Mary Moutray born Mary Pemble (bap. 1752 – 1844) was a naval wife of John Moutray who was the Royal Commissioner in Antigua. Horatio Nelson was besotted with her and Cuthbert Collingwood was another friend and admirer.
Mary Moutray | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Yorktown  |
| Baptised | 1752 |
| Died | 1844 County Meath |
| Spouse(s) | John Moutray |
| Children | Katherine Moutray |
Life
editMoutray was baptised in Yorktown, Virginia in 1752. Her parents were Catherine (born Selby) and lieutenant John Pemble of HMS Tr?ton.[1]
She married on 2 September 1771 to a naval officer, John Moutray at Berwick upon Tweed.[1] Her husband was thirty years older than her.[2] She and John had twins in 1773 that they called Catherine and John.[1]
In the 1780s they were in Antigua where her husband was the Royal Commissioner.[2] one of the captains there was Horatio Nelson who hated this particular posting. The only thing in his mind that made it bearable was the presence of Mary Moutray.[2] Mary and her husband were only there for a few months in 1784 but she made a lasting impression on Nelson. He first met her in June 1784 and the friendship developed despite Nelson reporting her husband for a breach of procedure.[3] Nelson said that he cried when he first thought of Antigua without her. He said that her company was where he had "spent more happy hours than anywhere else".[2] When Nelson did start to court a wife he would tell, Frances Nisbet, about Mrs Moutray.[1] Mary wrote about Nelson noting that he took to wearing a wig because he had lost hair dues to a fever. Cuthbert Collingwood kept a sketch of him in that wig.[4]
After John Moutray died Mary petitioned for a pension and although she gained Royal support the request was denied by Lord Howe on the grounds that it might create a precedent for other claims. Some commentators have supposed that if John Moutray had died in Antigua then Nelson would have married Mary.[1] Nelson took an interest in Mary's son John. He was with Nelson at the Siege of Calvi. When John died during the siege Nelson paid for his memorial.[1]
When Nelson died in 1805 then Cuthbert Collingwood wrote to her. He too had been captivated by her when he was in Antigua and he had written poetry about her.[2]
John and Mary's daughter Katherine (aka Kate) married the Thomas de Lacy who was a long-serving archdeacon of Meath in 1806. Mary died in Meath in 1844.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (2004-09-23). "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/19449. Retrieved 2023-06-11. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c d e "El amargo infierno creado por los británicos que fueron por el azúcar de las islas caribeñas". BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-06-11.
- ^ Archives, The National. "The National Archives - Exhibitions & Learning online - Nelson, Trafalgar, and those who served". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
- ^ "Horatio Nelson drawn by Cuthbert Collingwood when both were serving in the West Indies | Royal Museums Greenwich". www.rmg.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-06-11.