Judith Godwin (died 25 January 1746) was a noted correspondent of

Howel Harris Howell Harris (; 23 January 1714 – 21 July 1773) was a Calvinistic Methodist evangelist. He was one of the main leaders of the Welsh Methodist revival in the 18th century, along with Daniel Rowland and William Williams Pantycelyn. Life Ha ...

and ancestor of

Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley ( , ; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel ''Frankenstein, Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an History of science fiction# ...

Life

Godwin was born in Radnorshire in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. Her name was Weaver and it is thought that she was related to a Puritan minister at Radnor named John Weaver. She married the controversial academic Samuel Jones. He had founded an academy at Tewkesbury in 1713 which faced difficulties and he had turned to drink. Jones's house had been attacked by rioters in 1714, the day of the coronation of

George I George I or 1 may refer to: People * Patriarch George I of Alexandria (fl. 621–631) * George I of Constantinople (d. 686) * George of Beltan (d. 790) * George I of Abkhazia (ruled 872/3–878/9) * George I of Georgia (d. 1027) * Yuri Dolgoruk ...

.'An account of the dissenting academies from the Restoration of Charles the Second', Doctor Williams's Library, MS 24.59, pp. 25–6, 60–62 Jones married Godwin shortly before his death at Tewkesbury on 11 October 1719 aged thirty-seven. Godwin was a noted correspondent who later married Edward Godwin, her husband's former student, in 1721. She held non-conformist views and she was described as "quasi-Methodist". Her friends included Vavasor Griffiths,

and Lewis Rees who were all independent ministers. Howel Harris was the religious reformer and they had a long friendship during which they exchanged over 40 letters. Godwin died in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, Hertfordshire, on 25 January 1746.

Legacy

Edward and Judith Godwin were the parents of Edward who was born in 1722 and John Godwin the following year. John was an Independent minister who became the father of radical philosopher and theologian

William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism and the first modern proponent of anarchism. Godwin is most famous fo ...

, husband and biographer of the philosopher

Mary Wollstonecraft Mary Wollstonecraft ( , ; 27 April 175910 September 1797) was an English writer and philosopher best known for her advocacy of women's rights. Until the late 20th century, Wollstonecraft's life, which encompassed several unconventional ...

. They were the parents of the writer

(and Judith was her grandmother).

References

1746 deaths 18th-century Welsh women writers 18th-century British letter writers Year of birth missing Welsh women writers {{Improve categories, date=December 2023