Nat Gould

John Morgan Bletsoe

John Morgan Bletsoe was born John Morgan on 1 May 1775 at Daventry in Northamptonshire, the son of John Morgan and his wife née Elizabeth Bletsoe, and was baptised there on 16 June 1775. His father was baptised on 14 June 1750 at All Saints' church in Northampton.

In 1774 John Morgan Bletsoe married Sarah Lovell at Great Doddington in Northamptonshire.

They had a daughter Matilda Elizabeth Bletsoe born on 7 December 1802, and baptised on 5 August 1836 at St Mark's church, Kennington in London (1). She married William Ames Johnson, and they had a son William Morgan Johnson. She died in 1838 aged 35 years, and was buried at Witley in Surrey on 10 November 1838.

Her father was Headmaster of Loughborough Grammar School in about 1812, but in 1813 he resigned "for family reasons" (2). Soon after changed his name to Bletsoe "in respect of his dear honoured mother". He received a substantial inheritance under the Will of his father John Morgan in 1821 (3).

He was a scholar of more than a little learning. In 1814 he had achieved the degree of Doctor of Divinity in the University of Aberdeen (4). When made a Doctor of Laws by his University on 3 February 1818, one of his sponsors was the Bishop of Gloucester. He was then living at Morston Cottage near Woburn in Bedfordshire (5). He was the author of several theological books, including one commended by the Bishop of Chester (6).

Widely travelled, he arrived in America in 1820 where he settled in New York (7), but his health declined, and he was advised to return to England in 1834. His wife also became ill, and in her later years was confined to her room. The Reverend Dr John Morgan Bletsoe himself became eccentric in his unworldliness and appearance. Sadly his choice of Felsham in Suffolk as a tranquil haven for their twilight years proved to be disastrous when his neighbour, the local rector and magistrate Thomas Anderson 1795-1872, took action against him.

In 1834 The Reverend Thomas Anderson charged him with a criminal offence involving a young man. The case evidently came to nothing, but John Morgan Bletsoe was committed to prison in Bury St Edmunds, presumably on remand (8). Some of his household furniture and other effects were advertised for sale by auction in 1835 (9).

However on 24 October 1837 he was accused of a similar offence. Although not overtly involved in bringing the prosecution, it seems unlikely that it would have proceeded without the knowledge of the locally powerful and influential rector and magistrate. The case was bolstered with testimony from rogues scenting money, including a flagrant adulterer. The jury deliberated for an hour before reaching their verdict of guilty. Sentencing was held up while one of the witnesses was prosecuted for theft. Then the elderly and infirm John Morgan Bletsoe was sentenced to imprisonment for two years. He also had to find security of £500 and two others each of £250 for future good behaviour. Unsurprisingly "The defendant seemed much affected, and protested his innocence" (12).

The jury deliberated for an hour before Thomas Anderson achieved his purpose. The Reverend Doctor was found guilty and sentenced to imprisonment for two years and also to find security of £500 and two others each of £250 for future good behaviour. Then injustice descended into farce, as one of the witnesses in the trial was prosecuted for theft. Unsurprisingly "The defendant seemed much affected, and protested his innocence" (10).

Dr John Morgan Bletsoe was a broken man, and had to auction treasured possessions in 1841 (11). When the Census was taken in 1841 he was living in the household of the village shoemaker. His invalid wife Sarah died in the following year (12).

He returned to his native Daventry, and in 1851 he was living at Badby Cottage, Oxford Road in Daventry in the household of his widowed son-in-law William Ames Johnson and his three daughters.

Dr John Morgan Bletsoe died there in Daventry on 11 December 1853 (13).

His Will is dated 15 September 1852, and was on proved on 1 June 1854 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury (14). His Will set up a trust from property in Daventry for his daughter-in-law Ann Johnson and her children Matilda Mary Johnson and John Morgan Johnson, and also provided a legacy to the Wesleyan Benevolent School at Daventry.

His property in Felsham was advertised for sale by auction in 1860 (15).

(1) The baptism register gives the date of birth as well as the date of baptism. Her father had already added the surname Bletsoe.
(2) Families of Towcester, Northamptonshire Mary Taylor with contributions by Pauline Flemmons and Alan Clarke (2009-2012) http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=towcester&id=I16220
(3) The Will of John Morgan was proved on 19 January 1821 in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The property bequeathed to his son John Morgan Bletsoe comprised a "Messuage or Tenement with the appurtenances" and a "Close or enclosed Ground situate in Long Buckby in the County of Northampton which I lately purchased" and "the sum of one thousand pounds."
(4) Fasti Academiae Marischallanae Aberdonensis : Selection from the Records of the Marischal College and University 1593-1860 edited by P.J. Anderson volume II (1898) page 89. He is said to have matriculated from Oxford in 1805: Pauline Flemmons in a contribution to the above cited Families of Towcester, Northamptonshire, but his name (either as John Morgan or John Morgan Bletsoe) has not been found in Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715-1886 (1888 and 1891).
(5) Fasti Academiae Marischallanae Aberdonensis : Selection from the Records of the Marischal College and University 1593-1860 volume II (1898) page 102.
(6) The External Evidences of Christianity : Northampton Mercury 9 April 1842. His other books include Observations on the Inquistion (1816) which is possibly the work more fully entitled Observations on a Speech delivered to Ferdinand VII by M. Blaise Astolaza on the re-establishment of the Inquisition; with an address to the Protestants of Great-Britain on the Catholic question.
(7) Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s edited by P.W. Filly (2012) page 207.
(8) Bury and Norwich Post 22 and 29 October 1834.
(9) Bury and Norwich Post 2 December 1835.
(10) Bury and Norwich Post 1 November 1837; Register of all Persons charges with Indictable Offences at the Assizes and Sessions held within the County during the Year 1837 The National Archives HO26-27 Suffolk page 296.
(11) Bury and Norwich Post 17 and 24 March 1841.
(12) Northampton Mercury 9 April 1842; Bury and Norwich Post 20 April 1842.
(13) The Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Review volume 41 (1854) page 218; Northampton Mercury 17 December 1853; Lincoln, Rutland and Stamford Mercury 23 December 1853.
(14) The National Archives PROB 11/2192/170.
(15) Bury and Norwich Post 15 and 22 May, 19 June and 14 August. The property advertised on 14 August 1860 included Hill Farm, plots of arable land, and a house with grocer's shop and a building formerly used as a dissenting chapel and land adjoining Felsham Rectory.