Author: Candler, Ann
Biography:
CANDLER, Ann, formerly More (1740-1814: ODNB)
A daughter of William More, a glover, she was born on 18 Nov. 1740 at Yoxford, Suffolk. Her mother was one of the daughters of William and Elizabeth Holder of Woodbridge, Suffolk, but her first name is not known. Ann did not have any formal education but she learned to read and write. In 1750 the family moved to Ipswich where her mother died in 1751. In 1762 she married a man whose surname was Candler and settled with him in Sproughton, Suffolk; they had nine children but three died in infancy. He served in the militia from 1763 to 1766 and the family was kept impoverished by his addiction to alcohol. Ann spent time in the Tattingstone workhouse with her children. In 1779 she moved to London with her husband but he deserted her there and she returned to Ipswich. Some of her verses were published in the Ipswich Journal and she came to the attention of Elizabeth Cobbold, q.v., who became her patron and organised the subscription for Candler’s one book of poems. What is known of her life comes from a letter Candler wrote from the Tattingstone workhouse in 1801; the letter, published with her book, establishes that Candler had other patrons and supporters, including the Rev. Dr. Thomas Jackson. She died on 6 Sept. at Holton St. Mary, Suffolk, and was buried there on 9 Sept. 1814. A brief obituary in GM gives her name as Anne Chandler. (ODNB 20 Oct. 2023; Orlando 20 Oct. 2023; Ipswich Journal 5 Nov. 1785; East Anglian Daily Times 23 July 1914; GM [Nov. 1814], 507)