Mary (Maria) Dundas de Graham

Other names: Lady Callcott

Gender:Female

Ethnic origen: White

Events:

1785  -  Scotland  -  Not applicable  -  She was born in Scotland in 1785.
1821-1821  -  Recife  -  Royalist  -  She was hosted by the Governor Rego Barreto
1822  -  Chile  -  Unknown  -  She went to Chile, where she stayed for one year.
1822  -  Valparaíso  -  Unknown  -  She stayed here for a year in 1822 after she was widowed.
1824  -  London  -  Unknown  -  Her books, Journal of a Voyage to Brazil and Residence There, During Part of the Years 1821,1822, 1823 and Journal of a Residence in Chile During the Year 1822 and a Voyage from Chile to Brazil in 1823, were published in London in 1824.
1824?  -  Brazil  -  Unknown  -  She was governess to Princess Maria da Gloria here in around 1824.
1824?  -  Rio de Janeiro  -  Unknown  -  She was governess to Princess Maria da Gloria here in around 1824.
1827  -  London  -  Unknown  -  She married Augustus Callcott on 20th February 1827 in England.
1829  -  Italy  -  Not applicable  -  She became an invalid.
1842  -  England  -  Not applicable  -  She died of tuberculosis on 21 November 1842.

Connections:

Abolitionists
Foreign travellers
Mary Graham, described by
Romanticism
Writers (women) others

Texts:
1821 - The Captain's Wife. The South American Journals of Journals of Maria Graham, 1821-23,
1823 - Brazil Journal, Vol.2
1823 - Journal of a Voyage to Brazil and Residence There, During Part of the Years 1821,1822,1823

Biography:
The well-educated daughter of Rear Admiral and Commissioner of the Admiralty, George Dundas was born in Scotland in 1785. In 1808 she went with her father to India where she met and married Thomas Graham. His work with the foreign service took them to Italy, Brazil and Chile. In 1822 Thomas Graham died en route to Valparaiso, Mary Graham stayed there for a year and wrote about her travels and experiences. She became governess to Princess Maria da Gloria in Brazil in around 1824. Her books, Journal of a Voyage to Brazil and Residence There, During Part of the Years 1821,1822, 1823 and Journal of a Residence in Chile During the Year 1822 and a Voyage from Chile to Brazil in 1823, were published in London in 1824. She also published a children's book, Little Arthur's History of England (1835). She contracted tuberculosis at the age of 21 and eventually died from the disease in 1842. (Hahner, 1-4)

She was a good friend of John Miers, the traveller; and of Lord and Lady Cochrane, she also knew W B Stevenson, Cochrane's interpreter and secretary. (Mavor, xi, xiv.)

She married Augustus Callcott in 1827. Two years later she became an invalid. She continued to write for seven years, then dictated her work to Caroline Fox. (Mavor, 174-178)

She died of tuberculosis on 21 November 1842.

References:

Hahner, June E (editor). (1998) Women Through Women's Eyes: Latin American Women in 19th Century Travel Accounts
Mavor, Elizabeth (editor). (1993) The Captain's Wife. The South American Journals of Maria Graham, 1821-23
Davies, Catherine, Brewster, Claire and Owen, Hilary (2006) South American Independence. Gender, Politics, Text