Dinah was born 20 Apr 1826 and baptised 12 Apr 1832 in Stoke on trent St Peter ad Vincula, Stoke on Trent, St Peter ad Vincula, Staffordshire, England the daughter of Thomas Mulock and Dinah Mellard[1]
She was an English novelist and poet who started writing at the age of 20 and completed some 50 novels, children’s books and poems She is best remembered for her novel, John Halifax, Gentleman.
She spent her early years at Newcastle-under-Lyme (in Lower Street and Mount Pleasant) and was educated at Brampton House Academy.[2]
1839-40 she assisted her mother to keep a small school at Newcastle-under-Lyme.[3]
In 1841 the family lived in Earl’s court Terrace, Brompton Middlesex, England[4]
Her mother died in 1845 and there is no apparent record of her whereabouts in 1851 though she was said to have settled in London c 1846 at much the same time as two friends, Alexander Macmillan and Charles Edward Mudie. She soon made friends with others such as Westland Marston, who encouraged her in her stories for the young. [5]
1865 George Lillie Craik, bachelor, accountant b Glasgow son of James Craik Clergyman married Dinah Maria Mulock Spinster of Norfolk building, Bath, daughter of Thomas Mulock, Gentleman in Bath, Somerset, England[7]
In 1869 they adopted Dorothy, a foundling, they had no other children.
1871 the family lived in Corner House, Beckenham, Kent, England[8]
Parents: George L Craik 35 Publisher b Scotland, Dinah M Craik 44 Author b Stoke on trent
Other: :William Johnson 52 Servant, Harriet Johnson 40 Servant, Annie Baker 23 Servant Mary Bonnar 22 Servant, Mary E Dennis 18 Servant, Alfred Levens 20 Servant
1881 the family lived in Corner House, Beckenham, Kent, England [9]
Parents: George L Craik 44 Publisher b Scotland, Dinah M Craik 54 Authoress b Stoke on trent
Other: : Sarah Jackman 32 Servant, Elizabeth B. Foster 22 Servant, Harriet L. Ruddock 20 Servant, Jessie Rankin 14 Servant, Mary E Dennis18 Servant, Jane F. Dyason 42 Visitor, Maude E. Dyason 9 Visitor.
12 Oct 1887 She was buried in the graveyard at Keston church, Greater London and a tablet to her memory was placed in St Mary’s. Shortlands. St Mary’s was ruined by bombing in 1944 and all the memorials destroyed. Her best known novel John Halifax, Gentleman (1856) was set in Tewksbury and though she was buried in London it was decided to place a memorial in Tewkesbury. This was the work of a committee, which included; Lord Tennyson, Matthew Arnold, Robert Browning, Sir Frederick Leighton, Sir John E. Millais, Professor Huxley, J. Russell Lowell, and Mrs. Oliphant.[10][11][12]
Sources
↑ "England, Staffordshire, Church Records, 1538-1944," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL3P-2C5M : 8 July 2020), Dinah Maria Mulock, 12 Apr 1832; citing Baptism, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom, Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Archive Service, Stafford; FHL microfilm 101,049,696.
↑ Notes and queries by Martim de Albuquerque Publication date 1849 Vol 146 Page 78
↑ "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQJZ-XD3 : 5 March 2021), Thomas Mulock, Brompton, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
↑ "England and Wales Census, 1861," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M7P5-XP6 : 12 September 2020), Dinah Marian Mulock, Hampstead, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom; from "1861 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 9, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.
↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2D7P-93N : 13 December 2014), George Lillie Craik, 1865; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1865, quarter 2, vol. 5C, p. 1224, Bath, Somerset, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
Ancestry Share
↑ "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27W-MP18 : 11 December 2017), Dinah M Craik in household of George S Craik, Beckenham, Kent, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 24, Piece/Folio 850/35, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,774,416.
↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6826584/dinah-maria-craik: accessed 21 September 2023), memorial page for Dinah Maria Craik (20 Apr 1826–12 Oct 1887), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6826584, citing St. Mary's Churchyard, Keston, London Borough of Bromley, Greater London, England; Maintained by Find a Grave.
↑ "England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837-2007," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2JT1-JDK : 31 December 2014), Dinah Maria Craik, 1887; from "England & Wales Deaths, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Death, Bromley, Kent, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
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