Week 14 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge is "Begins with a Vowel." I’ll start right at the beginning of the alphabet with the letter A. “A” is for Ann Dumaresq.
A captivating portrait of Mrs. William Turner (Ann Dumaresq) hangs in the Boston Athenaeum. It was painted in pastels by the famous artist, John Singleton Copley, in 1767 – the year Ann married William Turner. As a portrait of William was painted the same year, they were likely commissioned for their wedding. I’ve been enchanted by this portrait since I first learned it was connected to my family. Ann glows, and the eyes of the 21-year-old woman mesmerize me. It’s natural to wonder about who she was and what her life was like.
We know she was wealthy and part of the elite, Boston society, but that’s all we know about her. Unfortunately, little is known about Ann herself – her hobbies, interests, political views, whether she was generous and kind or selfish and haughty. Were she and William madly in love or was the marriage arranged between two high-profile families? Even the title of the painting, Mrs. William Turner, strips her of any identity outside of that as a wife and mother – a pretty adornment for a successful husband. For all we know, Ann may have chosen that role, if given the option, but we can’t know that for certain. In truth, we know more about the people surrounding Ann than we do about the woman herself.
Ann Dumaresq was born on December 13, 1746/7 to Edward Dumaresq and Mary Boutineau. Mary was the daughter of Stephen Boutineau and Mary Baudoin, French Huguenots who briefly lived in Casco Bay before permanently settling in Boston. Huguenots were French-Protestants who followed the teachings of John Calvin. They were persecuted by the French-Catholic government, causing many to flee to other parts of Europe, America, and Africa. Mary’s father was a wealthy merchant who did quite well for himself in America. Little is known about Edward Dumaresq. He was a distiller and died in his early 40s. Like his wife, he came from a wealthy, prominent family. His father was Philippe Dumaresq, a ship’s captain and successful privateer originally from the Channel Islands.
Ann married William Turner on October 26. 1767 in Boston. Pages and pages are written about William, who owned the Concert Hall in Boston and ran a school of politeness, fencing, and dancing with his father, Ephraim. After the American Revolution, William gave up his school and became a successful wine merchant. It appears as though he split his later years between Boston and England, but whether or not Ann accompanied him across the ocean is unknown. His name was frequently mentioned in newspapers at the time. The most I can find directly written about Ann is in William’s biography by Dr. T. Larkin Turner, quoted in Genealogy of the Descendants of Humphrey Turner. “His wife was of a highly respected family, descended from French Huguenots.” That’s it. The couple had thirteen children, though not all of them survived to adulthood. My 4th great-grandfather, the immoral Captain Stephen Dumaresque Turner fell somewhere in the middle of the pack. William died in 1792, and made provisions in his will for his mother-in-law, Mary Dumaresq. He stipulated she would be provided for. Should his wife Ann predecease her and Mary felt capable of it, she would be in charge of the family. Ann died May 2, 1824 in Boston and is buried in King’s Chapel Cemetery. There was no obituary – only a death notice in the paper stating she was 76 years old and the relict of William Turner. It’s a shame not more is known about this lovely lady, who was undoubtedly a fixture of Boston high society in her day.
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