Nathaniel Burden's second wife, and Joanna's mother. Joanna, however, talks about Nathaniel's first wife, Juana, in much more detail than she provides about her own mother, who is not given a first name. All we know about her is that she moves to Jefferson from New Hampshire after Nathaniel writes his cousin there that he is seeking a wife who is "a good housekeeper and . . . at least thirtyfive years old" (250). She and Nathaniel marry "two days after" she arrives in town, and "two years later" Joanna, their only child, is born (252).