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How did Jonathan Swift meet Esther Johnson, also known as Stella?
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Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift, detail of an oil painting by Charles Jervas, c. 1718; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Jonathan Swift met Esther Johnson, known as Stella, while he was in the employ of the statesman Sir William Temple at Moor Park in Surrey, England.12
Stella was the daughter of the widowed companion of Sir William Temple’s sister, who served as the housekeeper at the estate. During his time at Moor Park, Swift acted as Stella’s tutor when she was a child, a role that initiated a lifelong attachment between the two.12