Perez Morton (November 13, 1751 – October 14, 1837) was a lawyer and revolutionary

patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

Life and career

Morton was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1751, and raised in Boston. His father, Joseph Morton, worked as a tavern-keeper at the White Horse Tavern. Perez attended the Boston Latin School starting around 1760, and

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

, graduating in 1771. He was admitted to the Massachusetts bar in 1774. He participated in the Committee of Safety, and the

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were, prior to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independe ...

; he was also a Mason, serving as Deputy Grand Master of the

Grand Lodge of Massachusetts The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commonly referred to as the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and abbreviated GLMA, is the main governing body of Freemasonry within Massachusetts ...

in 1789-1790. In 1775-1776, he was Deputy Secretary of the Council of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. On April 8, 1776, Morton spoke at the memorial service held for

Joseph Warren Joseph Warren (June 11, 1741 – June 17, 1775), a Founding Father of the United States, was an American physician who was one of the most important figures in the Patriot movement in Boston during the early days of the American Revolution, ...

, at

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed ...

. In 1778, he married Sarah Wentworth Apthorp. Together they had 5 children: Sarah Apthorp Morton (1782–1844); Anna Louisa Morton (1783–1843); Frances Wentworth Morton (1785–1831); Charles Ward Apthorp Morton (1786–1809); and Charlotte Morton (1787–1819) From ca.1796 to ca.1803, the Mortons owned a house on Dudley Street in Dorchester; the house may have been designed by

Charles Bulfinch Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 – April 15, 1844) was an early American architect, and has been regarded by many as the first American-born professional architect to practice.Baltzell, Edward Digby. ''Puritan Boston & Quaker Philadelphia''. Tra ...

. Friends and associates of Morton included

James Bowdoin James Bowdoin II (; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American political and intellectual leader from Boston, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealthy ...

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

, and James Swan. In 1788, the Mortons were the subject of a public scandal regarding an illegitimate child of Sarah Morton's sister, Fanny Apthorp, rumored to have had an affair with Perez. The scandal was amplified in the press, notably the '' Massachusetts Centinel'' and the ''Herald of Freedom and the Federal Advertiser''. A novel published in 1789, ''

The Power of Sympathy ''The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature'' (1789) is an 18th-century American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown and is widely considered to be the first American novel. ''The Power of Sympathy'' was Bro ...

'', written by a neighbor of the Mortons,

William Hill Brown William Hill Brown (November 1765 – September 2, 1793) was an American novelist, the author of what is usually considered the first American novel, ''The Power of Sympathy'' (1789), and "Harriot, or the Domestic Reconciliation", as well as th ...

, depicted an adulterous affair between a man and his sister-in-law; at the time, many suspected the novel to be based on the real-life Morton/Apthorp affair. Morton served as Massachusetts Speaker of the House, 1806–1808, and 1810–1811; and as

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected constitutionally defined executive officer of the Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement officer of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The officeholder ...

, 1810-1832. He died in Dorchester in 1837. Portraits of Morton have been made by

Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (1770–1852) was a French portrait painter and museum director. He left France during the Revolution, and worked as a portrait engraver in the United States in the early 19th century. He created ...

, and others.MFA collections
/ref> Some items owned by Perez Morton are now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, including a silver ladle made by

Paul Revere Paul Revere (; December 21, 1734 O.S. (January 1, 1735 N.S.)May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, engraver, early industrialist, Sons of Liberty member, and Patriot and Founding Father. He is best known for his midnight ride to a ...

. Morton's daughter Charlotte was the wife of Andrew Dexter Jr.Mary Caroline Crawford
Famous families of Massachusetts
Volume 2, 1930, pages 146 to 147 Morton wrote the text of the hymn ''When Jesus Wept'', music composed by

William Billings William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) is regarded as the first American choral composer and leading member of the First New England School. Life William Billings was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, t ...

.https://hymnary.org/person/Morton_P

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Perez 1751 births 1837 deaths People of Massachusetts in the American Revolution Boston Latin School alumni Harvard College alumni Massachusetts Attorneys General Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Massachusetts lawyers People from Plymouth, Massachusetts Politicians from Boston 18th-century American people 18th century in Boston 19th century in Boston Lawyers from Boston 19th-century American lawyers

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links