Isabella Southwell  (1813–1866)

No record of the birth or death of Isabella has been located. However, the 1851 and 1861 censuses record her living with her brother Henry (1782–1866) in the Isle of Man and his will shows she was sole beneficiary of his estate. In 1851 her age was given as 38, giving an approximate birth year of 1813; and in 1861 as 42 (probably an enumerator’s misreading of her age). A record of a civil court case brought by Henry Southwell in 1846 makes reference to his sister Isabella, providing clear evidence she was living with him by this year.

A birth year of 1813 suggests two possibilities: (i) she may have been a child of William and Frances; (ii) she may have been a child of a liaison between William and yet another woman in Dublin. She may have been informally adopted and brought up by Henry, since William was in London and his last child, Charles, was conceived in that year.

RETURN