient of memorial funds to be used for the support and upkeep of the Morgan House. Her family has honored her wish and asks that in lieu of flowers, memorial gifts be made to help the historical society maintain the Morgan House museum.
For more information contact Marilyn Jones at 983-2815.
