Inscription in a Bible by John Rylands to Enriqueta on their wedding day (R211666)
Family life
Enriqueta sometimes seems a solitary figure, but she had a rich and complex family life. After her parents died, Enriqueta came to England with her siblings. They were looked after by relatives in Liverpool and London. She was very close to Stephen, her twin, and to her youngest sister Leocadia.
Enriqueta treated her nearest friends as part of her family. When her friend Anne Huckett died her daughters became Enriqueta’s “adopted nieces”. Fanny Huckett was later described as her “inseparable companion and her greatest helper.” In her will Enriqueta left Fanny more than she left to her nieces.
When Enriqueta married John Rylands in 1875 he was in his seventies. All his children had died by 1872. Although Enriqueta Rylands did not bear any children of her own, she was not childless. She and John adopted two children – Maria Castiglioni and Arthur Forbes. At this time adoptions were private arrangements, so no formal records survive. However, we know that the two children had very different relationships with their adoptive mother.
"She was a true friend"
JRL/7/7/2 Cuttings Book, 1889-1908 p. 113: Manchester Guardian 5 February 1908, p. 5.
Text alternative for the Enriqueta Rylands family tree
This family tree shows Enriqueta Augustina Rylands, née Tennant, her parents, siblings, marriages, descendants, and adopted children.
Parents
- Stephen Cattley Tennant (1800–1848) married Juana Camila Dalcour (1818–1855) in 1840.
- Juana Camila Dalcour later married Jules Fontana (1810–1869) in 1850.
Children of Stephen Cattley Tennant and Juana Camila Dalcour
- Florentia Sophia Tennant (1841–1857).
- Enriqueta Augustina Tennant (1843–1908), later Enriqueta Rylands.
- Jose Esteban Tennant (1843–1914), married Harriet Ashlin.
- Blanca Catalina Tennant (1844–1878), married Robert Bruce.
- Leocadia Fernanda Tennant (1846–1927), married Alexander Joseph Morison.
Child of Juana Camila Dalcour and Jules Fontana
- Julian Camillo Adam (1853–1908).
Family of Julian Camillo Adam
- Julian Camillo Adam (1853–1908) married Marie Flore Breton. Their children were:
- Camille Georgette Augusta
- Jules Ignace
- Georges Marie
- Henri Marcel
- Sophia Georgette Augusta
- Maria Dolores
Marriage of Enriqueta Rylands
- Enriqueta Augustina Tennant married John Rylands (1801–1888).
Adopted children of Enriqueta Rylands and John Rylands
- Maria Castiglioni, adopted, born 1874.
- Arthur Forbes, adopted, 1877–1952.
Descendants shown from Jose Esteban Tennant
- Camila Dalcour
- Stephen Leonard
- Clarita Theodora
- Blanca Lolita
- Noel Roy Dalcour
- Bernard Victor Ashlin
Descendants shown from Blanca Catalina Tennant
- Blanche Katherine
- Camilla
- Robert Tennant
- Frederick William
- Graham
- Emily
- James Morison
Descendants shown from Leocadia Fernanda Tennant
- Leocadia Adelaide
- Enriqueta Celestina
- Alexandra Mary
- Hector Mitchel
- Leonara Dolores
- Blanca Camilla
- Francis Joseph
- Laura Fernanda
- Katherine
- Edna D’Butts
- Theodore Dalcour
