From J. D. Hooker   [28 September 1863]1

Dear dear friend

My darling little 2d. girl died here an hour ago,2 & I think of you more in my grief, than of any other friend.3 Some obstruction of the bowels carried her off after a few hours alarming illness—with all the symptoms of strangulated Hernia.

Your affectionate | J D Hooker

Kew Monday.

1
The date is established by the reference to the death of Maria Elizabeth Hooker (see n. 2, below).
2
Maria, the Hookers’ second daughter, died on 28 September 1863, aged 6 (L. Huxley ed. 1918, 2: 61). Hooker’s reaction to her death is discussed in Jalland 1996, pp. 350–1.
3
Hooker apparently refers to CD’s extreme grief following the death in 1851 of his eldest daughter, Anne Elizabeth (Annie), at the age of 10 (see Correspondence vol. 5).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-4309,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-4309