Author: Ward, Catherine George
Biography:
WARD, Catherine George later MASON (d 1833)
Although she was a prolific and very popular author—she published twenty-one novels in addition to her books of poetry—little is known for certain about her early life. Possibly her surname at birth was Gloster but the names of her parents and her place of birth are unknown. Catherine Gloster married George William Ward on 8 Apr. 1801 at St. Clement’s, Hastings, Sussex. Was this her? A poem in her 1812 collection indicates that she spent time on the Isle of Wight in her childhood. Her connection with the Theatre Royal, Edinburgh, is known from verses in her 1805 Poems and an 1832 letter to the RLF refers to her “Native Mountains” in Scotland. It is certain that she had at least one son, Robert Joseph, who was baptised at St. Martin in the Fields on 17 Sept. 1815; the baptism record identifies George Ward as an attorney. Robert died and was buried on 12 May 1816. George Ward was both impecunious and often unwell, and she wrote to support the family. Although she claimed connection to and patronage from a number of titled individuals, she applied five times in 1816-32 to the Royal Literary Fund for support and was granted a total of £25. Her husband died on 12 Jan. 1824 and she was imprisoned in King’s Bench Prison for his £70 debt. On 23 Feb. 1825 she married Joseph Morris (or Maurice) Mason at St. Martin in the Fields. However, he died of tuberculosis in Oct. 1832 and her letter to the RLF refers to his “total failure in business.” She was found dead in her bed from consumption at her lodgings in Hart Street (now Floral Street), Covent Garden, and she was buried at St. Paul's, Covent Garden, on 12 Sept. She had declined to go to the workhouse for help and an inquest found that she died “by a Visitation from God.” (ODNB 11 Dec. 2020; RLF file 344; ancestry.co.uk 11 Dec. 2020; findmypast.co.uk 11 Dec. 2020; WorldCat; Morning Post 13 Sept. 1833; St. Paul’s Covent Garden, Register of Burials, 1833/120/958; contributions from AA)
Other Names:
- C. G. Ward
- Catharine George Ward
- Catherine G. Ward
- Mrs. Catherine G. Ward
- Mrs. Catherine Ward