Susannah Darwin (née Wedgwood, 3 January 1765–15 July 1817) was the wife of
Robert Darwin
Robert Waring Darwin (30 May 1766 – 13 November 1848) was an English medical doctor, who today is best known as the father of the naturalist Charles Darwin. He was a member of the influential Darwin–Wedgwood family.
Biography
Darwin was bor ...
, a wealthy doctor, and mother of naturalist
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...
, and part of the
Wedgwood
Wedgwood is an English fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories manufacturer that was founded on 1 May 1759 by the potter and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood and was first incorporated in 1895 as Josiah Wedgwood and Sons Ltd. It was rapid ...
pottery family.
Life
She was the daughter of
Josiah
Josiah ( or ) or Yoshiyahu; la, Iosias was the 16th king of Judah (–609 BCE) who, according to the Hebrew Bible, instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh. Josiah is credited by most biblical s ...
and Sarah Wedgwood and grew up at
Etruria Hall
Etruria Hall in Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England is a Grade II listed house and former home of the potter Josiah Wedgwood. It was built between 1768–1771 by Joseph Pickford. The hall was sold by the Wedgwoods in the 19th century an ...
, the Wedgwood family home in
Stoke on Trent
Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...
(completed in 1771). Josiah Wedgwood's business was already successful and expanding when she was born, and she grew up in increasingly comfortable circumstances. She was the oldest of the Wedgwood's eight children, known as "Sukey" within the family. Her baptism in January 1765, at home because of bad weather, was followed by a lobster dinner, with
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
, for the family, though as a sign of things to come, her father had to leave early to deal with business matters.
At the age of seven she was sent to a boarding school in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
but returned home for the summer holidays "full of pouks, & boils & humours", according to a letter by her father, so was taken to the spa at
Buxton to recover, and thereafter tutored at home, with occasional visits to London to stay with her father's friend and business partner
Thomas Bentley
Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...
.
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Robert Darwin (12 December 173118 April 1802) was an English physician. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave-trade abolitionist, inventor, and poet.
His poems ...
, father of Robert Darwin, had long been a friend of Josiah, and she had known the family since childhood, at one point giving Erasmus Junior music lessons (she was an accomplished
harpsichord
A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...
ist). Robert and Sukey became engaged in 1794, at the ages of 29 and 28 respectively. They did not marry until 18 April 1796, by which time Robert's medical practice in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
was well-established. Josiah had died in January 1795, leaving his daughter £25,000, a very considerable sum at the time. Despite the families living in the Midlands, the marriage was at St Marylebone,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
, even then part of London. This was not the present
St Marylebone Parish Church, not built until 1813, but what is now called
St Peter, Vere Street, appropriately very near
Harley Street
Harley Street is a street in Marylebone, Central London, which has, since the 19th century housed a large number of private specialists in medicine and surgery. It was named after Edward Harley, 2nd Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer.< ...
.
From 1800, when it was completed, the family lived at
The Mount, Shrewsbury
The Mount is the Georgian house in Shrewsbury, England where Charles Darwin was born.
Overview
The large Georgian house was built in 1800 by Charles Darwin's father, the local and successful doctor Robert Darwin. His son Charles was born th ...
, which still stands. She gave birth to Charles Darwin, the fifth of her six children,
[Dolan, 381] on 12 February 1809.
In 1817, she started growing ill, with gastrointestinal symptoms that were probably a sign of either a severe ulcer or
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...
. She died on 15 July 1817 aged 52. She, her husband, and their daughter Susan are buried in St Chad's Church,
Montford, near Shrewsbury.
Children
* Marianne Darwin (1798–1858), married Henry Parker (1788–1858) in 1824.
* Caroline Sarah Darwin (1800–1888)
married her cousin Josiah Wedgwood III
Josiah "Joe" Wedgwood III (12 January 1795–11 March 1880), a grandson of the English potter Josiah Wedgwood.
Wedgwood was the eldest son of Josiah Wedgwood II and his wife Elizabeth Allen. He was born nine days after the death of his gran ...
* Susan Elizabeth Darwin (1803–1866), unmarried.
*
Erasmus Alvey Darwin
Erasmus Alvey Darwin (29 December 1804 – 26 August 1881), nicknamed ''Eras'' or ''Ras'', was the older brother of Charles Darwin, born five years earlier. They were brought up at the family home, The Mount House, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Eng ...
(1804–1881)
*
Charles Robert Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
(1809–1882)
* Emily Catherine Darwin (1810–1866), married 1863,
Charles Langton clergyman and widower of her cousin Charlotte Wedgwood.
Notes
References
*Dolan, Brian, ''Josiah Wedgwood: Entrepreneur to the Enlightenment'' (UK title), aka ''Wedgwood: The First Tycoon'' (US title, page numbers 2 higher), HarperCollins/Viking, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwin, Susannah
1765 births
1817 deaths
People from Etruria, Staffordshire
Darwin–Wedgwood family
British women