Lady Morgan - Early Life

Early Life

Sydney Owenson was the daughter of Robert Owenson, alias Macowen, and Jane Hill. Robert Owenson was an Irish Catholic and a professional actor, noted for his comedic performances. He had been raised in London, and while in England he met and married Jane Hill, the Protestant daughter of a trader from Shrewsbury. In 1776 Owenson and his wife returned to Ireland for good. The couple settled in Dublin and Owenson earned a living by performing in theaters around Dublin, Drumcondrath, and Sligo. Around 1778 the couple gave birth to Sydney, who was named after her paternal grandmother. The exact date of Sydney's birth remains unknown. One of Syndey's idiosyncrancies was that she was prone to be elusive about her actual age. Later in life she would claim that she was born on Dec 25, 1785. She maintained this lie to such an extent that even on her death certificate there is no certainty about her age, stating that she was "about 80 years". Sydney spent the earliest years of her childhood at the Owenson's home at 60 Dame Street in Dublin with her mother and sister Olivia. Sydney was primarily educated by her mother, but she also received tutoring from a young boy named Thomas Mcdermot, a local prodigy that their father had rescued from poverty. In 1789, when Sydney was about ten years old, her mother Jane died, and her father sent her and her sister away to private schools to finish their education. Sydney spent three years at a Huguenout academy at Clontarf and then attended a finishing school in Earl Street, Dublin. After completing school Sydney moved with her father to Sligo. In 1798 the Owenson family was experiencing some financial hardships and Sydney was forced to leave home in search of employment. She was hired as a governess by the Featherstones of Braclkin Castsle, co. Westmeath. In this environment she blossomed into an avid reader, a capable conversationalist, and an unabashed performer of songs and dances. It was at this period in her life that she began her writing career.