David Gregory

The recorded details of Mary’s life outline a stark existence marked by a series of tragedies. During the early nineteenth century, having a child out of wedlock was largely regarded as a failure on the mother’s part. An illegitimate child branded its mother as morally corrupt. In England, the 1834 Poor Law “reform” incorporated a Bastardy Clause that freed fathers from parental obligations, supposedly discouraging women from falling pregnant to secure financial aid. Mary conceived four times out of wedlock, and only once was she married while pregnant. We can only imagine the local reaction to the ongoing scandal surrounding her life in [...]