Clara suffered from back trouble which was eventually cured by treatment in England. She spent a number of years living with her Phelps aunts and uncles in London, but it was at home in Madeira that she met John Oakley who had come to tutor the children of a local English family. Although they formed an attachment, he was not in a position to marry so they had a very long engagement. During the years of waiting, Clara helped her sister Bella with the work of the embroidery enterprise. Clara's musical accomplishments were singing (coached by a visiting German professor) and playing the machete, a stringed instrument native to Madeira. She and John Oakley were eventually able to marry on 21 January 1860. He rose to be Dean of Carlisle and later Dean of Manchester. They had seven children and Clara died aged 66, never having been back to Madeira after her marriage.

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