The death of Julia Cooke in 1817 was a heavy blow to the Cooke family. Dying days after her 42nd birthday, she left behind 10 children and her husband Thomas Alderson Cooke. Their eldest child, daughter Julia, was not yet of age and their youngest, Louisa, was a mere toddler. What was a man to do with a houseful of children and no wife? He was to find himself another wife.
Within a year, Julia was engaged to be married to William Squire, the head of the merchant Squire family who had for many years controlled the river Nene through Peterborough and lived in a large house by the bridge over the river. They married in October 1818. Only four months later Thomas married William’s youngest sister Charlotte on Monday 8th February in Peterborough Cathedral; he was 41 and she was 27.
Charlotte instantly found herself the step-mother of 9 children still at home and a step mother to her new sister-in-law Julia who was only a few years younger than she was! We can only question how the marriage came to be, whether there was a persuasive match by her mother Lucy, or they married for the benefit of their families, however, suggestion that they married in haste and repented at leisure, would seem apt. The marriage failed after only two years and, shortly after Charlotte’s mother had died, Thomas filed to the courts to have the marriage annulled.
Divorce is common nowadays, but very few people could end their marriage at that time, it being only possible for the rich. Divorce could be brought about by a lengthy and invasive act of parliament, with details of the marriage made very public, or with a separation that allowed the couple to live apart but still continue to be married in the eyes of the law. It is very likely that Thomas was prepared for a divorce, but luckily for him, his case that Charlotte was unable to bear children was accepted after she was subjected to a physical examination. Their marriage was annulled in 1821.
We can imagine the gossips discussing this twist in the marriage and the effect this would have had on Charlotte who had effectively been rejected by her husband on the grounds of being defective. The benefit to them was that an annulment allowed them both to remarry if they so wished, but who would want Charlotte now? The annulment meant that neither had any rights to their family fortune or property too, and Charlotte would return to her maiden name of Squire.
Thomas married again another two times, the third time only a year later to a Mary Anna Boggis, remaining in his Priestgate mansion until his death in 1854. Charlotte slipped out of the records, appearing in fashionable Cheltenham again in the 1851 census. She remained in the city close to her brother William and sister-in-law Julia until her death in 1874, unmarried but living in comfort.
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