Maria Branwell
Encyclopedia
Maria Branwell was the mother of English writers Emily Brontë
, Anne Brontë
and Charlotte Brontë
, and their brother, the poet and painter Branwell Brontë
.
, Cornwall
, England, though only five daughters and one son grew to adulthood. Thomas Branwell was a successful merchant and owned many properties throughout the town. The Branwell family was involved with local politics, several serving as Mayor in the 19th century and other civic offices. The family were prominent Methodists,Thomas's sister and two of his daughters marrying clergymen of Wesleyan leanings. With the Carne family and others, they initiated and developed the first Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Penzance.
in 1812 when visiting her Aunt Jane and Uncle John Fennell in Yorkshire
after four family deaths between 1808 and 1812; two of the deaths were her mother's and father's, and Aunt Jane was her father's sister. Maria moved to Yorkshire to help her Aunt Jane with the household management of a new Methodist training school. John Fennell, a former schoolmaster and Methodist class leader in Penzance and Wellington, Shropshire, was appointed Headmaster of the newly opened Woodhouse Grove School at Rawdon,for the sons of Methodist ministers in 1812. Patrick, during his curacy in Wellington, Shropshire, had known John Fennell in Shropshire's Wesleyan circles. When Fennell was invited to the Yorkshire headship, he needed external examiners for his students and invited Patrick to serve in that capacity at Woodhouse Grove. Maria and Patrick 'loved at first sight' and married within the year. They were married on 29 December 1812 at Guiseley Parish Church by mutual friend Reverend William Morgan, who on the same day, married Jane and John Fennell's daughter, Jane Branwell Fennell. Truly a family wedding! Befitting the close family that the Branwells were, also married on that day at the same hour were Maria's youngest sister, Charlotte, to her cousin Joseph Branwell at the parish church of Madron in Cornwall.
. Their first two children, Maria and Elizabeth were born there in 1814 and 1815. Their second home was in Thornton, where their remaining children were born: Charlotte (1816), Patrick Branwell (1817), Emily Jane (1818) and Anne (1820). In 1820 the Brontës moved to Haworth. After moving to Haworth Maria developed cancer and died seven and half months later. Her youngest daughter Anne was only twenty months old.
Emily Brontë
Emily Jane Brontë 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet, best remembered for her only novel, Wuthering Heights, now considered a classic of English literature. Emily was the third eldest of the four surviving Brontë siblings, between the youngest Anne and her brother...
, Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë
Anne Brontë was a British novelist and poet, the youngest member of the Brontë literary family.The daughter of a poor Irish clergyman in the Church of England, Anne Brontë lived most of her life with her family at the parish of Haworth on the Yorkshire moors. For a couple of years she went to a...
and Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë
Charlotte Brontë was an English novelist and poet, the eldest of the three Brontë sisters who survived into adulthood, whose novels are English literature standards...
, and their brother, the poet and painter Branwell Brontë
Branwell Brontë
Patrick Branwell Brontë was a painter and poet, the only son of the Brontë family, and the brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne.-Youth:...
.
Early life
Maria Branwell was the eighth child of twelve born to Thomas Branwell and Anne Carne in PenzancePenzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England, though only five daughters and one son grew to adulthood. Thomas Branwell was a successful merchant and owned many properties throughout the town. The Branwell family was involved with local politics, several serving as Mayor in the 19th century and other civic offices. The family were prominent Methodists,Thomas's sister and two of his daughters marrying clergymen of Wesleyan leanings. With the Carne family and others, they initiated and developed the first Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Penzance.
Courtship and marriage
Maria met Patrick BrontëPatrick Brontë
The Reverend Patrick Brontë was an Irish Anglican curate and writer, who spent most of his adult life in England and was the father of the writers Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë, and of Branwell Brontë, his only son....
in 1812 when visiting her Aunt Jane and Uncle John Fennell in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
after four family deaths between 1808 and 1812; two of the deaths were her mother's and father's, and Aunt Jane was her father's sister. Maria moved to Yorkshire to help her Aunt Jane with the household management of a new Methodist training school. John Fennell, a former schoolmaster and Methodist class leader in Penzance and Wellington, Shropshire, was appointed Headmaster of the newly opened Woodhouse Grove School at Rawdon,for the sons of Methodist ministers in 1812. Patrick, during his curacy in Wellington, Shropshire, had known John Fennell in Shropshire's Wesleyan circles. When Fennell was invited to the Yorkshire headship, he needed external examiners for his students and invited Patrick to serve in that capacity at Woodhouse Grove. Maria and Patrick 'loved at first sight' and married within the year. They were married on 29 December 1812 at Guiseley Parish Church by mutual friend Reverend William Morgan, who on the same day, married Jane and John Fennell's daughter, Jane Branwell Fennell. Truly a family wedding! Befitting the close family that the Branwells were, also married on that day at the same hour were Maria's youngest sister, Charlotte, to her cousin Joseph Branwell at the parish church of Madron in Cornwall.
Later life
Maria and Patrick's first home was Clough House in HightownHightown, West Yorkshire
Hightown is a hamlet within Liversedge, West Yorkshire, England, with a diverse socioeconomic culture. To the north, neighbouring the border with Calderdale, is Windybank council estate...
. Their first two children, Maria and Elizabeth were born there in 1814 and 1815. Their second home was in Thornton, where their remaining children were born: Charlotte (1816), Patrick Branwell (1817), Emily Jane (1818) and Anne (1820). In 1820 the Brontës moved to Haworth. After moving to Haworth Maria developed cancer and died seven and half months later. Her youngest daughter Anne was only twenty months old.