Sir John Morton, 2nd Baronet (c. 1627–1699) of Milbourne St Andrew in Dorset, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

between 1661 and 1695.

Origins

He was the eldest surviving son of

Sir George Morton, 1st Baronet Sir George Morton, 1st Baronet (died 1662), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1626. Morton was the son of Sir George Morton of Milborne St Andrew, Dorset, and his wife Joan Holloway of Walton. He succeed ...

(d.1662) of Milbourne St Andrew, by his second wife Anne Wortley, a daughter of Sir Richard Wortley of Wortley, Yorkshire, and widow of Sir Rotherham Willoughby. On the Restoration in 1660 he became Gentleman of the Privy Chamber.George E Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage''; Vol. 1: English baronetcies, 1611-1625 and Irish, 1618-1625
/ref>

Career

In 1661, he was elected a Member of Parliament for

Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...

, Dorset, in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

and sat until 1679. History of Parliament Online - Morton, John
/ref> He succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his father in 1662. He was elected an MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, Dorset, on 22 August 1679 and sat until 1695.

Marriages

He married twice: *Firstly, before 1664, to Eleanor Fountain (d.1671), a daughter of John Fountain, Serjeant at Law), buried at Milborne; *Secondly, by licence issued on 24 February 1676, he married Elizabeth Culme, a daughter of the Rev. Benjamin Culme,

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

, Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, by his wife Deborah Pleydell (1623-1695) a daughter of Sir Charles (or Oliver) Pleydell (son of

Gabriel Pleydell Gabriel Pleydell ( 1519 – 1591) of Midg Hall in the parish of Lydiard Tregoze, Lydiard St John (later Lydiard Tregoze) in Wiltshire, was an English landowner and politician who served as Member of parliament#United Kingdom, Member of P ...

(d. ''circa'' 1591), MP, of Midg Hall in the parish of Lydiard St John (later

Lydiard Tregoze Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the county of Wiltshire, in the south-west of England. Its name has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze. The parish includes the small village of Hoo ...

) in Wiltshire) by his second wife Jane St. John, a daughter of Sir John St. John, four-times a Member of Parliament for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, of Lydiard St John's (now

), Wiltshire. By Elizabeth Culme he had one daughter: **Anne Morton, who married Edmund Pleydell of Midge Hall.

Death and burial

Morton died without a male heir in 1699, aged 71, and the baronetcy thus became extinct. He was buried at Milborne St Andrew, Dorset.

References

, - 1620s births 1699 deaths Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1661–1679 Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 {{1690-England-MP-stub