Author: Espener, Isabella
Biography:
ESPENER, Isabella, formerly MARTINSON (1773-1835: findmypast.co.uk)
She was born 21 Aug. 1773 at Horkstow, Lincolnshire, the eldest daughter of Thomas Martinson, a shipbroker and landowner, and his wife Margaret Barratt. She married Charles Espener (1769-1808), a woollen draper, at Horkstow on 14 Oct. 1802. He went bankrupt in 1804 and died in 1808. Although he left Isabella around £300 this may have been reduced by creditors’ outstanding claims. On her father’s death she received an annuity of £40 but she was later in financial difficulty when she published Sentimental Poetry (1826) by subscription. She died at Barton upon Humber on 6 May 1835. She had been injured on her way home from chapel one night by someone who threw a brick at her, and she died after “a lingering illness.” The report of her death noted that although “nurtured in the lap of affluence, she was early doomed to a life of trouble” and that she exemplified heart-rending resignation to the divine will. (findmypast.co.uk 23 Jul. 2020; Stamford Mercury 7 Dec. 1804, 11 Mar. 1808, 12 Nov. 1819, 15 May 1835, 20 May 1836; Monthly Magazine Nov. 1802, 360) AA
Other Names:
- Mrs. Espener