Emily Sarah Tennyson, Baroness Tennyson (9 July 1813 – 10 August 1896) was the wife of the poet
Alfred, Lord TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS , much better known as "Alfred, Lord Tennyson," was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language.Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, "In the valley of...
, and a creative talent in her own right.
She was born
Emily Sarah Sellwood at Horncastle in
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Northamptonshire for just 19 metres, England's shortest county boundary...
. Her father was a solicitor who acted for the Tennyson family many times over the years. Her mother, who died when Emily was three, was a member of the Franklin family, sister of
Sir John FranklinSir John Franklin, FRGS was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer who mapped almost two thirds of the northern coastline of North America. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a...
, an explorer, and Sir Willingham Franklin.
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Emily Sarah Tennyson, Baroness Tennyson (9 July 1813 – 10 August 1896) was the wife of the poet
Alfred, Lord TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS , much better known as "Alfred, Lord Tennyson," was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language.Tennyson excelled at penning short lyrics, "In the valley of...
, and a creative talent in her own right.
She was born
Emily Sarah Sellwood at Horncastle in
LincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire. It also borders Northamptonshire for just 19 metres, England's shortest county boundary...
. Her father was a solicitor who acted for the Tennyson family many times over the years. Her mother, who died when Emily was three, was a member of the Franklin family, sister of
Sir John FranklinSir John Franklin, FRGS was a British Royal Navy officer and Arctic explorer who mapped almost two thirds of the northern coastline of North America. Franklin also served as governor of Tasmania for several years. In his last expedition, he disappeared while attempting to chart and navigate a...
, an explorer, and Sir Willingham Franklin. Emily first met Alfred Tennyson during childhood, but they did not become close until much later (when Tennyson's brother,
CharlesCharles Tennyson Turner was an English poet.Born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, he was an elder brother of Alfred Tennyson; his friendship and "heart union" with his greater brother is revealed in Poems by Two Brothers. He married Louisa Sellwood, the younger sister of Alfred's future wife; another...
, married Emily's younger sister, Louisa), and did not marry until 1850. For much of the intervening time, they did not see one another at all.
They had two sons,
HallamHallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, GCMG, PC , second Governor-General of Australia, was born at Chapel House, Twickenham, in Surrey, England. Named after his father's late friend Arthur Hallam, he was the elder son of Alfred Tennyson, the most popular and prominent poet of late Victorian England...
and Lionel. During Tennyson's lifetime, Emily was his strong supporter and employed her own talents in setting some of his lyrics to music. After his death in 1892, Lady Tennyson devoted herself to helping her son write the authorised biography.
She is buried in
All Saints' Church, FreshwaterAll Saints' Church, Freshwater is a parish church in the Church of England located in Freshwater, Isle of Wight.-History:The church is medieval. is one of the oldest churches on the Isle of Wight, and was listed in the Domesday survey of 1086. Mark Whatson is the pastor of All Saints, which is an...
,
Isle of WightThe Isle of Wight is an English island and a county, located 3-5 miles from the south coast of the mainland, in the English Channel. It is separated from mainland England by the Solent and is situated south of the county of Hampshire...
.