Mary Wakeford

WAKEFORD, Mary (née Steele). b. Broughton, Hampshire, 1724; d. 1772. She was born to William Steele III (1689-1769, of Broughton, and his second wife, Anne Cator Steele (1689-1760). She was thus half sister to Anne Steele*. Her father was the pastor of the Baptist congregation, and the Steeles were the leading family in the local chapel. In 1749 she married, as his second wife, Joseph Wakeford (1719-1785). She wrote occasional poetry, mainly addressed to literary friends, between 1748 and 1769, three years before her death (for a complete list, see Whelan, 2011, Volume 4, pp. 117-50). Many were concerned with religious experience, with a particular emphasis on human unworthiness and the...