Jane Austen was born at Steventon, Hampshire, England on December 16, 1775, to George and Cassandra (nee Leigh) Austen. She was the 7th of 8 children: James (1765), George (1766), Edward (1768), Henry Thomas (1771), Cassandra Elizabeth (1773), Francis William (Frank) (1774), Jane (1775), and Charles John (1779). Her father, George was an Anglican Pastor at the Steventon parish which was part of the estate of the husband of a wealthy second cousin, Thomas Knight.