Rev. George Austen

1731 - 1805  (73 years)

• Name	George Austen
  Prefix	Rev.
  Born	01 May 1731	Tonbridge, Kent, England
  	England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Name: George Austen Gender: Male Baptism Date: 12 May 1731 Baptism Place: Tunbridge, Kent, England Father: William Austen Mother: Rebecca FHL Film Number: 1469268
  Christened	12 May 1731	Tonbridge, Kent, England
  Gender	Male
  Died	01 Jan 1805	Bath, Somerset, England
  Buried	26 Jan 1805	St Swithin Churchyard, Bath, Somerset, England
  	Grave location, biography, portrait, and tombstone photo: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10841984&ref=acom The inscriptiion on his grave reads: "Under this stone rests the remains of the Revd. George Austen Rector of Steventon and Deane in Hampshire who departed this life the 1st. of January 1805 aged 75 years." Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Somerset Parish Records, 1538-1914; Reference Number: D\P\wal.sw/2/1/13 Name: Rev George Austen [Rev Georgius Austen] Event Type: Burial Burial Date: 26 Jan 1805 Burial Place: Walcot St Swithin, Somerset, England Parish as it Appears: Walcot
  Notes	From wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen George Austen (1731-1805), came from a family who had been respected and wealthy wool merchants since the 16th century, but the wealth was consolidated, with eldest sons inheriting each generation, and George's branch of the family fell into poverty. George's mother Rebecca died in 1733, soon after the birth of his sister Leonora. His father William married again to Susan Kelk then he too died, on 7 December 1737 leaving young children, the oldest being 7 years old. Susan was not at all interested in her step-children, and all three were taken in by their uncle Stephen Austen (a bookseller in St Paul's Churchyard, London) and his wife Elizabeth. Stephen and Elizabeth were prepared to keep little Leonora, and George was sent on to his Aunt Hooper (Elizabeth Austen, the sister of the children's father William) who had married George Hooper. George Hooper died in 1744 He was raised by his uncle, Francis Austen, a wealthy lawyer, who paid for George's education at Tonbridge School and St. John's College, Oxford. His sister Philadelphia went to India to find a husband; at age 16 George entered St John's College, Oxford on a fellowship. He most likely met Cassandra Leigh in Oxford. Austen's mother, Cassandra (1739-1827), was a member of the prominent Leigh family; her father was rector at All Souls College, Oxford, where she grew up among the gentry. Her eldest brother James inherited a fortune and large estate from his great-aunt Perrot, with the only condition that he change his name to Leigh-Perrot. The two were engaged, probably around 1763 when they exchanged miniatures. George received the living at the Steventon parish through Thomas Knight, the wealthy husband of his second cousin, who owned Steventon and its associated farms, one of which the Austen family rented to live in. Cassandra's father died in Bath in February, 1764; two months later Cassandra and George married on 26 April 1764 at St Swithin's Church in Bath, by license, in a simple ceremony, leaving immediately for Hampshire. Their income was modest, with only George's small per annum living; Cassandra brought only the expectation of a small inheritance at the time of her mother's death to the marriage. They took up residence at the nearby Deane rectory, because Steventon's was more than a century old, unfit to live in until it underwent renovations. Their first three children were born in quick succession at Deane: James in 1765, George in 1766, and Edward in 1767. After several months at home Cassandra placed them with Elizabeth Littlewood, a woman living nearby to nurse and raise them for twelve to eighteen months, a custom followed for all their children. The family moved to Steventon in 1768, where Henry was born in 1771. At about this time it became clear to the children's mother that George, who was developmentally disabled, subject to seizures, and may have been deaf, had to be sent out to be fostered. Cassandra was born in 1773, followed by Francis in 1774 and Jane in 1775. The family relied on the patronage of their kin and hosted visits from numerous family members. From 1773 until 1796, George Austen supplemented this income by farming and by teaching three or four boys at a time, who boarded at his home. He and his wife remained in Hampshire for thirty years, until he retired to Bath. On the 2nd. January 1805, Jane Austen wrote to her brother, Frank, who was on duty with the Royal Navy: "We have lost an excellent Father. An illness of only eight and forty hours carried him off yesterday morning between ten and eleven. His tenderness as a father, who can do justice to?"
  Person ID	I36329	Master File
  Last Modified	20 Feb 2017

  
  

  Father	William Austen, M. D.,   b. Bef 18 Feb 1700, Horsemonden, Kent, England ,   d. 07 Dec 1737, Tonbridge, Kent, England  (Age ~ 37 years)
  Mother	Rebecca Hampson,   b. Bef 17 Sept 1693, Oxfordshire, England ,   d. 6 Feb 1732, Tonbridge, Kent, England  (Age ~ 38 years)
  Married	13 Jan 1727	Liberty of the Fleet, London, England
  	Registers of Clandestine Marriages and of Baptisms in the Fleet Prison, King's Bench Prison, the Mint and the May Fair Chapel. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, Registrar General (RG) series 7. The National Archives, Kew, England. Name: William Austen Gender: Male Event Type: Marriage Marriage Date: Jan 1727 Marriage Place: London, England Residence: Tunbridge Spouse: Rebecca Walter Spouse Residence: Tunbridge Officiating Ministers: Starke, Gaynam, and others not named [Gaynam's Register]. (1726 Jul - 1729 Jun) [Note: prisons like the Fleet and the King?s Bench were once popular destinations for folks interested in quick, no-questions-asked nuptials]
  Family ID	F14998	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Cassandra Leigh,   b. 1740, Harpsden, Oxfordshire, England ,   d. 18 Jan 1827, Hampshire, England  (Age 87 years)
  Married	26 Apr 1764	St. Swithin's Church, Bath, Somerset, England
  Children	1. Jane Austen,   b. 16 Dec 1775, Steventon Basingtoke and Deane Borough Hampshire, England ,   d. 18 Jul 1817, Winchester, Hampshire, England  (Age 41 years)
  Last Modified	20 Feb 2017
  Family ID	F14999	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart