Marriage

On 18 April 1808, she married Davies Giddy

Davies Gilbert

Davies Gilbert FRS was a British engineer, author, and politician. He was elected to the Royal Society on 17 November 1791 and served as President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830....

, a Cornish

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...

 landowner, who had served as High Sheriff

High Sheriff

A high sheriff is, or was, a law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.In England and Wales, the office is unpaid and partly ceremonial, appointed by the Crown through a warrant from the Privy Council. In Cornwall, the High Sheriff is appointed by the Duke of...

 of the Duchy. He was an M.P. for Cornish constituencies from 1806 to 1832. Among his roles in Parliament was as Chairman of the Board of Agriculture. Mary Ann Gilbert was passionately concerned about low agricultural productivity and the plight of the rural poor. Davies was more interested in how the Parish Rate for the support of unemployed might be reduced.

Davies Giddy was also a professional applied mathematician and became a Fellow of the Royal Society, and, for an unhappy period, its President.

In 1814, Mary Ann Gilbert's uncle, Charles Gilbert, died. In his Will, he left her much property in Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, or to a future husband, if he changed his name to "Gilbert".

In December 1817 Davies Giddy took his wife's surname, "Gilbert", to perpetuate it. In January 1818, the names of their children were also changed.

Agronomic experiment

Sharing her husband's interest, Mary Ann Gilbert managed some successful practical agronomical experiments at Beachy Head

Beachy Head

Beachy Head is a chalk headland on the south coast of England, close to the town of Eastbourne in the county of East Sussex, immediately east of the Seven Sisters. The cliff there is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rising to 162 m above sea level. The peak allows views of the south...

 in feeding the poor, or rather, teaching them to feed themselves using land no-one else wanted, for a fair rent. She presented the statistical results of these works to her husband's political, scientific and "County" contacts. She was also a prominent member of the Labourers' Friend Society (later the Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes ).). Among those who advised her were Richard Whately

Richard Whately

Richard Whately was an English rhetorician, logician, economist, and theologian who also served as the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin.-Life and times:...

, Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and his brother, the Vicar of Cookham in Berkshire, Edwin Chadwick

Edwin Chadwick

Sir Edwin Chadwick KCB was an English social reformer, noted for his work to reform the Poor Laws and improve sanitary conditions and public health...

 and William Gill

William Gill

William Gill may refer to:* William Henry Gill , Manx composer* William F. Gill , American author of the book behind the musical Adonis...

 of Chacewater

Chacewater

Chacewater is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles east of Redruth.-Village:...

, Cornwall.

Topographic illustrations

Her illustrations appear in Thomas Bond

Thomas Bond (topographer)

Thomas Bond , topographer, born at Looe, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. He was the son of Thomas Bond, JP, and his wife Philippa .-Biography:...

's Topographical and historical sketches of the boroughs of East and West Looe, in the county of Cornwall (1823). Bond was a cousin of her husband.

Children

Of their eight children, three daughters and a son survived her husband. Their son, John Davies Gilbert

John Davies Gilbert

John Davies Gilbert was a land owner, born in Eastbourne the son of Davies Gilbert and Mary Ann Gilbert.John Davies Gilbert and his son, Carew Davies Gilbert played a major role, as landowners, in the development of the town of Eastbourne and also developed Trelissick Garden in Feock, Cornwall.In...

 (5 December 1811 – 16 April 1854) was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in April, 1834. He played a significant part, as landowner, in developing the town of Eastbourne.

Sources

• ODNB 
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