Author: Cockle, Mary
Biography:
COCKLE, Mary formerly ROOPE (1772-1836: ancestry.co.uk)
The youngest daughter of Charles Roope, a surgeon and widower who had four children from his first marriage, and Eleanor (Collin) Roope, she was baptised on 23 Apr. 1772 at Pulham St Mary Magdalene, Norfolk. Her father died in 1780 and his will declares that Mary was the intended beneficiary of her maternal grandmother, Mary Collin. In 1801 she married George Cockle, a widower and likely also a surgeon, but the couple separated (one source says this was on account of his ill-treatment of her). She worked as a governess, including for the illegitimate children of the Duke of Clarence. While governess to Miss Pearson of Unthank Hall, Northumberland, she published some shorter poems at Newcastle (Reply to Lord Byron’s “Fare Thee Well” [1817], Lines Addressed to Lady Byron [1817], Elegy on the Death of his late Majesty George the Third [1820], and Lines to a boy pursuing a butterfly [1826]). Her educational writings were well-regarded; published by Chapple at London, they include Juvenile Journal; or Tales of Truth (1807), Important Studies for the Female Sex (1809), and Moral Truths and Studies from Natural History (1810). She was also a regular contributor of poems to the Lady's Magazine and Museum. Some of her books of verse, including The Lioness's Ball (1807), The Fishes Grand Gala (1808), and Simple Minstrelsy (1812) were published by John Harris and others in the model of books for children by William Roscoe and Catherine Anne Dorset (qq.v.). Her youngest brother, George Roope, was Barrack Master of Ipswich, she may have been living with him there at the time of her death. She was buried at St. Matthew's, Ipswich, on 26 Feb. 1836; the memorial to her acknowledges her role “in inculcating the soundest principles of religion and morality in the female mind.” (ancestry.co.uk 24 July 2018; Notes and Queries, 3rd Ser [1862] 337; National Archives UK PROB 11-1064-37; findmypast.co.uk 26 Mar. 2025) SR
Other Names:
- Mrs. Cockle
- Mrs. [Mary] Cockle