Marriage and Children
In 1802, Lowther's heir, William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, paid the ₤4,000 debt owed to Wordsworth's father incurred through Lowther's failure to pay his aide. It was this repayment that afforded Wordswoth the financial means to marry, and on October 4, following his visit with Dorothy to France to arrange matters with Annette, Wordsworth married a childhood friend, Mary Hutchinson. Dorothy continued to live with the couple and grew close to Mary. The following year, Mary gave birth to the first of five children, three of whom predeceased William and Mary:
- John Wordsworth (18 June 1803 – 1875). Married four times:
- Isabella Curwen (d. 1848) had six children: Jane, Henry, William, John, Charles and Edward.
- Helen Ross (d. 1854). No children
- Mary Ann Dolan (d. after 1858) had one daughter Dora (b.1858).
- Mary Gamble. No children
- Dora Wordsworth (16 August 1804 – 9 July 1847). Married Edward Quillinan in 1843.
- Thomas Wordsworth (15 June 1806 – 1 December 1812).
- Catherine Wordsworth (6 September 1808 – 4 June 1812).
- William "Willy" Wordsworth (12 May 1810 – 1883). Married Fanny Graham and had four children: Mary Louisa, William, Reginald, Gordon.
Read more about this topic: William Wordsworth
Famous quotes containing the words marriage and, marriage and/or children:
“Marriage and deathless friendship, both should be inviolable and sacred: two great creative passions, separate, apart, but complementary: the one pivotal, the other adventurous: the one, marriage, the centre of human life; and the other, the leap ahead.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“What is marriage but prostitution to one man instead of many?”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“Most fathers will admit that having children does not change perceptibly the way they are treated or perceived in the workplace, even if their wives work. Everyone at his workplace assumes that she will take on the responsibilities of the children and the home, even if she too is in the office all day.”
—Anne C. Weisberg (20th century)