Charles Waln Morgan

Charles Waln Morgan (September 14, 1796 – April 7, 1861) was a whaling industry executive, banker and businessman. At his peak in the whaling industry, he owned fourteen whaling ships, one of which was named after him, the Charles W. Morgan. It became a National Historic Landmark. He sold the sperm oil that came from his ships, and also used it in his candle-making factory.

He was an abolitionist, and for the early years of his life, while he lived in Philadelphia, he was a Quaker. After he moved to New Bedford, he became a member of the Unitarian First Congregational Society.

Early life and education Morgan, the son of Thomas Morgan and Ann Waln Morgan, was born on September 14, 1796, in Philadelphia. Born into the Quaker faith, he had five siblings. His father died in 1804. His mother, also called Nancy, was born about 1760 and died on June 2, 1814, of consumption. They were the ancestors of many notable families of Philadelphia, including the Whartons, Rotchs, Churchmans, and Morgans. and Morgan became head of the family. His uncle, also named Charles Waln Morgan, was the executor of the estate. Morgan and his siblings married people from New Bedford and became established there. Rebecca married William R. Rodman. Francis Rotch courted and married his sister Anne. Susan married Benjamin Rodman. They were married in the Quaker Meeting House in New Bedford. She was born on October 31, 1793, and had lived in New Bedford, Massachusetts. They had five children between 1821 and 1836: Emily, Samuel, Isabel, Elizabeth and Clara. Between 1820 and 1840, Sarah and Charles employed 45 women, for several months each, who may have lived with them. A known employee was Polly Johnson, who with her husband Nathan took in Frederick Douglass when they had their own house. Peter Emanuel postulates that this was to give former slaves a "foothold" to establishing a successful life in New Bedford. Morgan wrote in 1841, "Sooner or later the minds of all good men must come to his conclusions & act upon them, be the consequences what they may."

In a tribute following his death, his family and community were said to have lost a "kind and indulgent father, his wife an affectionate husband, and the community in which he resided a benevolent, enterprising, honest, christian man..." His father-in-law was one of the two founding partners. By 1841, he owned 15 whaling ships. From 1821 to 1845, he had shares in eighteen other whaling ships.

He was a banker, he was a senior partner of Duncannon Iron Company. He suffered financial losses and in 1848 had to sell the Charles W. Morgan to the Howland family. The ship is now a National Historic Landmark.

Philanthropist He helped establish both the Friends Academy and the Lyceum. He donated funds for the New Bedford Temperance Society, the New Bedford Free Library, and the Port Society to benefit sailors. He joined the Unitarian First Congregational Society soon after moving to New Bedford and donated funds to the church. when he was in debt. and at the G. W. Blunt White Library at Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. Sarah, who still lived at the County Street mansion, had five servants in 1880. She died in 1888.