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This page is part of a website based
on the life and achievements of eighteenth-century inventor Henry Cort. Please email site controller Eric
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THOMAS
MORGAN
Morgan is
a ship's purser.
If he is
the same Thomas Morgan who is servant to Cort's client William Dixon on board
the Guernsey from 1757 to 1761, his links with Cort go back a long
while.
In 1766
he is serving on the Launceston, with Cort as his agent.
Details
of his involvement in the Gosport iron business are evident in a document, now
in the National Archives of Scotland (GD51/2/10/2), sent by James Watson to Henry Dundas
in May 1790.
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About the end or the Year 1771 or the beginning of the year 1772
Mr Attwick signified to Mr Cort his intention of retiring from business, if
he could meet with a proper person to take off his stock with an allowance as
a consideration for resigning the same.
From Watson-Dundas memorandum,
1790 |
Morgan,
prompted by Cort, offers to buy into the business for £5,000, which he needs to
borrow. Cort offers security. But by 1775 Morgan is "unable to
discharge his debt to Mr Cort". Adam Jellicoe and Oliver Toulmin
are drawn into the web.
At the
PRO we find Morgan's will, made 4th December 1775 and naming Henry Cort
"of Crutched Ffryers London" as an executor.
The date
is significant, indicating that Cort is not yet in Gosport, despite other
documents saying he has moved there in July 1775. One witness is Oliver Toulmin, Cort's neighbour and fellow agent
in Crutched Friars, confirming that Cort is still in London.
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The Contract stood in the name of Morgan
only and the Navy Board at that time refused to admit the name of Mr Cort to
be joined therein, but he took an Assignment of the Contract from Mr Morgan.
From Watson-Dundas memorandum,
1790 |
On 1st
October 1777 Morgan becomes purser on board the Russell. In May 1779 she sets off across the
Atlantic, and is soon involved in operations against Charlestown.
Later he
transfers to the Alfred, which takes part in actions at Chesapeake, St
Kitts and The Saints near Guadeloupe.
Again a
transfer, this time to the captured French flagship Ville de Paris. In July 1782 she starts back across the
Atlantic.
The convoy runs into terrible weather and most of the
men-of-war fail to make it home. The
fate of the Ville de Paris is unknown, but Morgan arrives safely and
lives another three years.
In
executing the will, Cort discovers that a life insurance policy is void,
because Morgan has not kept up with payments of the premium.
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Related pages |
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