John Morton (1671–1726) was an English cleric, naturalist and

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 ...

. He published a ''Natural History of Northamptonshire''.

Life

He was the son of Godly Morton of Scremby, Lincolnshire, born there. He entered Oundle School in August 1686, at the age of 14. He matriculated at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

in 1688, graduating B.A. in 1691. He took an ''

ad eundem degree An degree is an academic degree awarded by one university or college to an alumnus of another, in a process often known as incorporation. The recipient of the degree is often a faculty member at the institution which awards the degree, e.g. at ...

'' at the University of Oxford in 1694, and proceeded M.A. in 1695. In 1701 Morton became curate of

Great Oxendon Great Oxendon is a linear village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 307 people, increasing to 331 at the 2011 Census. The villages name means 'oxen hill'. Its eas ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

, and in 1703 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. From about 1707 he was rector of Great Oxendon. Morton built up a scholarly relationship by correspondence with

Sir Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

over the years 1703 to c.1716. In London he associated with the botanist

Adam Buddle Adam Buddle (1662–1715) was an English cleric and botanist. Born at Deeping St James, a small village near Peterborough, Buddle was educated at Woodbridge School and St Catharine's College, Cambridge, where he gained a BA in 1681, and an M ...

. Morton died on 18 July 1726, aged 55, and was buried at Great Oxendon. A monument, with an inscription to his memory, was erected there at the expense of Sir Hans Sloane.

Works

In a letter to Richard Richardson of North Bierley, dated 9 November 1704, Morton wrote that acquaintance with

John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...

"initiated me early in the search and study of plants". From Martin Lister's books he developed an interest in fossil shells; and he corresponded with

John Woodward John Woodward or ''variant'', may refer to: Sports *John Woodward (English footballer) (born 1947), former footballer *John Woodward (Scottish footballer) (born 1949), former footballer *Johnny Woodward (1924–2002), English footballer *John D ...

and

Edward Lhwyd Edward Lhuyd FRS (; occasionally written Llwyd in line with modern Welsh orthography, 1660 – 30 June 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary. He is also named in a Latinate form as Eduardus Luidius. Li ...

, as well as Sloane. In the ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the first journa ...

'' for 1706 appeared "A Letter ..containing a Relation of river and other Shells digg'd up, together with various Vegetable Bodies, in a bituminous marshy earth, near Mears-Ashby, in Northamptonshire". In this, and in later work, Morton adopted the views of Woodward on Noah's Flood and the vertical distribution of fossils according to density. In 1712 Morton published ''The Natural History of Northamptonshire, with some account of the Antiquities''. This book deals largely with "figured fossils", of which it contains some plates. Richard Pulteney praised the botanical part; but

Peter Whalley Peter Whalley (February 21, 1921 – September 18, 2007) was a Canadian caricaturist, cartoonist, illustrator and sculptor. Whalley was born in Brockville, Ontario, went to King's Collegiate School in Windsor, Nova Scotia until 1937, and ...

in his ''History of Northamptonshire'' considered its transcripts from the Domesday survey deficient. "Figured stones" were rocks that appeared to resemble parts of organisms, a traditional and enigmatic class noted by collectors.

Family

Morton married Susanna Courtman, daughter of John Courtman; they had a family of at least five sons and a daughter.

Notes

External links

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, John 1671 births 1726 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests English naturalists Fellows of the Royal Society