Charles Morton
MD (1716–1799) was an
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
medical doctor
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
who became the
principal librarian of the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
.
Early life
Morton first attended
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
from 18 September 1736. Some time before 1745, he moved to
Kendal
Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, south-east of Windermere and north of Lancaster. Historically in Westmorland, it lies within the dale of th ...
,
Westmoreland, where he practiced as a physician. He then practiced in London for several years, and on 19 April 1750 he was elected physician to the
Middlesex Hospital
Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
. He was admitted licentiate of the
College of Physicians A college of physicians is a national or provincial organisation concerned with the practice of medicine.
{{Expand list, date=February 2011
Such institutions include:
* American College of Physicians
* Ceylon College of Physicians
* College of Phy ...
on 1 April 1751.
Career
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
on 16 January 1752 and was secretary of the Royal Society from 1760 to 1774.
[ He was also a member of the Academy of St Petersburg.
In 1754 also became physician to the ]Foundling Hospital
The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...
. In June 1754, Lady Vere, wife of Vere Beauclerk, wrote a letter of recommendation for Morton to temporarily replace Dr. Conyers, who had recently resigned. The recommendation was followed through in July 1754 when he was appointed to attend for the time being.
By 1756, he was appointed under librarian of the British Museum. At the British Museum, Morton was initially a medical under-librarian in charge of manuscripts in the Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
, Harley Harley may refer to:
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* Harley, Ontario, a township in Canada
* Harley, Brant County, Ontario, Canada
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* Harley Street, in L ...
, Sloane, and Royal
Royal may refer to:
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* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
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collections. On the death of Matthew Maty
Matthew Maty (17 May 1718 – 2 July 1776), originally Matthieu Maty, was a Dutch physician and writer of Huguenot background, and after migration to England secretary of the Royal Society and the second principal librarian of the British Museum ...
in 1776, Morton was appointed principal librarian and held the office till his death.[ Morton was a member of the ]American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
, elected in 1771.
Morton died on 10 February 1799.
Marriages
Charles Morton was married three, or possibly four times; he married into the minor aristocracy. The identity of his son Charles Carr Morton's mother is not clear. Although Charles Carr Morton's mother is listed as Elizabeth Pratt in ''Burke's Landed Gentry'' 1852 (Morton of Kilnacrott), this is a conventional impossibility, as shown by the sequence of known events.
;Marriage to Mary Berkeley
Morton first married Miss Mary Berkeley, niece of Lady Betty Germaine and granddaughter of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley
Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley, KB, PC, FRS (8 April 1649 – 24 September 1710) was a British nobleman and diplomat, known as Sir Charles Berkeley from 1661 to 1679 and styled Viscount Dursley from 1679 to 1698.
Life
The son of George ...
, on 13 September 1744. at Kendal.[''International Genealogical Index - Batch Number I029354''.] They had one known child, Elizabeth Morton, born on 26 May 1745 also at Kendal.[''International Genealogical Index - Batch Number C003112''.] Her descendants, through James Dansie, have been tracked as descendants of the blood royal
A royal descent is a genealogical line of descent from a past or present monarch.
Both geneticists and genealogists have attempted to estimate the percentage of living people with royal descent. From a genetic perspective, the number of unpr ...
, on account of Mary Berkeley's ancestry.
Elizabeth Morton married James Dansie, and they were the parents of Mary Dansie, who married John Freeman in 1798 and Elizabeth Dansie who married Richard Barneby.
According to the 1812 edition of '' Collins' Peerage'', page 622, Mary Berkeley died on 10 March 1755.[A different Mary Berkeley died in 1768 and subsequently was buried at Twickenham on 6 October 1768.]
;Marriage to Mary Pratt
Charles Morton's second known marriage, to Lady Savile (born Mary Pratt), took place on 25 August 1767 at St George Bloomsbury in London across the street from the British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
where he was employed. Morton's marriage date is often misidentified as 1772[ but the ''Records of the Lumleys of Lumley Castle'' indicates Lady Savile was married to Captain Wallace in May 1744 and the marriage record at St George Bloomsbury identifies Mary Wallace as the Charles Morton's bride on 25 August 1767. Her mother, Honoretta Brooks Pratt, was the first cremated individual in England when she died on 26 September 1769, and Lady Savile's father, John Pratt, was the Vice Treasurer of Ireland.
Lady Savile was 61 years old in 1767, and this was her third marriage. Her first marriage was to ]Sir George Savile, 7th Baronet
Sir George Savile, 7th Baronet, (10 February 1678 – 16 September 1743), of Thornhill, of Rufford Nottinghamshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1728 to 1734.
Savile was the son of Rev. John Savile, rector of T ...
on 19 December 1722 By this union she was mother to two daughters and one son: Arabella Savile, who married John Thornhay Hewet on 23 July 1744; and Barbara Savile, who married Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough
Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough (1650 – 17 December 1721), was an English soldier and statesman best known for his role in the Glorious Revolution.
Origins
Lumley was the son of John Lumley and Mary Compton, and the grandson of Richar ...
on 26 December 1752; and Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet
Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet of Thornhill FRS (18 July 1726 – 10 January 1784) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1759 to 1783.
Background
Savile was born in Savile House, London, the only son of Sir George Savi ...
. Lady Savile's second marriage to Captain Wallace took place 8 months after George Savile died on 17 September 1743. Lady Savile died on 14 February 1791.
Morton lived at Twickenham in the former home of Elizabeth Montagu
Elizabeth Montagu (née Robinson; 2 October 1718 – 25 August 1800) was a British social reformer, patron of the arts, salonnière, literary critic and writer, who helped to organize and lead the Blue Stockings Society. Her parents were both ...
, called Montagu House prior to his acquiring it and being termed Savile House thereafter. Lady Savile, at the age of 61, was too old to be the mother of Charles Carr Morton after she married Morton.
;Marriage to Elizabeth Pratt
Charles Morton's third known marriage was to Elizabeth Pratt, who is said to have been age 35 at the time, also took place at St George Bloomsbury, on 25 April 1791, one month and two weeks after Lady Savile died. Elizabeth Pratt was the daughter of Reverend Joseph Pratt and a near relation to Lady Savile. As such, she lived in the same household as Morton and his wife Mary Pratt from as early as 6 January 1778. This is evidenced both her wedding announcement in the ''Gentleman's Magazine'', and also by the summary of a letter now in the Nottinghamshire Archives, which states: "Note from Eliza Pratt sending Lady Savile's compliments to Mr. Hewett and that she will be much obliged to him if he invites Dr. Morton to dine at Grosvenor St. next Saturday."
" Foljambe of Osberton (additional deposit): Deeds and Estate Papers [DD/FJ/11/1]"
'
Family
Charles Morton had 14 grandchildren by his son Charles Carr Morton. In a document at the Nottinghamshire Archives, Eliza Pratt writes: "...Dr. Morton intends putting him to Mr. Angelo's to ride and fence but he is not to go into the guards" which seems to indicate that Charles Carr Morton was anywhere from 16 to 18 years old in 1779, having been born around 1761–1763, six years after Mary Berkeley died, but four years prior to his marriage to Lady Savile.
''Burke's Landed Gentry'' identifies Elizabeth Pratt as Charles Carr Morton's mother. It is said that Elizabeth Pratt was 35 years old when she married Charles Morton in 1791, and therefore old enough to have been Charles Carr Morton's mother. However, Charles Carr Morton was married only 8 years after Elizabeth Pratt's marriage to Morton.
On 1 May 1799 Charles Carr Morton married Charlotte Tatlow at Drumora Lodge in County Cavan, Ireland. By 5 January 1800, Charles Carr Morton was father to his first child Anna.
Publications
On 30 August 1748, Morton presented his doctoral dissertation about the whooping cough entitled ''De Tussi Convulsiva'' written entirely in Latin. In March 1767, Morton was put in charge of the publishing the Publications of the Domesday book since 1086, Domesday Book of 1086; a fact which caused resentment towards him from Abraham Farley Abraham Farley (?1712–1791) was an English chamberlain who was custodian of the Domesday Book. He was appointed Deputy Chamberlain of the Exchequer in 1736 and became responsible for the public records at the Chapter House of Westminster Abb ...
, a deputy chamberlain of the Exchequer who for many years had controlled access to the Domesday Book in its then repository at the Chapter House
A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...
, Westminster, and furthermore had been involved in the recent Parliament Rolls printing operation. In 1768 Farley complained to the Treasury that he, not Morton, should be in charge of the project, while Morton, for his part, complained that he was being obstructed in his work by the staff at the Chapter House. Abraham Farley Abraham Farley (?1712–1791) was an English chamberlain who was custodian of the Domesday Book. He was appointed Deputy Chamberlain of the Exchequer in 1736 and became responsible for the public records at the Chapter House of Westminster Abb ...
took over the project and published a new edition in 1783.
Morton produced two large publications during his tenure at the Museum, both related to the activities of Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke
Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (6 August 1605 – 28 July 1675) was an English lawyer, writer, parliamentarian and Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England.
Early life
He was the eldest son of Sir James Whitelocke and Elizabeth Bulstrode, and was ...
including his ''Journal of the Swedish Embassy'' and ''Notes Upon the King's Writt''.
In 1759, Morton wrote a series of articles in the ''London Magazine
''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics.
1732–1785
''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...
'' about how annuities should properly be calculated, first appearing on page 251, debated further on page 286 and answered by Morton on page 425.[']
"The London magazine, or, Gentleman's monthly intelligencer, Volume 28 By Isaac Kimber, Edward Kimber Page 425"
''
Notes
References
;Attribution
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Charles
1716 births
1799 deaths
Leiden University alumni
18th-century English medical doctors
English librarians
Directors of the British Museum
Fellows of the Royal Society