Sir Charles Morgan, 2nd Baronet

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sir Charles Gould Morgan, 2nd Baronet (4 February 1760 – 5 December 1846) was a Welsh soldier and politician who also ran large estates and promoted farming improvements. He served as a Member of Parliament for Brecon and later for Monmouthshire, and he was known as a productive and influential landlord at Tredegar House.

Early life
Charles Gould was the son of Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet, and Jane Morgan. In 1792 he and his father changed their surname to Morgan. He inherited the Tredegar estate from his mother’s family in 1797, which made him a major landowner in Monmouthshire.

Military career
He joined the Coldstream Guards in 1777 as an ensign and lieutenant. In 1781 he reached the rank of lieutenant and captain, and he was taken prisoner at the end of the American War in the Yorktown surrender. He was promoted to captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1790 and retired from the Army in 1792.

Political career
Morgan entered Parliament as the MP for Brecon in 1787, serving until 1796. In 1796 he became the MP for Monmouthshire, a position he held until 1831, generally supporting the government of Lord Liverpool. He began using the Morgan name in his political life and, in 1806, he became the 2nd Baronet of Tredegar after his father's death.

Landowner, public service and innovations
Beyond politics, he was a prominent landowner and businessman. He served as a Bailiff on the Bedford Level Corporation from 1807 to 1827 and was Recorder for Newport from 1807 to 1835. He was known as a good landlord and organized annual cattle shows on his Tredegar Park estate. By 1820 he was earning about £40,000 a year from his properties and investments. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1816 for his work improving agriculture.

Family
Morgan married Mary Margaret (or Mary Magdalen) Stoney in 1791. They had eight children: four sons and four daughters. Mary died in 1807, and Morgan did not remarry. Their eldest son, Charles Morgan, became the 1st Baron Tredegar, succeeding his father. Other children included George Gould Morgan (an army officer and MP), Charles Augustus Samuel Morgan (a clergyman), and Charles Octavius Swinnerton Morgan (an antiquarian). The daughters married into notable families, including Milman, Rodney, and Owen.

Death
Sir Charles Morgan died at Tredegar House in 1846 at the age of 86. His funeral was attended by several prominent figures, and he was buried in the family vault at Bassaleg.

Summary
A long-serving Welsh politician and landowner, Sir Charles Morgan combined military service, political leadership, and agricultural and estate improvements. He helped shape his region through Parliament, public service roles, and his work as a generous and forward-thinking landlord.