Anna Gay Attwater

Anna Gay Attwater (1710-84) was originally from Haycombe; she married Thomas Attwater (1691-1767) of Bodenham in December 1734. It was his second marriage, being nineteen years Anna’s senior. Their children included Gay Thomas (‘Florio’) (1736-92), who married Mary Drewitt (‘Fidelia’) of Bratton on 30 September 1762; Caroline (‘Dorinda’) (1746-1825) who married Thomas Whitaker (1735-1784) of Bratton on 10 January 1765; Marianna (‘Maria’) (1749?-1832), who married George Head (d. 1785) of Bradford-on-Avon in February 1773; and Jane (‘Myrtilla’) (1753-1843), who married Joseph Blatch of Bratton. Anna Gay Attwater was the daughter of Jane Cator (1680-1756) (sister to William Steele III’s second wife, Anne, and mother of Mary Steele Wakeford) and John Gay (1666-1729) of Haycombe. All her daughters were involved with the Steele circle of women writers, especially Marianna (a poet) and Jane (a diarist). For more on the Attwaters, see Timothy Whelan, ed., Nonconformist Women Writers, 1720-1840 (2011), vols. 3, 4, and 8. Portions of their poetry, diaries, and correspondence can also be found at Nonconformist and Dissenting Women's Studies, 1650-1850, ed. Timothy Whelan, at https://www.nonconformistwomenwriters1650-1850.com.