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I intend to to some research into Ellen and Emily's family back ground. This is what I have found out for now about their parents and grandparents. Much of this information has been gathered from my reading of the diaries, and from Sherrard and Walker . Charles Hill Hall (Reproduced from A.R.Mills, The Halls of Ravenswood) Emily and Ellen's father was Charles Hill Hall. He was born on the 4th of September 1783, in Jamaica. He was the third son of the William and Margaret Hall. I do not know how long the family had been living in Jamaica, but Sherrard tells us that he lived there until his fathers death when he was 11 years old, which suggests that this was where the family business was run. From one source or another, the family certainly was fairly well off, as Charles Hall was able to retire to live on private means after a career in the 16th Light Dragoons. Emily and Ellen lived with their father until his death in 1853 while they were on a Grand Tour of Italy. Charles Hall married the sister's mother, Augusta Browning, on 20th November 1807. In secondary sources little has been written about her, except that she was a distant relative of the poet Robert Browning. She is mentioned often and with affection in the early years of her duaghter's diaries, and her death is marked in both volumes by a devastating blank of several months. It is likely that she came from a wealthy background, and it was her sister, Aunt Mary, who left Ellen and Emily enough money in 1857 to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. However, Augusta undoubtedly engaged in much unpaid labour in her life. She had eight children and died in 1841. We do not know the names of Augusta and Charles's two eldest son's as they died in infancy. However, we do know a great deal about the surviving siblings and what an important role they played in each others lives. |
