Gwen Morgan & John Bright

Apparently, the Morgan family was of the Quaker faith. Anthony Morgan married Catherine Evans in 1804. Catherine died before 1840, apparently the last of the practicing faith. Their daughter, Anne Clarke Morgan married Charles Taylor in 1844.

However, they had another daughter, Gwen Morgan, who has survived obscurity because of a romance with a well-known politician, John Bright, MP. The basic story is that John Bright met Anthony Thomas Morgan (brother to Gwen & Anne) at Ackworth, a Quaker boarding school in Rochdale. They became friends and eventually, John Bright met Gwen and fell in love. The feeling appears to have been mutual. Something, however stops their courtship and John Bright marries Elizabeth Priestman up near Rochdale while Gwen marries Richard Humphrey Richards in Llangelynnin (see this poem by John Owen, in Welsh...looking for a translation still). What the "something" was is up for debate. The story becomes a little sadder when we find that Gwen dies in 1841 after just five years of marriage and, years later, John Bright begins to visit her grave regularly until his death.

Now, the big question is what stopped their courtship? Here is an article from North Wales Weekly News in 1932 which gives some insight into the story. Also a few pages from J. Travis Mills' John Bright and the Quakers which also discusses their love story.

Why, if Anthony Morgan was so against Gwen's marriage to John Bright, did he then allow Anne to marry Charles Taylor? Wouldn't that be the same type of marriage? Second, Charles Taylor was listed as "independent" on the 1841 census with Anthony Thomas Morgan...did he misrepresent himself? Was it before he actually started working in the family business? Every census thereafter and every record we find him on states that he was a druggist or chemist. Third, Anne Clarke Morgan only had one child, Mary Collis Taylor, and died 12 years into their marriage. Did she have a bad marriage, too? Mary Anne Moore/Marian DeBarcy lived the longest of his wives, but she left him after 10-15 years. His third wife died young as well, after about 10 years of marriage. Each of his wives was quite young (25ish at the time of marriage) while he kept getting older. What do you think?

Charles Taylor in 1841 Census

He's with Anthony Thomas Morgan in Llangelynnin Parish, Merioneth, Wales!

Now, he isn't listed as a druggist, but as "independent." I guess that means he's got money and doesn't need to work. I wonder if he's through with his schooling and taking a trip before settling down to work at the family business in Cleveland Square? Well, at least it explains how Charles and Anne Clarke Morgan met.

Another researcher has contacted me through the Merioneth Message board who is related to the Morgan family and has considerable research on them. He's found a Quaker connection which also links them to John Bright, a reformer who was raised in Rochdale. Sounds to me as if somehow John Bright introduced Charles Taylor to Anthony Thomas Morgan (whom he met at a Quaker school) which eventually led to Charles and Anne's marriage in 1844.

I need to go through the history of Rochdale some more to find out what else is going on. I did see reference to the Corn Laws and the buying and redistribution of land in relation to John Bright. There is considerable information on John Bright, perhaps it will give us some clues on the Morgans, Taylors and perhaps how in the world Charles met Mary Ann Moore (Marian Debarcy)