Mary Anna MOURILYAN (née WOOD) (1810-1869)

Mary Anna Mourilyan (1810-1869), née Wood, was the mother of Eugénie Mourilyan who married Julius Sladden in 1877.  Although she died in 1869, three letters written in 1915 and 1916 refer to Mary Anna, two of them written shortly after Eugénie’s own death.

Mary Anna was born at Sandwich, Kent, the ninth of 11 children of James and Susanna Wood; she was baptized on 27^th November 1810 at Sandwich.

Mary Anna kept a journal between the years 1832-1836 which is held at Worcestershire Archives & Archaeology Service (Reference 705:1037/9520/17/vi/40-41) which tells of her love for a man in Sandwich, whose family did not approve of her as a potential wife.

Mary Anna went on to marry John Mourilyan, a solicitor, on 29^th July 1840 at Holy Trinity, Tunbridge Wells.  John’s first wife had died three years earlier leaving him with five young children, to whom she became step-mother.  Mary Anna then became mother to eight children of her own:  Edmund John Thomas Judge (1841-1882), Thomas Burton (1843-1879), Mary Anna (1845-1924), Frederick James (1846-1927), Augustus Giraud (1848-?), Fanny Eliza Jacqueline (1849-1927), Joseph William Ralph (1852-1927) and Eugénie Narcisse (1854-1916).  The Mourilyans lived at Hazelbank, Strand Street, Sandwich.

Some time between August 1852 (the baptism of Joseph) and December 1854 (the birth of Eugénie), the Mourilyans moved to Paris where John set up a practice.

Mary died at Avenue Wagram, Paris, on 17th March 1869 when her youngest daughter, Eugénie, was 14 years old.  By this time, some of the older children had left home and were living in England.