Major Anthony Morgan (died 1729) of Freshwater,

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

was a British Army officer, and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1695 and 1729. He was a

Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight Below is a list of those who have held the office of Governor of the Isle of Wight in England. Lord Mottistone was the last lord lieutenant to hold the title governor, from 1992 to 1995; since then there has been no governor appointed. Governor ...

Early life

Morgan's parentage is unknown. He married Catherine Urry, daughter and heir of Thomas Urry of

Freshwater, Isle of Wight Freshwater is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the western end of the Isle of Wight, England. The southern, coastal part of the village is Freshwater Bay, named for the adjacent small cove. Freshwater sit ...

by 1691, and by the marriage, acquired the manor of Freshwater. He was an army officer in the Life Guards and was Brigadier and lieutenant by 1691. He was exempt and captain in 1692, guidon and major in 1694 and cornet and senior major in 1697.

Political career

Morgan began building up an electoral influence at Newtown and Yarmouth, and came into conflict with the new governor Lord Cutts who tried to bring the island's constituencies under government control. At the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

Morgan was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

and signed the Association. He voted for fixing the price of guineas at 22 shillings in March 1695 and for the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of Sir John Fenwick on 25 November 1696. Under an electoral accord of 1697, he was returned unopposed at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

, and voted in support of a standing army on 18 January 1699. He was returned unopposed again at the two general elections of 1701 and was classed as a Whig. In 1702, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight, much to the annoyance of Lord Cutts, who still held a grudge against him and tried to prevent the appointment. At the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

, Morgan was returned unopposed for Yarmouth again. He was returned again at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

and voted for the Court candidate as Speaker on 25 October 1705. He also supported the Court over the place clause of the regency bill in February 1706. He was returned as a Whig MP for Yarmouth at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He lost his seat and his position with the change of government at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

and did not regain them until after the Hanoverian succession. At the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

Morgan stood as a Whig at Yarmouth and Newport. He was returned at Newport and though initially defeated at Yarmouth was then seated after a petition on 12 April 1717. Thereupon he yielded the seat at Newport. He voted consistently for the Whig Administration. He was Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight again from 1715 until his death and was also governor of

Cowes Castle Cowes Castle, also known as West Cowes Castle, is a Device Fort in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Originally built by Henry VIII in 1539 to protect England against the threat of invasion from France and the Holy Roman Empire, it comprised a ci ...

from 1715 until his death in 1729. He was returned again at Yarmouth in the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

. In the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

he changed seats and was returned unopposed at

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

Death and legacy

Morgan died on 19 April 1729. He left six sons and a daughter, but disinherited his eldest son, and left the Freshwater estate to his five younger sons. His second son

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

was MP for Yarmouth.

References

1729 deaths 17th-century births English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 People from Freshwater, Isle of Wight British Life Guards officers {{GB-bio-stub