Letter to Mary WebbMary Elizabeth Webb | Born: 1796-04-15 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: .
Close friend and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. Mary Webb was the daughter of James Webb. and Jane Elizabeth Ogbourn. Baptized on April 15, 1796 in Wokingham, Berkshire. Sister of Elizabeth (called Eliza) and Jane Eleanor Webb and niece of the elder Mary Webb, Aunt Mary. In Needham’s papers, he notes from the Berkshire Directorythat she lived on Broad street, presumably in Wokingham, Berkshire. She was the wife of Thomas Hawkins as she is referred to thus in probate papers of 1858 regarding the wills of her sister Eliza Webb Walter and her husband Henry Walter. Date of death unknown. Dates unknown.—scw, lmw
, 29 January 1821.

Edited by Molly C. O'DonnellMolly C. O’Donnell, Editor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Molly O’Donnell was the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, President’s Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She has contributed to Victoriographies and the Norton Anthology, and was formerly associate faculty at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Her dissertation uses contemporary sociolinguistics to examine the nineteenth-century tales novel as a useful mode for exploration in the areas of genre, narrative, and gender studies.
.

Sponsored by:

First digital edition in TEI, date: 11 March 2015. P5. . .

Digital Mitford Letters: The Mary Russell Mitford Archive

Repository: Reading Central Library. Shelf mark: qB/TU/MIT Vol. 4 ff.441 Horizon No.: 1361550

Folio sheet of paper folded in half to form six quarto pages, with correspondence on 1-6 and address leaf on page 6, then folded in thirds twice more and sealed for posting.Address leaf bearing one postmark: partial black stamp that is illegibleRed wax seal

Hands other than Mitford's noted on this manuscript:

Mitford’s spelling and punctuation are retained, except where a word is split at the end of a line and the beginning of the next in the manuscript. Where Mitford’s spelling and hyphenation of words deviates from the standard, in order to facilitate searching we are using the TEI elements “choice," “sic," and “reg" to encode both Mitford’s spelling and the regular international standard of Oxford English spelling, following the first listed spelling in the Oxford English Dictionary. The long s and ligatured forms are not encoded.
Our default is the Diplomatic view.
Click to toggle the Normalized view
(shows conventional spellings;
hides pagebreaks, insertion marks, and deletions):

Maintained by: Elisa E. Beshero-Bondar (eeb4 at psu.edu) Creative Commons License Last modified: 2024-10-06T22:32:13.239444Z

[ c. 10dateJan. 1821]Monday.

My dear Friend You will be sorry to hear that I have just had a letter from Miss JamesElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw
who has been hurried from BirminghamBirmingham, West Midlands, England | Birmingham West Midlands Warwickshire England | 52.48624299999999 -1.8904009999999971 A city in the West Midlands, formerly part of the historic county of Warwickshire. In Mitford’s time, the city was at the center of the Industrial Revolution, with developments in the skilled trades, steam power, railways and canals, and banking beginning in the eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century, the city became the second-largest popular center, after London, and became a center for political radicalism and reform.—lmw by the illness of her sister EmilyEmily James | Born: 1782 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1863-08-29 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey.
Friend of Mary Russell Mitford, and sister to Elizabeth James and Susan James and cared for pupils with her. She was born about 1782 in Bath, Somerset, the daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two sisters in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. She died on August 29, 1863, at 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey and was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey.—lmw
so that we shall not have the pleasure of seeing her this winter or spring. She wrote just as she was getting into the coach & promised to send me word how she found her sister in a few days. She did not herself fear that her illness page 2
was dangerous but thought it necessary to hurry home to take care of their four pupils & to relieve EmilyEmily James | Born: 1782 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1863-08-29 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey.
Friend of Mary Russell Mitford, and sister to Elizabeth James and Susan James and cared for pupils with her. She was born about 1782 in Bath, Somerset, the daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two sisters in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. She died on August 29, 1863, at 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey and was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey.—lmw
’s mind from such a charge. This is a great disappointment—she begs me to say every thing that is kind & grateful from her to you & to express how very sorry she is to miss the pleasure of waiting on you.—Tell Kate WheelerKate Wheeler, or: Miss Wheeler
Friend of Miss James. Mitford refers to her as providing home remedies and advice. See 29 January 1821 letter to Mary Webb. More research needed.—lmw
there is no calling such a loveable person Miss & that her prescription of the syringe & soapsuds has completely relieved my deafness—she will be glad to hear this for she has the page 3
delightful quality of being in[gap: 1 word, reason: wax seal covers.][volved] in everybody’s comforts. Poor PapaGeorge Mitford, Esq., or: George Midford | Born: . Died: .
Father of Mary Rusell Mitford, George Mitford was the son of Francis Midford, surgeon, and Jane Graham. The family name is sometimes recorded as Midford. Immediate family called him by nicknames including Drum, Tod, and Dodo. He was a member of a minor branch of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle in Northumberland. Although later sources would suggest that he was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh medical school, there is no evidence that he obtained a medical degree and he did not generally refer to himself as Dr. Mitford, preferring to style himself Esq.. In 1784, he is listed in a Hampshire directory as surgeon (medicine) of Alresford. His father and grandfather worked as apothecary-surgeons and it seems likely that he served a medical apprenticeship with family members.
He married Mary Russell on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford; they later came to live at Broad Street in New Alresford. Their only child to live to adulthood, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. He assisted Mitford's literary career by representing her interests in London and elsewhere with theater owners and publishers. He was active in Whig politics and later served as a local magistrate. He coursed greyhounds with his friend James Webb.
—lmw
is not quite well—he has had something of a bowel complaint & been out in the [gap: 1 word, reason: illegible.][cob] too long—I hope he will be better tomorrow—It is such a bad thing to see him ill. How are you all my dear Friends? Your head? ElizaElizabeth Eliza Webb | Born: 1797-03-03 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: 1851-03-24 in Sandgate, Kent, England.
Elizabeth Webb, called Eliza, was a neighbor and friend of Mary Russell Mitford. Eliza Webb was the youngest daughter of James Webb and Jane Elizabeth Ogbourn. She was baptized privately on March 3, 1797, and publicly on June 8, 1797 in Wokingham, Berkshire. She is the sister of Mary Elizabeth and Jane Eleanor Webb. In 1837 she married Henry Walters, Esq., in Wokingham, Berkshire. In Needham’s papers, he notes from the Berkshire Directorythat she lived on Broad street, presumably in Wokingham. Source: See Needham’s letter to Roberts on November 27, 1953 . —scw, lmw
’s rheumatism & the dear PapaJames Webb | Born: 1769 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. Died: 1822-01-11 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England.
Prominent manufacturer in the Wokinghambrewing industry, and community leader in Wokingham and the county of Berkshire. Father of Eliza, Jane, and Mary Webb. Francis Needham suggested that he was the original of the gentleman in the Our Villagesketch Aunt Martha. Sources: Francis Needham, Letter to William Roberts, 16 June 1953 . Needham Papers, Reading Central Library . —scw, lmw
’s Eyes? Send me a good account of you all round.—Kindest regards to everybody.


Most faithfully your'syoursMary Russell Mitford | Born: 1787-12-16 in New Alresford, Hampshire, England. Died: 1855-01-10 in Swallowfield, Berkshire, England.
Poet, playwright, writer of prose fiction sketches, Mary Russell Mitford is, of course, the subject of our archive. Mary Russell Mitford was born on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire, the only child of George Mitford (or Midford) and Mary Russell. She was baptized on February 29, 1788. Much of her writing was devoted to supporting herself and her parents. She received a civil list pension in 1837. Census records from 1841 indicate that she is living with her father George, three female servants: Kerenhappuch Taylor (Mary’s ladies maid), two maids of all work, Mary Bramley and Mary Allaway, and a manservant (probably serving also as gardener), Benjamin Embury. The 1851 census lists her occupation as authoress, and lists her as living at Three Mile Cross with Kerenhappuch Taylor (lady’s maid), Sarah Chernk (maid-of-all-work), and Samuel Swetman (gardener), after the death of her father. Mitford’s long life and prolific career ended after injuries from a carriage accident. She is buried in Swallowfield churchyard. The executor of her will and her literary executor was the Rev. William Harness and her lady’s maid, Kerenhappuch Taylor Sweetman, was residuary legatee of her estate. —lmw, ebb
MR Mitford.

Just finished my playFiesco.
Mitford’s first attempt to write a full-length tragedy, never performed or printed, although she did submit it for consideration to William Macready and the managers of Covent Garden Theatre in 1820. Schiller also wrote a play on this subject, entitled Die Verschwörung des Fiesco zu Genua; or Fiesco’s Conspiracy at Genoa. In a letter of 9 February 1821 Mitford indicates that she was not familiar with Schiller’s work, having neither seen nor sought for it. —lmw
& going to send it to Mr. TalfourdThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
—though I mean to write two of the acts over again—after consulting him on the alterations.—

To Miss Webb.