Jane Austen’s brother Edward Austen Knight had 11 children with his wife, Elizabeth Bridges. Their large family connected Jane Austen to a wide circle of nieces and nephews, several of whom appear in her surviving letters and recollections.
Edward was born Edward Austen in 1767. The wealthy Knights, relatives of the Austens, adopted him as their heir, and he later inherited estates including Godmersham, Chawton, and Steventon. Under the terms of the inheritance, he changed his surname to Knight in 1812.
Edward and Elizabeth married in 1791. Their children included Fanny Catherine, one of Jane Austen’s favourite nieces, along with Edward, George Thomas, Henry, William, Elizabeth, Marianne, Charles, Louisa, Cassandra Jane, and Brook John. Elizabeth died in 1808, shortly after the birth of their youngest child. Edward later married again, but the total of 11 refers to the children of his first marriage.