Dorothy Wordsworth (1771–1855): Author, poet and diarist. Dorothy was born in Cockermouth, the younger sister of William Wordsworth and the third of five children of John Wordsworth (1741–1783), a legal agent for the Lowther family, the most powerful landowners in the Lake District. The early death of her parents led to Dorothy spending the period 1778–1787 with a cousin in Halifax, followed by time in Penrith with her grandparents and with an uncle in Norfolk. From 1794 she began sharing a house with her brother William and the two siblings remained very close for the rest of their lives. They lived in Dorset and Somerset 1795–1798, travelled in Germany in 1798 and settled in the Lake District in 1799, initially at Dove Cottage, then at Allen Bank, and eventually at Rydal Mount. Dorothy began keeping a journal in 1798 and continued to do so at various times throughout her life. Her journals record both daily life and her many walking excursions and travels. She also wrote poetry. Dorothy and Southey probably met in 1795 but their relationship only flourished after the latter and his family moved to Keswick in 1803.