Maria Brontë
Maria Brontë (, commonly ; 23 April 1814 – 6 May 1825) was the eldest daughter of Patrick Brontë and Maria Brontë, née Branwell. She was the elder sister of Elizabeth Brontë, the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, and of the painter and poet Branwell. She was born in Hartshead, Yorkshire, and died at the age of 11. Early life and education At the age of six, Maria was characterised as "grave, thoughtful, and quiet, to a degree far beyond her years". After their mother's death in 1821, Maria and her sisters became withdrawn, preferring to only be in each other's company. Maria often read the many newspapers brought home by their father and relayed their contents to her younger sisters. Maria was said to have been a precocious child; asked at the age of 10 "what...the best mode of spending time [was]" by her father, she answered, "by laying it out in preparation for a happy eternity." Patrick later said that he could speak with Maria on any popular or current topics as freely and amply as with an adult, mournfully recalling her "powerfully intellectual mind". A printer from Thornton, West Yorkshire, where the family had moved in