Emily Pepys (9 August 1833 – 12 September 1877) was an English child diarist, whose account of six months of her life provides a vivid insight into a wealthy bishop's family. She was a collateral descendant of the diarist Samuel Pepys.
Emily was born on 9 August 1833 at Westmill, Hertfordshire, where her father was rector at that time.
Her father, Henry Pepys (this branch of the family pronounced the name "peppis", not "peeps", 1783–1860), was created the Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man in 1840 and translated only a year later to Worcester. He played a minor political role as a Liberal in the House of Lords. Her mother, Maria Pepys (1786–1885), was the daughter of John Sullivan, a privy councillor and a commissioner of the Board of Control.
EEmily Pepys (9 August 1833 – 12 September 1877) was an English child diarist, whose account of six months of her life provides a vivid insight into a wealthy bishop's family. She was a collateral descendant of the diarist Samuel Pepys.
Emily was born on 9 August 1833 at Westmill, Hertfordshire, where her father was rector at that time.
Her father, Henry Pepys (this branch of the family pronounced the name "peppis", not "peeps", 1783–1860), was created the Anglican Bishop of Sodor and Man in 1840 and translated only a year later to Worcester. He played a minor political role as a Liberal in the House of Lords. Her mother, Maria Pepys (1786–1885), was the daughter of John Sullivan, a privy councillor and a commissioner of the Board of Control.
Emily was the youngest of the four children who survived to adulthood, the others being Philip Henry (1824–1886), later registrar of the London Court of Bankruptcy, Maria Louisa (1827–1924), who would marry a well-connected Worcestershire parson, the Rev. Edward Winnington-Ingram, and Herbert George (1830–1918), who become vicar of the new parish of Hallow, Worcestershire.
Emily Pepys married the Hon. and Rev. William Henry Lyttelton (1820–1884), rector of Hagley, Worcestershire, and son of William Lyttelton, 3rd Baron Lyttelton, on 28 September 1854. His niece, Lucy Lyttelton, then aged 13 and surprised at the news, described Emily in her diary as "charitable, young, amiable, humble, good-looking...".
Emily died without issue on 12 September 1877, probably at Hagley Rectory. Under her husband's will, a Lady Emily Lyttelton Fund was set up in 1884 in her memory for local nursing purposes. She was a collateral descendant of the diarist Samuel Pepys and the niece of Charles Christopher Pepys, 1st Earl of Cottenham.
The Journal of Emily Pepys itself takes up 60 printed pages – two pages of the manuscript are missing – and covers six months of 1844–1845 spent in the family home, Hartlebury Castle, the official residence of the Bishop of Worcester. It was written when Emily was ten. The Journal of Emily Pepys itself takes up 60 printed pages – two pages of the manuscript are missing – and covers six months of 1844–1845 spent in the family home, Hartlebury Castle, the official residence of the Bishop of Worcester. It was written when Emily was ten. It found its way into the possession of a family called Nutt, but it is not known how. There it was discovered on a shelf in the family house by a 14-year-old girl, later Dee Cooper, who instigated its publication. As Gillian Avery points out in her introduction, it is all the more interesting and informative because it was not an assignment given by an adult, but a private diary containing "all the matters that are usually forgotten by the time the mature adult adult comes to write memoirs."[12] The journal also featured in a 1991 American anthology of female English diary writings.It found its way into the possession of a family called Nutt, but it is not known how. There it was discovered on a shelf in the family house by a 14-year-old girl, later Dee Cooper, who instigated its publication. As Gillian Avery points out in her introduction, it is all the more interesting and informative because it was not an assignment given by an adult, but a private diary containing "all the matters that are usually forgotten by the time the mature adult adult comes to write memoirs." The journal also featured in a 1991 American anthology of female English diary writings....more
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