Background
Marriage to Newton
Hannah came from a prominent Lincolnshire family of yeomen - above common farmers and below gentlemen in status. Her father was James Ayscough; her mother was Margery, daughter of William Blyth. The couple married in 1609. [1] Hannah had two brothers, both clergymen, William and James Ayscough.
In 1642 Hannah married Isaac Newton (senior) (b. O.S 21 September 1606) [b] , from a similar family of prosperous yeomen local to the area. [3] [1] It seems the Newton family was uneducated and illiterate before this point and could not sign their name. As a dowry, Hannah brought with her a property in Sewstern in Leicestershire, whose land generated around £50 per year. Isaac Newton (senior) died in October 1642, aged 36, leaving his wife and son well provided for, as he had bequeathed everything to Hannah, at a total value of £495. This was much above the usual assets of a typical farmer or yeoman at the time. The bequest left her independently wealthy, enough to live a comfortable life with her son at the manor. Hannah ran the farmlands, managing the employment of the farm hands as they sheared, milked, lambed and fed the livestock. She oversaw the tilling of the fields and the sales of animals. [4] [1] [3] Historians disagree as to whether she was literate or not. In her own right, she bought lands in Buckminster [5]
Hannah's brother, Reverend William Ayscough, studied at Cambridge, graduating in 1630, before joining the clergy. [1] [6] [c] [3] Hannah's connection to a highly educated family would have lent her status to the marriage, offering a "step upwards" to the Newton family. It is likely Isaac's uncle James inspired his nephew's love of study that gave rise to his career as a scientist and professor. [1] [7]
Isaac Newton (junior) was born at Woolsthorpe Manor, in 1643, Hannah's mother Margery, travelling to attend the birth. [4] He was born in the early hours of Christmas morning, without a father, born two months prematurely and he was expected to die shortly after birth, so tiny as he was. It was said that two women from the manor "sat down on a stile, sure the child would be dead before they could get back". He may just have enjoyed telling dramatic stories about his early life, his birth presented as something of a miracle, however the story underlined that he was conceived in wedlock. Biographers note that the stories of his birth are plausible. It seems that, in adulthood, Isaac did not suffer in health or stature from his premature birth and infant struggles. Isaac was baptised on O.S 1 January 1643. [b] [4] [3] The English Civil War was raging across the country at the time. The family would have seen soldiers from both sides of the war in their village. No record exists noting which side Hannah's family supported. [4]
Marriage to Smith
Three years later Hannah Ayscough, nearing 30, remarried, to clergyman and recent widower Barnabas Smith (1582–1653), a rich man of 63. Smith had attended Lincoln College, Oxford, though seems to have had no love of learning or study. The couple drew up a business contract before their marriage. The couple moved to Smith's long-standing home at North Witham, a mile and a half away. They left Isaac in the care of Hannah's mother, a loss that is described as "traumatic" for the young child. Biographer Michael White suggests that this move strikes us as heartless for Hannah to leave her child, however he comments that she may have viewed Smith as old and not likely to live long. As Smith had no children from his previous marriage, she may have imagined she would inherit all his wealth on his death and would be able to bequeath this to Isaac. On her death, she did indeed leave her entire, considerable estate, including Woolsthorpe Manor, to Isaac. Whether the seperation of Hannah from her child was her idea or not, the loss of his mother from three years old, and the death of his father before his birth, is taken by biographers to have played a major role in shaping the "personality that emerges from the wreckage". Isaac was raised almost entirely within the Ayscough family. He grew to resent his mother, hated his step-father Smith and had very difficult relationships with women. It seems that Isaac did not get on well with either of Hannah's parents. Isaac was left as a legal guardian of one James Ayscough. It is not clear which family member this is, but it is likely to be Hannah's brother rather than her elderly father. [4] [3]
Barnabas and Hannah together had three of their own children, Mary (b.1647), Benjamin (b.1651) and Hannah (b.1652). After Smith's death at aged 71, in 1653, Hannah moved back with her three new children to Isaac and Woolsthorpe. Biographer White states that by this time "the rift between mother and son was too wide to ever heal properly". [4]
In 1659 Hannah wanted to cease Isaac's education and she tried to make him into a farmer. Early biographer and family friend William Stukeley wrote "she thought fit to recall her son Isaac Newton from school, intending to make him serviceable to her, in management of farming & country business... but these employments ill suited Sr. Isaac's taste [ sic ]. [d] " [3] Isaac's schoolmaster implored Hannah to let her son continue his education: "he never ceasd remonstrating to his mother what a loss it was to mankind, as well as a vain attempt, to bury so uncommon a talent, in admitted in 1660 rustic business. He was sufficiently satisfy'd that [Isaac] would become a very extraordinary man. At length, he prevailed with his mother to send him back to school". [d] [3] Isaac's uncle also supported his educational enthusiasm. Isaac attended Trinity College, Cambridge in 1661, graduating in 1665. He would stay there as a member for the next 42 years. Hannah was criticised for sending him there as a 'sizar', working in service to other students, even though she was a rich widow; however, she may well not have known the working of the college, and followed the manner of appointment her brother had experienced at Cambridge. [3] The university temporarily closed during the years of the Great Plague and Isaac made visits back to Woolsthorpe and his mother between 1665 and 1667. Freed from the rigours of university life, he described his time there during this period as the most intellectually fruitful of his life - "a year of wonders", exploring and developing the science of optics, calculus, optics, the laws of motion and gravity. [8] [9] [6] [1] [7] Hannah appointed Isaac legal head of her second family (Smith), though he rarely visited the family manor. [3]
