Jane Welsh was born on July 14th, 1801, the only child of Dr. John Welsh and Grace Baillie Welsh. Her father ran a small but successful medical practice in the staging-post town of Haddington, 18 miles south-east of Edinburgh, and maintained a respectable station in the local community. Mrs. Welsh expected her daughter to make an advantageous marriage, and from earliest childhood, these maternal hopes were reinforced by Jane's natural ability to command widespread admiration and devotion (an uncanny power she never relinquished). But Jane also displayed the independent side of her character when, at the age of 5, she demanded to experience the full classical education offered at the Haddington Academy. This request her exacting father granted, and, observing with quiet pleasure her…
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Citation: Uglow, Nathan. "Jane Welsh Carlyle". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 October 2000 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=744, accessed 27 November 2024.]