Mary Vere (1581–1671) was an English letter writer.
Mary Vere | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1581 |
| Died | (aged 90) |
Background
editShe was born Mary Tracy, a daughter of Sir John Tracy (died 1591) of Toddington, Gloucestershire and his wife Anne, a daughter of Thomas Throckmorton (died 1568).[1] Her brother Sir Thomas Tracy was a member of the household of Anne of Denmark, as an usher of her privy chamber.[2]
Career
editShe married firstly, William Hoby (died 1603). They had two children.
In October or November 1607, she married the veteran soldier Horace Vere.[2]
Their children included:
- Elizabeth Vere, who married John Holles, 2nd Earl of Clare
- Mary Vere, who married, (1) Sir Roger Townshend of Raynham in Norfolk, (2) Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland
- Catherine Vere, who married, (1) Oliver St John, (2) John Poulett, 2nd Baron Poulett
- Anne Vere, who married Sir Thomas Fairfax in 1637
- Dorothy Vere, who married John Wolstenholme, eldest son of Sir John Wolstenholme of Nostell, Yorkshire
- Susanna Vere (1619–1623)
Mary Vere was a Puritan. She wrote "God will provide" at the front of most of the books in her closet.[3] In 1608 she donated a book to Sir Thomas Bodley's library, and asked that it be inscribed in Latin as a gift from the daughter of Sir John Tracy.[4] A number of religious works were dedicated to her.[5]
She was widowed in 1635. Mary Vere lived at Hackney. Her chaplain Samuel Rogers kept a diary. He much preferred her to Margaret Denny, the widow of Edward Denny, his previous patron.[6]
Death
editAt the death of the widow of Lord Vere's eldest brother, John Vere, she inherited Kirby Hall, where she died on Christmas Eve 1671, aged 90.
References
edit- ^ 'TRACY, Sir John I (d. 1591), of Toddington, Glos', History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603, ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
- ^ a b Linda Levy Peck, Court Patronage and Corruption in Early Stuart England (Routledge, London, 1993), p. 72.
- ^ Jacqueline Eales, 'Mary, Lady Vere', Joanna Harris & Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, The Intellectual Culture of Puritan Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 84.
- ^ Jacqueline Eales, 'Mary, Lady Vere', Joanna Harris & Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, The Intellectual Culture of Puritan Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 85.
- ^ Jacqueline Eales, 'Mary, Lady Vere', Joanna Harris & Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, The Intellectual Culture of Puritan Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 88.
- ^ Jacqueline Eales, 'Mary, Lady Vere', Joanna Harris & Elizabeth Scott-Baumann, The Intellectual Culture of Puritan Women (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), p. 90.