Martha (Lloyd) Austen (1765 - 1843)

Born Nov 1765 in Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Francis William Austen — married 24 Jul 1828 (to 24 Jan 1843) in St Maurice, Winchester, Hampshire, England

Died 24 Jan 1843 at age 77 in Portsdown, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Martha Lloyd was the eldest child of the Reverend Noyes Lloyd and his wife, Martha Craven, baptised at Bishopstrow in Wiltshire on the 16th of November 1765. ^[1]

When her father died in 1789, Martha, her mother and her unmarried sister, Mary, had nowhere to go until a friend, the Reverend George Austen of Steventon, offered them the unused parsonage at Deane in Hampshire. During this time Martha and Mary became the very close friends of George Austen's daughters, Jane and Cassandra.

In 1792 the Reverend James Austen, brother of Jane and Cassandra, took the living at Deane and the Lloyds had to move, taking up residence in Hurstbourne Tarrant. James Austen's first wife died about 1793 and in 1797 he married Martha's sister, Mary. ^[2] George Austen retired to Bath in 1801 dying there in 1805. His death was followed shortly by that of Martha's mother. Martha and her friends Jane and Cassandra together with their mother moved into the household of another Austen brother, Frank, an officer in the Royal Navy. Often at sea Frank was thus able to provide support for his mother and his wife, Mary, and the financial burdens were eased all round. By all accounts the household in Southampton was a happy one.

Perhaps it was the pressure of Frank's growing family that led yet another Austen brother, Edward Austen Knight, to offer his sisters and their friend a home at a property he owned at Chawton. Martha, Jane and Cassandra moved there on the 7th of July 1809.

Jane Austen died in 1817 and Frank's wife, Mary, on the 14th of July 1823.

On the 24th of July 1828 at St Maurice in Winchester, Frank, by this time Admiral Sir Francis Austen, and Martha were married, ^[3] having been friends for thirty years.

Some time before 1841 Francis moved his family to Portsdown Lodge at Wymering, away from the clamour of Alverstoke or indeed, Portsea Island. His daughters, Cassandra, Catherine and Fanny were still living at home. ^[4]

Martha died on the 24th of January 1843 and was buried at St Peter and St Paul, Wymering. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906 (Bishopstrow, Wiltshire 16 November 1765 Martha Lloyd daughter of Nowes and Martha Lloyd) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
2. ↑ England & Wales Marriages, 1538-1940 (Hurstbourne Tarrant 17 January 1797 James Austen married Mary Lloyd) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
3. ↑ England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973 (St Maurice, Winchester 24 July 1828 Francis William Austen of the parish of Alverstoke, married Martha Lloyd) Viewed at Ancestry. Text only
4. ↑ 1841 Census of England
   Portsdown Lodge, Wymering, Hampshire, England

   First Name	Last Name	Relationship	Marital Status	Gender	Age	Occupation	Birth Place
   Francis	Austen	-	-	Male	65	Navy	Hampshire
   Martha	Austen	-	-	Female	50	-	Not Hampshire
   Cassandra	Austen	-	-	Female	25	-	Hampshire
   Catherine	Austen	-	-	Female	20	-	Hampshire
   Fanny	Austen	-	-	Female	15	-	Hampshire
   Eight	servants	-	-	-	-	-	-

5. ↑ Find a grave index (St Peter and St Paul, Wymering. Martha Austen born 1765 died 24 January 1843)

See also:

• 'Jane Austen's Family through Five Generations' by Maggie Lane, published by Robert Hale Limited, London. ISBN 0 7090 4832 7. Includes extensive family trees. Details of contemporaries and other connections are also mentioned in the text.Jane Austen's Family through Five Generations