Mary Wright Sewell Mary Wright Sewell Mary Wright Sewell (; 6 April 1797 – 10 June 1884) was an English poet and children's author. Though popular for writing juvenile bestsellers in her day, she is better known today as the mother of Anna Sewell, the author of "Black Beauty". Mary was born into the Quaker faith in 1797, and she married Isaac Sewell on the 15 June 1819 at Lamas in Norfolk. Her daughter Anna was born in 1820 and her son Philip two years later. Her husband Isaac had a number of ill-advised businesses and he declared himself bankrupt after his son
William Elbridge Sewell 14, 1890 and had three daughters. His wife died in 1901 when their children were still young. While in Guam, Sewell became seriously ill with an intestinal disorder, and was brought to San Francisco, California for treatment aboard . He arrived in California on March 1, 1904 and died shortly after on March 18. His daughter Helen Sewell later became a famous children's book illustrator. Another of his daughters, Marjorie Sewell Cautley, became an acclaimed landscape architect. Sewell was appointed to the United States Naval Academy in 1867 by Congressman William C. Fields. He graduated the academy in 1871. His