Early life 1794-1831 Mary Hutton (poet)

mary hutton’s sheffield

in preface third collection, mrs hutton, born mary taylor, relates how twin , 1 in family of twelve children suffer scurvy. when family moved london, mary s health forced remain in wakefield. years later, left sheffield , there met , married michael hutton, cutler twenty-five years older 2 children previous marriage. husband in poor health , later on found had been defrauded benefit society had been paying contributions.

needing contribute finances, hutton wrote letter in 1830 john holland, prominent city author, appealing in publishing volume of poetry. holland agreed raise subscriptions on behalf , records, in preface wrote it, how decided meet mary in person. found living in butcher s buildings, norris field, “the wife of pen-knife cutler, lot, seems, had constituted no exception occasional want of employment , paucity of income, common many of class.” titled sheffield manor , other poems, bulk of pieces there of descriptive, topographical kind such holland himself had composed @ debut. publicity emphasised mary’s status “wife of poor pen-knife cutter in sheffield”.