Hannah Ayscough (1623-1679)
HANNAH Ayscough is best known as the mother of Sir Isaac Newton. She was born in Market Overton in Rutland to James Ayscough and his wife Margery Blythe. Hannah married farmer Isaac Newton, the elder, in April 1642 and moved to Woolsthorpe Manor, near Colsterworth. He died in October 1642, and nearly three months later their only child Isaac Newton was born.
Hannah left young Isaac in the care of her parents, when he was three years old.
At that time she moved to North Witham to marry the vicar Barnabas Smith. She and Rev Smith had three children: Mary, Benjamin, and Hannah. Isaac resented his stepfather and once threatened to burn the house Barnabas and the family lived in with them in it.
When Rev Smith died aged 70 in 1653, Hannah returned to Woolsthorpe-by-Colsterworth, by which time Isaac was 10 years old, and returned to his mother’s household.
As his father had been a farmer, Hannah decided in 1659 that Isaac should also be a farmer, and thus took him away from his school studies.
He spent a year away from school on the farm, at quite a critical time in his education.
Isaac went back to school in autumn 1660.
Later in his life, at the age of nineteen, Isaac grew very resentful of how his mother had left him when he was young.
Hannah’s brother William, unlike her, saw the abilities that her son had and was instrumental in Isaac’s attending of Trinity College in June 1661.
Hannah seemed to be more interested in her farm than in Isaac’s academic achievements.
She died in Stamford, Lincolnshire, when Isaac was 36.
She was buried at Colsterworth on June 4, 1679 by her son, who buried her next to his father. Isaac spent much of the remainder of this year in Woolsthorpe.
This is a good article, although I think it may be a bit presumptuous (and unfair) to assume his mother didn’t care about his education or recognize his brilliance. One must remember she was not likely well educated, which would make it harder for her to understand his need for higher education, but to say she cared more about her farm than she did about his academic achievements is a little harsh, especially considering we don’t have any evidence about her feelings on anything. The farm was her only means of survival, likely all she knew, so how could she understand that it wasn’t enough for him?
With virtually no information about her personality or feelings, one could just as easily assume she was very proud of her son’s academic achievements, once she saw how he thrived at school. One must remember, after all, that he was only a boy of 10 when she tried to make a farmer of him – chances are she didn’t know (nor could she suspect at that point in his life) what he was capable of achieving. Her brother, William, however was able to see the boy Isaac’s potential because he was educated. Being a woman in those days, and not from a wealthy family, Hannah would never have had the sort of education her brother and son we’re able to receive.
My point is only that one mustn’t judge her too harshly, as we know almost nothing about her. Just because she left him in the care of her parents doesn’t mean she didn’t love him or care about him and his needs – it could, in fact, even been quite the opposite. After all, her second husband probably didn’t want another man’s son in his household – and we do know Newton never liked Barbara’s Smith, and likely ultimately blamed him for his mother leaving him behind in the first place.
Without an education or any skills that could help her lead an independent life, especially in the 17th century, Hannah Ayscough was really at the mercy of the men who were willing and able to take care of her (such as her father, brother, and subsequent husbands). It’s really unfortunate, if that was the case, and one could feel sorry for her.
At the end of the day, though, we really don’t know what motivated her or what she thought and felt about her son’s abilities and achievements. She was merely a woman of her time and station, and likely did the best she could with what she had. No matter what, though, we have her to thank for bringing that great man into this world – and who knows, had she not left him with her parents when she remarried; had he not resented her; had he rather been close to her and felt the obligation to care for her in her widowed state, he might never have become the man he was capable of becoming.
That was supposed to say Barnabas Smith. Dreadful spell-check…
Please forgive all the terrible typing errors. I’m afraid between my iPhone’s spell-check and my mind racing faster than I can type, there are a wretched number of errors I noticed in the above comment. Disregard them, please.
I’ve found out recently that I’m a “direct” descendant of the Ayscough line, and my family worked on the Newtonian manor – not sure I inherited any of Isaac Newton’s brains however!
Regards
Ian Williams
Melbourne Australia
(Descendant of William Douglas & Mary Groves, of Colsterworth)