Elizabeth (Sr Mary Clare) Agnew

A biography written by Annette Schneider rsm

This brief account of the life of Elizabeth (Sr Mary Clare) Agnew draws on primary sources from the archival records of the Sisters of Mercy, especially Clare’s correspondence, Public Records accessed in Findmypast (Fmp) and published works which refer to her family and her life and work. Our story commences with the marriage of her paternal grandparents.

John Vans of Barnbarroch married Margaret Agnew, heiress of Sheuchan, in Scotland in 1747. They had six children, the third of whom, John Vans Agnew, was the father of Elizabeth (Sr Mary Clare). Elizabeth was the third of four children born to John Agnew (1759 - 1812) and Elizabeth Stevens (c 1773 – 1850). John and Elizabeth were married on September 23, 1790, in Bombay, India, where John was a merchant with the East India Company (EI Co). Their first child, Eliza Amelia, was born in Bombay on March 5, 1795, and was baptised on May 9, 1795 (Fmp, Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5).

John joined the EI Co in 1782. He was a writer (this has a specific meaning in the EI Co career scale – writer, factor, junior merchant and senior merchant), a translator of Dutch and French, who held a number of administrative offices in the EI Co. He was appointed a Junior Merchant in 1790 (Thorn, 1986).

After returning to England from India sometime in 1795, John and Elizabeth apparently maintained an English and a Scottish address. They had three more children, each born in London. Henry Crichton (or Creighton) was born on September 9, 1797, and was baptised on October 5, 1797. Elizabeth was born on September 12, 1798, and Caroline was born on December 8, 1802. Both Elizabeth and Caroline were baptized on January 19, 1803 (Fmp, Nos. 17, 20, 21 and 22).

John became part of a banking partnership in London in 1799, possibly drawing on the money he had made in India to finance his share of the investment.  He entered Parliament as the Member for Stockbridge from 1799 till 1802 but it seems his public career ceased after the banking house failed (Thorn, 1986). He died in 1812, leaving his wife Elizabeth a widow, with four children aged between 10 and 17.

Clare Agnew’s letters and a search of public records reveal the following about her siblings:

Eliza  Amelia  married Reverend George Millett on December 31, 1818. They had four children, Amelia (b. 1822), Edward (b. 1826), Agnes (b. 1830) and Arthur (b. 1831). The 1841 England, Wales and Scotland Census records their residence as Montpellier Road, Brighton, Sussex, England. Eliza Amelia died in 1868. (Fmp, Nos. 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10).

On July 28, 1837, Clare wrote a letter to Rev Peter Butler, Parish Priest of The Most Holy Trinity Parish in Bermondsey. She said that when a tour of Catholic places she planned to take was not going ahead, her brother had suggested she travel under escort instead to Brighton where she could visit her sister, Mrs Millett. (MIA Archives, Agnew Papers)

Clare’s niece, Amelia Millett, married Frederick Watkins, a clergyman, in 1847. The 1851 England, Wales and Scotland Census records that Eliza Amelia Millett (widow, and mother-in-law- of Frederick Watkins) and Agnes Millett (sister-in-law of Frederick Watkins) were living at the time with Frederick and Amelia and their three eldest children. Amelia and Frederick had seven children – Agnew Locke (b. 1849), Frederick Wilmer (b. 1850), Edith Mary (b. 1851), Arthur H (b. 1854), Florence Amy (b. 1856), Leonard G (b. 1861) and Ella Margaret (b. 1864). Amelia died in 1872 (Fmp, Nos. 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16).

In her will, dated August 4, 1839, Clare bequeathed “the miniature pictures of my dear Mother and Father” to “my niece, Amelia Millett.” (MIA Archives, Agnew Papers)

Henry studied at Oxford, becoming a writer, with his special field being ancient Egypt. While he was in Alexandria he met Maryetza (Maria) Petros whom he married some years later in London, in 1833. They subsequently returned to Crete. Maria died in 1836 in Alexandria. Henry was married a second time, to Charlotte Monti, in Malta, on May 22, 1841. There is no record of Henry having had any children from either marriage. He died in Crete in 1854 (Fmp, Nos. 18 and 19).

Caroline is recorded as visiting Clare at the Bermondsey Convent, with their mother. The 1851 England, Wales and Scotland Census records that Caroline, unmarried, is living with her sister Elizabeth de Vaux Agnew in (Catholic Convent) London Road in Southwark, London (Fmp, No. 26).

A passport application, dated June 2, 1855, is on record for Miss Caroline de Vaux Agnew. By this time, Clare was now referring to herself as Elizabeth de Vaux Agnew, so it may be that Caroline has also done a similar thing. Vans, Vance and Vaux are derivations, used in Scotland and England, of the French ‘de Vaux’.  John Vans and Margaret Agnew, who married in 1747, were the paternal grandparents of Elizabeth and Caroline. It could be that the two siblings had decided to refer to themselves as ‘de Vaux’ because of the family link and their wish to include the French derivation of their family name if they were planning to travel to France – we may never know!

Notes written alongside Caroline’s name and the date of her passport application indicate she is travelling “with Miss C. T. O’Brien.” The 1851 England, Wales and Scotland Census records that Caroline Agnew and a Catherine O’Brien, friend of Elizabeth de Vaux Agnew, the head of the household, were both living at (Catholic Convent) London Road, London. Caroline’s date of death is unknown at the time of writing (Fmp, Nos. 26, 30 and 31).

In her will, dated August 4, 1839, Clare bequeathed her gold watch to “my sister, Caroline Agnew.” (MIA Archives, Agnew Papers)

Elizabeth’s conversion to Catholicism and her ongoing search for meaning

Elizabeth was born into a Protestant family. Little is known of her childhood or her life as a young woman. During 1832-33, Elizabeth documented her journey to the Catholic faith in a manuscript called “A Search for Truth or Reasons for my Conversion”. During at least two visits to France with her mother, prior to writing the manuscript, she became acquainted with Catholics who were keen for their faith to be understood and she witnessed efforts being made to convert people, including her mother. Elizabeth had a keen intellect and she read widely, discussing her questions about faith with a number of people, Protestants and Catholics alike. By mid 1832 Elizabeth felt she was a Catholic at heart but she was not confirmed in the Catholic faith until December 5, 1833 (Fmp, No. 23 and 24). Her conversion caused distress to some members of her family (MIA Archives, Agnew Manuscript).

It seems that Elizabeth, who was deeply spiritual, felt a strong personal call to join a contemplative religious congregation. On June 9, 1835, Elizabeth (given the religious name Sr Mary Clare) joined the Catholic religious congregation of the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre at New Hall in Chelmsford, but remained only a few months (Institute of Our Lady of Mercy Archives, Papers of E C Agnew).

By August 1837 she had joined a group of lay women working to assist needy people in the Bermondsey parish of The Most Holy Trinity. This poor area of London, known also as Dockhead, was the setting for the novel ‘Oliver Twist’, by Charles Dickens, published in 1838. From this group of women, Elizabeth (Sr Clare) Agnew and Maria (Sr Augustine) Taylor were selected to do their novitiate with the Sisters of Mercy in Cork, Ireland, with a view to establishing the first Convent of Mercy in England on their return. They were in Cork from April 1838 until they completed their novitiate in August 1839. Their return to England was delayed because the construction of the new Convent in Bermondsey was behind schedule. Consequently, the two ‘English Sisters’ as they had become known, remained for three more months in Ireland, visiting recently established Mercy Convents on their way to Baggot Street, Dublin, where they stayed approximately two months. Accompanied by Catherine McAuley and three other Sisters, they eventually departed Ireland on November 18, 1839, to become members of the first community of Mercy Sisters established in England, at Parkers Row Convent, Bermondsey (Institute of Our Lady of Mercy Archives, Papers of E C Agnew).

For six months, from June till December 1840, Clare Agnew was Superior of the Convent but some of her eccentric behaviours caused great distress to the other Sisters and she was removed from the role. It may be that she was lacking sufficient leadership skills and experience or that the responsibility caused her physical and psychological health to suffer – we will never know what factors caused her to advocate various extreme measures of piety (Sullivan, 2004). Clare subsequently left the Mercy sisters in October 1842 to join the Trappistines at La Trappe in Stape Hill, Dorset, where she remained for nine months (MIA Archives, Agnew Papers).

Clare’s journey from the time she left La Trappe until her death reflected her search for meaning and the ongoing call she felt to contemplative religious life. Without having any authority to do so, given she was no longer a Sister of Mercy, in 1843 and 1845 Clare attempted to establish two Mercy Convents in England but they did not go ahead. She was in Rome sometime during 1845-46, where she began a religious congregation, ‘Recluses and Handmaids’, bringing some members back with her to England, but the project did not last. In 1855 Clare went to France where she established ‘Les Dames Anglaises’ (Carroll, 1885). It seems that she spent the final years of her life in Nice, living in two different contemplative religious communities, and referring to herself as ‘Sr Mary Clare of the Most Holy Trinity’. Clare died in France on December 10, 1881. The location of her burial is not recorded (Fmp, No. 27).

Elizabeth’s conversion to Catholicism and her ongoing search for meaning

Elizabeth was born into a Protestant family. Little is known of her childhood or her life as a young woman. During 1832-33, Elizabeth documented her journey to the Catholic faith in a manuscript called “A Search for Truth or Reasons for my Conversion”. During at least two visits to France with her mother, prior to writing the manuscript, she became acquainted with Catholics who were keen for their faith to be understood and she witnessed efforts being made to convert people, including her mother. Elizabeth had a keen intellect and she read widely, discussing her questions about faith with a number of people, Protestants and Catholics alike. By mid 1832 Elizabeth felt she was a Catholic at heart but she was not confirmed in the Catholic faith until December 5, 1833 (Fmp, No. 23 and 24). Her conversion caused distress to some members of her family (MIA Archives, Agnew Manuscript).

It seems that Elizabeth, who was deeply spiritual, felt a strong personal call to join a contemplative religious congregation. On June 9, 1835, Elizabeth (given the religious name Sr Mary Clare) joined the Catholic religious congregation of the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre at New Hall in Chelmsford, but remained only a few months (Institute of Our Lady of Mercy Archives, Papers of E C Agnew).

By August 1837 she had joined a group of lay women working to assist needy people in the Bermondsey parish of The Most Holy Trinity. This poor area of London, known also as Dockhead, was the setting for the novel ‘Oliver Twist’, by Charles Dickens, published in 1838. From this group of women, Elizabeth (Sr Clare) Agnew and Maria (Sr Augustine) Taylor were selected to do their novitiate with the Sisters of Mercy in Cork, Ireland, with a view to establishing the first Convent of Mercy in England on their return. They were in Cork from April 1838 until they completed their novitiate in August 1839. Their return to England was delayed because the construction of the new Convent in Bermondsey was behind schedule. Consequently, the two ‘English Sisters’ as they had become known, remained for three more months in Ireland, visiting recently established Mercy Convents on their way to Baggot Street, Dublin, where they stayed approximately two months. Accompanied by Catherine McAuley and three other Sisters, they eventually departed Ireland on November 18, 1839, to become members of the first community of Mercy Sisters established in England, at Parkers Row Convent, Bermondsey (Institute of Our Lady of Mercy Archives, Papers of E C Agnew).

For six months, from June till December 1840, Clare Agnew was Superior of the Convent but some of her eccentric behaviours caused great distress to the other Sisters and she was removed from the role. It may be that she was lacking sufficient leadership skills and experience or that the responsibility caused her physical and psychological health to suffer – we will never know what factors caused her to advocate various extreme measures of piety (Sullivan, 2004). Clare subsequently left the Mercy sisters in October 1842 to join the Trappistines at La Trappe in Stape Hill, Dorset, where she remained for nine months (MIA Archives, Agnew Papers).

Clare’s journey from the time she left La Trappe until her death reflected her search for meaning and the ongoing call she felt to contemplative religious life. Without having any authority to do so, given she was no longer a Sister of Mercy, in 1843 and 1845 Clare attempted to establish two Mercy Convents in England but they did not go ahead. She was in Rome sometime during 1845-46, where she began a religious congregation, ‘Recluses and Handmaids’, bringing some members back with her to England, but the project did not last. In 1855 Clare went to France where she established ‘Les Dames Anglaises’ (Carroll, 1885). It seems that she spent the final years of her life in Nice, living in two different contemplative religious communities, and referring to herself as ‘Sr Mary Clare of the Most Holy Trinity’. Clare died in France on December 10, 1881. The location of her burial is not recorded (Fmp, No. 27).

References

Annals of the Convent of Our Lady of Mercy St Maries of the Isle, Cork 1837-1920.

Carroll, A. (1885) Leaves from the Annals of the Sisters of Mercy Vol II New York: The Catholic Publication Society.

Findmypast (see Supplementary References for details of Records accessed).

Institute of Our Lady of Mercy (IOLM) Archives ‘Papers of E C Agnew (M Clare RSM) Copies only’. IOLM/BER/8/3/a

Mercy International Association (MIA) Archives, MIA CMA/5/1 (Agnew Papers).

Mercy International Association (MIA) Archives, MIA CMA/5/1 (Agnew Manuscript).

Sullivan, M. C. [Ed] (2004) The Correspondence of Catherine McAuley 1818-1841 Dublin: Four Courts Press.

Thorn, R. G. [Ed] (1986) The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820 Vol III London: Secker and Warburg.

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