There were 11 children in the MacDonald family, seven daughters and four sons: • Mary (1834–1836), the firstborn • Henry (1836–1891), nicknamed Harry, who introduced his younger sisters Georgiana and Agnes to his artistic friends, including
Edward Burne-Jones, known as the
Birmingham Set (a group of artists which included
William Morris) •
Alice (1837–1910) • Caroline (1838–1854); •
Georgiana (1840–1920) •
Frederic William (1842–1928) •
Agnes (1843–1906) •
Louisa (1845–1925) • Walter (1847–1847) • Edith (1848–1937), who never married and lived at home until her mother's death • Herbert (1850–1851).
Alice Alice was born on 4 April 1837 in
Sheffield.
Georgiana George Macdonald was relocated by the Methodist Conference to a Birmingham circuit following the birth of Alice, and it was here that
Georgie was born on 28 July 1840. Georgiana and her sister Agnes received attention from prospective suitors including members of the
Birmingham Set, a loose group of visual artists and writers of which her brother was a member. She married the
Pre-Raphaelite painter
Edward Burne-Jones, a member of the Set, during 1859. They had three children, Philip, Christopher and Margaret - although Christopher died in infancy. She and her sister Georgiana received attention from prospective suitors who were friends of her brother and members of the
Birmingham Set. She eventually married the future president of the Royal Academy
Edward Poynter during 1866 in a double wedding with her quieter sister Louisa. Poynter appeared to be a manic depressive and he would paint continuously until finally collapsing when a work was finished. He was unemotional and it was Agnes who supplied the affection in their household. Agnes, Lady Poynter, is thought to have died during 1906 from cancer despite an operation in 1903. Alfred and Louisa were the parents of
Stanley Baldwin who was UK prime minister on three occasions. After his birth, Louisa seemed unhappy with her life in Worcestershire where her husband was an
ironmaster. She had at least one miscarriage and spent time in a
bath chair, and days alone in darkness. Later commentators have noted that she would recover when on holiday, and have proposed that her illness was a form of
hypochondria. During the 1870s the couple travelled to find a cure, and she tried a wide variety of medicines. and, in 1889, "The Story of a Marriage". Her recovery did not outlast her husband's election to Parliament in 1902, and her condition was made worse by his death in 1908. ==References==