On 23rd June 1835 Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton was born at St Andrews, Jamaica. No father was named on Eaton's birth records, suggesting that she may have been illegitimate. Her mother Matilda Foster, a woman of African descent, was born into slavery on the Elim Estate in St Elizabeth parish, property of the Foster or Forster family. The death of a British soldier named James Entwistle, aged twenty, in nearby St Catherine's parish (burial in Spanish Town on 4 July 1835), eleven days after Fanny's birth, has been seen as suggestive that this soldier may have been Fanny's father; see Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Around 1840 Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 4] and her mother travelled to England. Around 1851 she is recorded as living in London, at 9 Steven's Place, St Pancras.
In 1857 James Eaton [aged 18] and Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 21] were married. He a horse cab proprietor and driver. Together, they had 10 children, born in the years 1858-1879. The marriage may not have taken place; no marriage certificate or record has been discovered.
1859. Simeon Solomon [aged 18]. "Mrs. Fanny Eaton [aged 23]".
1859. Frederick Sandys [aged 29]. "Study of the head of a young mulatto woman, full face". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 23].
1859. Walter Fryer Stocks [aged 17]. Portrait of Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 23].
1860. Frederick Sandys [aged 30]. Drawing of Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 24].
1860. Simeon Solomon [aged 19]. "The Mother of Moses". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 24].
1860. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 30]. "The Pearl of Great Price". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 24] on the left. Designed twenty images for the Dalziel brothers' Parables of Our Lord published in 1864. This scene illustrates the parable of the Pearl of Great Price from the New Testament (Matthew 13: 45-46) which states: "The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it."
1861. Joanna Mary Boyce [aged 29]. Portrait of "Mrs. Eaton [aged 25]".
Westminster Chronicle of King Richard II, 1381-1394
The Westminster Chronicle is one of the most vivid and important narrative sources for the reign of Richard II. Written by an anonymous chronicler closely connected with Westminster Abbey, it covers the years 1381 to 1394, from the Peasants’ Revolt to the political tensions, court ceremonies, diplomatic negotiations, royal progresses, and public crises of Richard’s later reign. Rich in detail the chronicle records major events such as the conflicts between the King and Lords Appellant, King and the City of London, negotiations with France and Scotland, the death and funeral of Queen Anne of Bohemia, the illness of Charles VI of France, and the changing fortunes of leading nobles including John of Gaunt, Thomas of Gloucester, Robert de Vere, and the Earl of Arundel. The Chronicle offers readers a remarkable window into late fourteenth-century England, combining political observation, courtly spectacle, urban drama, ecclesiastical affairs, and moral judgement. It is an essential source for anyone interested in medieval monarchy, London, Westminster, and the troubled reign of Richard II.
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1861. Albert Joseph Moore [aged 19]. "The Mother of Sisera looked out of a Window". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 25].
1861. Rebecca Solomon [aged 28]. "The Young Teacher". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 25].
1862. Frederick Sandys [aged 32]. Fanny Eaton [aged 26] as Morgan le Fay.
1863. Retouched 1873. Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 34]. "Die Geliebte" aka "The Beloved" aka "The Bride". Models: Alice aka Alexa Wilding [aged 16], Ellen Smith, Marie Ford Model, Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 27] and Keomi aka Keytumas Gray [aged 21].
Two Biblical texts are inscribed on the frame below the painting.
My beloved is mine and I am his. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: For thy love is better than wine. [The Song of Songs by King Solomon]
She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins that be her fellows shall bear her company, and shall be brought unto thee.
Around 1865. Dante Gabriel Rossetti [aged 36]. "Study of a Young Woman". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 29].
1865. Simeon Solomon [aged 24]. "Habet". Model top right probably Fanny Eaton [aged 29]".
1867. John Everett Millais 1st Baronet [aged 37]. "Jephthah". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 31] rightmost.
Before 1881 [her husband] James Eaton [aged 42] died.
1886. William Blake Richmond [aged 43]. "The Slave". Model Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 50].
On 4th March 1924 Fanny Entwhistle aka Eaton [aged 88] died at Acton. She was buried at Margravine Road Cemetery, Hammersmith.