Jeremiah was born in the Cherokee Nation, Alabama, near the Tennessee River. He came to California in 1849, and claimed 10,000 acres (40 km²) of unsurveyed land on the morning side of Mount Diablo in 1856. After the official first survey by the U.S. government in 1862, Jeremiah's land claims were reduced to 2,000 acres (8 km²). Jeremiah had 17 children by his first wife, Sarah Ellis Morgan, who died in 1869 and his second, Louisa Riggs. Morgan Territory Road was officially designated by Contra Costa County in 1892. The road is long and passes through four townships.