Theodosia Blachford

Theodosia Blachford (1744 – 9 November 1817) was an Irish philanthropist and leading figure in the Methodist Church in Ireland. Early life Theodosia Blachford was born Theodosia Tighe in 1744 in Rosanna, County Wicklow. She was the only daughter of the four children of William Tighe and his first wife Lady Mary Tighe of Rathmore, County Meath. Her three full brothers were William, Edward, and Richard. Her maternal grandparents were John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley and Theodosia Bligh, 10th Baroness Clifton. Lady Tighe died when Blachford was young, and her father went on to marry the heiress Margaret Theaker, through whom she had a half-brother, Thomas, and half-sister, Barbara. Initially the relationship between Blachford and her stepmother was difficult, but improved over time. Blachford was considered an intelligent child, well-read and seen to have largely educated herself using her father's library. Aside from her self-directed education, Blachford spent much of her childhood caring for her father while he suffered from gout. She was raised in the Church of Ireland, but was inspired to find a new religion at age of 17, leading her to read extensively on religious matters and to "renounce the world."