Editing Erasmus Darwin (section)

== Personal life ==
[[File:Erasmus Darwin, after Joseph Wright.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Erasmus Darwin, 1770, by [[Joseph Wright of Derby]]]]Darwin married twice and had 14 children, including two illegitimate daughters by an employee, and, possibly, at least one further illegitimate daughter.
[[File:Brasão de Erasmus Darwin.jpg|thumb|Erasmus Darwin's coat of arms. Escutcheon: Argent, on a bend Gules cottised Vert, three escallop shells, Or. Crest: A demi-griffin segreant, Vert, holding in his claws an escallop, Or. Motto: ''E conchis omnia'' (All things out of conches/molluscs).]]
In 1757 he married Mary (Polly) Howard (1740–1770), the daughter of Charles Howard, a Lichfield solicitor.<ref name="odnb">{{Cite ODNB|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/7177|title=Darwin, Erasmus}}</ref> They had four sons and one daughter, two of whom (a son and a daughter) died in infancy:

* [[Charles Darwin (medical student)|Charles Darwin]] (1758–1778), uncle of the naturalist
* Erasmus Darwin Jr (1759–1799)
* Elizabeth Darwin (1763, survived 4 months)
* [[Robert Darwin|Robert Waring Darwin]] (1766–1848), father of the naturalist Charles Darwin
* William Alvey Darwin (1767, survived 19 days)

The first Mrs. Darwin died in 1770. A [[governess]], Mary Parker, was hired to look after Robert. By late 1771, employer and employee had become intimately involved and together they had two illegitimate daughters:
* Susanna Parker (1772–1856)
* Mary Parker Jr (1774–1859)

Susanna and Mary Jr later established a [[boarding school]] for girls. In 1782, Mary Sr (the governess) married Joseph Day (1745–1811), a Birmingham merchant, and moved away.

There was also a rumour that Darwin fathered another child, this time with a married woman. A Lucy Swift gave birth in 1771 to a baby, also named Lucy, who was christened a daughter of her mother and William Swift. It has been suggested that the father was really Darwin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/namedef-2106 |title=Darwin Correspondence Project }}</ref> However, it is more likely that this child was the legitimate daughter of Lamech Swift, at that time owner of the [[Derby Silk Mill]] and his wife Dorothy, who became a friend of the two Parker girls.<ref name="Epsilon">{{cite web |title=Lucy Swift (1771–1792) Lucy Hardcastle (1793–1834) |url=https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/nameregs/nameregs_2106 |website=Epsilon - Cambridge University Library's Darwin correspondence project |access-date=7 October 2023}}</ref> Lucy Swift, later known as [[Lucy Hardcastle]] after her marriage, went on to be known as a botanist and teacher.<ref name="Powers&Powers">{{cite book |last1=Powers |first1=Jonathan |last2=Powers |first2=Anne M. |title=The rediscover of Lucy Hardcastle - botanist and breadwinner |date=2022 |publisher=Quandary Books |isbn=978-1-913253-05-9 |pages=65 |url=http://quandarybooks.com/wpcproduct/the-rediscovery-of-lucy-hardcastle-botanist-and-breadwinner/ |access-date=7 October 2023}}</ref>

In 1775, Darwin met Elizabeth Pole, daughter of [[Charles Colyear, 2nd Earl of Portmore]], and wife of Colonel Edward Pole (1718–1780); but as she was married, Darwin could only make his feelings known for her through poetry. When Edward Pole died, Darwin married Elizabeth and moved to her home, [[Radbourne Hall]], {{convert|4|mi|km|spell=in}} west of Derby. The hall and village are these days known as [[Radbourne, Derbyshire|Radbourne]]. In 1782, they moved to Full Street, Derby. They had four sons, one of whom died in infancy, and three daughters:
* Edward Darwin (1782–1829)
* Frances Ann Violetta Darwin (1783–1874), married [[Samuel Tertius Galton]], was the mother of [[Francis Galton]]
* Emma Georgina Elizabeth Darwin (1784–1818)
* Sir [[Francis Sacheverel Darwin]] (1786–1859)
* Revd. John Darwin (1787–1818), [[Rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] of [[All Saints' Church, Elston]]
* Henry Darwin (1789–1790), died in infancy
* Harriet Darwin (1790–1825), married Admiral [[Thomas James Maling]]

Darwin's personal appearance is described in unflattering detail in his Biographical Memoirs, printed by the ''Monthly Magazine'' in 1802. Darwin, the description reads, "was of middle stature, in person gross and corpulent; his features were coarse, and his countenance heavy; if not wholly void of animation, it certainly was by no means expressive. The print of him, from a painting of Mr. Wright, is a good likeness. In his gait and dress he was rather clumsy and slovenly, and frequently walked with his tongue hanging out of his mouth."

=== Freemasonry ===
Darwin had been a [[Freemason]] throughout his life, in the Time Immemorial Lodge of Cannongate Kilwinning, No. 2, of Scotland. Later on, Sir [[Francis Sacheverel Darwin|Francis Darwin]], one of his sons, was made a Mason in Tyrian Lodge, No. 253, at Derby, in 1807 or 1808. His son [[Reginald Darwin|Reginald]] was made a Mason in Tyrian Lodge in 1804. [[Charles Darwin]]'s name does not appear on the rolls of the Lodge but it is very possible that he, like Francis, was a Mason.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Erasmus Darwin|url=https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/darwin_e/darwin_e.html|access-date=12 March 2021|website=Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon}}</ref>