DOCSLIB.ORG

Midland Women, Developing Roles and Identitiesc.1760-1860Katrina Maitland-Brown MAA Thesis Submitted in Partia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Midland Women, Developing Roles and Identitiesc.1760-1860Katrina Maitland-Brown MAA Thesis Submitted in Partia Fulfilling Roles: Midland Women, developing roles and identities C.1760-1860 Katrina Maitland-Brown MA A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy September 2018 This work or any part thereof has not previously been presented in any form to the University or to any other body whether for the purposes of assessment, publication or for any other purpose (unless otherwise indicated). Save for any express acknowledgments, references and/or bibliographies cited in the work, I confirm that the intellectual content of the work is the result of my own efforts and of no other person. The right of Katrina Maitland-Brown to be identified as the author of this work is asserted in accordance with ss.77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988. At this date copyright is owned by the author. Signature……………………………. Date…………………………………. Abstract This thesis examines the lives of a group of Midland women in the period c. 1760- 1860. They were the wives, sisters, daughters and mothers of the middle-class entrepreneurial and professional men of the region. During this period the Midlands produced individuals who expanded production and commerce, often with little technical innovation, but with a shrewd sense of what was marketable. Men such as the Wedgwoods, Boultons and Kenricks built businesses, sponsored canals and highways, and invented, produced and sold an ever-expanding supply of goods world-wide. Yet while the lives of such men have been celebrated, the women of these families have often been overlooked. They are the focus of this thesis, which will address this gap in the history of the entrepreneurial and professional families of the Midlands. Examining the identities of these women through a range of archival and printed sources, both as individuals and as members of families, communities, networks and organisations, particular attention is paid to changing social and cultural attitudes. The thesis will investigate whether and how their experiences contributed to the wider debates on women’s roles in this period, examining the role of networks in assisting women to operate in a variety of spaces, broadening their political consciousness, and questioning what, if any, generational changes are visible. The thesis will argue that in this period, middle-class women negotiated social and cultural conventions of class and gender through a variety of roles which empowered them to shape their own identities. A microhistory study such as this highlights the more subtle and complex efforts made by women in search of autonomy, filling in gaps created in broader studies. In revealing i contradictions of the norm, a more nuanced view of women’s experiences can also emerge. The thesis aims to extend existing knowledge in the field of social and cultural history by researching the experiences of these middle-class women of the Midlands who, for the most part, notwithstanding their achievements as businesswomen, religious figures and contributors to science and literature, have escaped the notice of scholars of women’s history. Yet knowledge of women’s activities beyond feminist campaigns can broaden our understanding of what may have been important to their social group. They all had something to say, even the quieter ones. In examining their activities this thesis restores their social and cultural histories and, by highlighting their concerns and interests, allows a more inclusive picture of British middle-class women’s experiences in the period 1760 to 1860 to emerge, with some surprising results. ii Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................. i Acknowledgments.................................................................................................. v Abbreviations ........................................................................................................ vii Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Aims ................................................................................................................... 2 Literature Review ............................................................................................... 5 Class, Gender and Networks .......................................................................... 7 Identity .......................................................................................................... 14 Business ....................................................................................................... 16 Religion and Philanthropy ............................................................................. 18 Domesticity ................................................................................................... 22 Authorship .................................................................................................... 27 Methodology .................................................................................................... 30 The Approach, Samples and Sources .......................................................... 30 Business Records and Letters ...................................................................... 34 Diaries and other Personal Records ............................................................. 37 Content ............................................................................................................ 40 Chapter 1: Business ............................................................................................ 44 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 44 Women, Capital and Autonomy ........................................................................ 50 Sally Wedgwood (née Wedgwood) (1734-1815) ........................................... 52 Sarah Wedgwood (1776-1856), Catherine (Kitty) Wedgwood (1774-1823)... 59 The Influence of Social Capital ......................................................................... 66 Sarah Florry (1744-1832) ............................................................................. 69 Charlotte Matthews (née Marlar) (1759-1802) .............................................. 80 Women and the Family Business ..................................................................... 87 Elizabeth Shaw (1788-1869), Annie Watt (1744-1832) ................................. 89 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 100 Chapter 2: Religion ............................................................................................ 103 Introduction .................................................................................................... 103 Abiah Darby (1716-1794) ........................................................................... 107 Elizabeth Smith (1805-1836) ...................................................................... 125 Catherine Marsh (1818-1912) ..................................................................... 142 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 157 iii Chapter 3: Philanthropy ..................................................................................... 160 Introduction .................................................................................................... 160 Lucy Townsend (1781-1847) (née Jesse), and Mary Lloyd (1795-1865) (née Honeychurch) ............................................................................................. 169 Rebecca Kenrick (1799-1891) .................................................................... 187 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 204 Chapter 4: Domesticity ...................................................................................... 207 Introduction .................................................................................................... 207 Annie Watt (1744-1832) and Anne Boulton (1768-1829) ............................ 210 Catherine Hutton (1757-1846) .................................................................... 225 Elizabeth Anne Wheler (née Galton) (1808-1906) ...................................... 241 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 255 Chapter Five: Authorship ................................................................................... 257 Introduction .................................................................................................... 257 Catherine Hutton (1757-1846) .................................................................... 263 Susanna Watts (1768-1842) ....................................................................... 278 Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck (née Galton) (1778-1856) ........................... 294 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 312 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 314 Appendix 1: Details of case studies ................................................................ 320 Appendix 2: Reference List of Established Writing of Authors in Chapter 5 .... 321 Appendix 3: Family Networks
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Issue 61 Autumn/Winter 2009 Issn 1476-6760
    Issue 61 Autumn/Winter 2009 Issn 1476-6760 Faridullah Bezhan on Gender and Autobiography Rosalind Carr on Scottish Women and Empire Nicola Cowmeadow on Scottish Noblewomen’s Political Activity in the 18th C Katie Barclay on Family Legacies Huw Clayton on Police Brutality Allegations Plus Five book reviews Call for Reviewers Prizes WHN Conference Reports Committee News www.womenshistorynetwork.org Women’s History Network 19th Annual Conference 2009 Performing the Self: Women’s Lives in Historical Perspective University of Warwick, 10-12 September 2010 Papers are invited for the 19th Annual Conference 2010 of the Women’s History Network. The idea that selfhood is performed has a very long tradition. This interdisciplinary conference will explore the diverse representations of women’s identities in the past and consider how these were articulated. Papers are particularly encouraged which focus upon the following: ■ Writing women’s histories ■ Gender and the politics of identity ■ Ritual and performance ■ The economics of selfhood: work and identity ■ Feminism and auto/biography ■ Performing arts ■ Teaching women’s history For more information please contact Dr Sarah Richardson: [email protected], Department of History, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL. Abstracts of papers (no more than 300 words) should be submitted to [email protected] The closing date for abstracts is 5th March 2010. Conference website: www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/res_rec/ conferences/whn Further information and a conference call will be posted on the WHN website www.womenshistorynetwork.org Editorial elcome to the Autumn/Winter 2009 edition of reproduced in full. We plan to publish the Carol Adams WWomen’s History Magazine.
    [Show full text]
  • Rebecca Singer Collins Papers MC.1196
    Rebecca Singer Collins papers MC.1196 Last updated on May 21, 2021. Haverford College Quaker & Special Collections Rebecca Singer Collins papers Table of Contents Summary Information....................................................................................................................................3 Biography/History..........................................................................................................................................3 Scope and Contents....................................................................................................................................... 4 Administrative Information........................................................................................................................... 4 Related Materials........................................................................................................................................... 5 Controlled Access Headings..........................................................................................................................5 Other Finding Aids........................................................................................................................................6 Collection Inventory...................................................................................................................................... 7 Diaries and memoranda...........................................................................................................................7 Correspondence......................................................................................................................................15
    [Show full text]
  • QUAKER RECORDS I. Historical Background the Sect Was Founded
    QUAKER RECORDS I. Historical Background The sect was founded by George Fox about 1652. It was mostly centered in central and northern England (strongest in Westmoreland, Northwest Yorkshire and North Lancashire); expansion first into London and the southwest, Bristol, Norwich; then Scotland and Ireland and finally spread to Europe and North America. Persecution increased during the Commonwealth; William Penn was an outspoken advocate for the Quakers—in 1682 the king, Charles II, granted Fenn the right to charter a colony} and Pennsylvania-became a Quaker settlement. II. Record Sources and Time Periods Covered A. Regl;ters—The majority begin before 1669 and last until 1837. 1837-1851 registers had to be surrendered to Recording Clerk's Office, Lond:a. Before they were turned in, they were gathered at the Quake:* Society in London and duplicates were made and put into Di^^ts. Therefore, many of the pre-1837 records are to be found i.i these Digests. (85 vols.)* 'J21 Contents: birth, marriage, and death records. In 2339, use of birth and burial notes became standard—see example sheets.) B. Minute Books Contents: 1. Marriages (1/4-1/3 of all minutes) 2. admission to membership—mid-18th century 3. disownments—from outset of sect 4. removal certificates—from mid or late 18th century 5. testimonies to deceased members—from 1740-1872 Hi-fy C. Membership Records "Not until the latter part of the 18th century did accurate membership lists become general and many meetings did not commence such a list until 1836." (p. 625 of NIPR) Sufferings Books Include notes about imprisonments, seizures of property, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • 6 X 10 Long Title.P65
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-15382-9 - Heroes of Invention: Technology, Liberalism and British Identity, 1750-1914 Christine MacLeod Index More information Index Acade´mie des Sciences 80, 122, 357 arms manufacturers 236–9 Adam, Robert 346 Armstrong, William, Baron Armstrong of Adams, John Couch 369 Cragside Aikin, John 43, 44, 71 arms manufacturer 220 Airy, Sir George 188, 360 as hero of industry 332 Albert, Prince 24, 216, 217, 231, 232, 260 concepts of invention 268, 269, 270 Alfred, King 24 entrepreneurial abilities of 328 Amalgamated Society of Engineers, knighted 237–8 Machinists, Millwrights, Smiths and monument to 237 Pattern Makers 286–7 opposition to patent system 250, 267–8 ancestor worship, see idolatry portrait of 230 Anderson’s Institution, Glasgow 113, 114, president of BAAS 355 288, 289 Punch’s ‘Lord Bomb’ 224–5 Arago, Franc¸ois 122, 148, 184 Ashton, T. S. 143 Eloge, to James Watt 122–3, 127 Athenaeum, The 99–101, 369 Arkwright, Sir Richard, Atkinson, T. L. 201 and scientific training 359 Atlantic telegraph cables 243, 245, 327 as national benefactor 282 Arthur, King 15 as workers’ hero 286 Askrill, Robert 213 commemorations of, 259 Associated Society of Locomotive Cromford mills, painting of 63 Engineers and Firemen 288 enterprise of 196, 327, 329 era of 144 Babbage, Charles 276, 353, 356–7, factory system 179 375, 383 in Erasmus Darwin’s poetry 67–8 Bacon, Sir Francis in Maria Edgeworth’s book 171 as discoverer 196 in Samuel Smiles’ books 255, 256 as genius 51, 53, 142 invention of textile machinery 174, 176 bust of 349 knighthood 65 n.
    [Show full text]
  • Soho Depicted: Prints, Drawings and Watercolours of Matthew Boulton, His Manufactory and Estate, 1760-1809
    SOHO DEPICTED: PRINTS, DRAWINGS AND WATERCOLOURS OF MATTHEW BOULTON, HIS MANUFACTORY AND ESTATE, 1760-1809 by VALERIE ANN LOGGIE A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History of Art College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham January 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis explores the ways in which the industrialist Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) used images of his manufactory and of himself to help develop what would now be considered a ‘brand’. The argument draws heavily on archival research into the commissioning process, authorship and reception of these depictions. Such information is rarely available when studying prints and allows consideration of these images in a new light but also contributes to a wider debate on British eighteenth-century print culture. The first chapter argues that Boulton used images to convey messages about the output of his businesses, to draw together a diverse range of products and associate them with one site. Chapter two explores the setting of the manufactory and the surrounding estate, outlining Boulton’s motivation for creating the parkland and considering the ways in which it was depicted.
    [Show full text]
  • Evangelical Friend, June 1973 (Vol
    Digital Commons @ George Fox University Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church Evangelical Friend (Quakers) 6-1973 Evangelical Friend, June 1973 (Vol. 6, No. 10) Evangelical Friends Alliance Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/nwym_evangelical_friend Recommended Citation Evangelical Friends Alliance, "Evangelical Friend, June 1973 (Vol. 6, No. 10)" (1973). Evangelical Friend. 88. https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/nwym_evangelical_friend/88 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church (Quakers) at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Evangelical Friend by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Over the Teacup ing white clouds, flowers, green grass­ when all is right with the world. If it could only stay that way, not too hot, not too cold-not too much rain, just lovely, perfect weather, but it is just not like that on the weather map. And, it is not like that in life either. Emergencies, the un­ expected, storms beset our way just when everything looks so perfect. Our hopes get nipped in the bud like the fruit trees. The very first verse I learned in Hindi was a long one. Shall I tell you what it was? It might just be appropriate after a difficult weather report. The weather map "Even though the fig trees [apple or peach] are all destroyed, and there is BY CATHERINE CATTELL neither blossom left nor fruit, and though Hello! Sometimes we discuss weather the olive crops [wheat or corn] and the when we don't know what else to say.
    [Show full text]
  • Bicentenary Programme Celebrating the Life and Legacy of James Watt
    Bicentenary programme celebrating the life and legacy of James Watt 2019 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of the steam engineer James Watt (1736-1819), one of the most important historic figures connected with Birmingham and the Midlands. Born in Greenock in Scotland in 1736, Watt moved to Birmingham in 1774 to enter into a partnership with the metalware manufacturer Matthew Boulton. The Boulton & Watt steam engine was to become, quite literally, one of the drivers of the Industrial Revolution in Britain and around the world. Although best known for his steam engine work, Watt was a man of many other talents. At the start of his career he worked as both a mathematical instrument maker and a civil engineer. In 1780 he invented the first reliable document copier. He was also a talented chemist who was jointly responsible for proving that water is a compound rather than an element. He was a member of the famous Lunar Portrait of James Watt by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1812 Society of Birmingham, along with other Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust leading thinkers such as Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Priestley and The 2019 James Watt Bicentenary Josiah Wedgwood. commemorative programme is The Boulton & Watt steam engine business coordinated by the Lunar Society. was highly successful and Watt became a We are delighted to be able to offer wealthy man. In 1790 he built a new house, a wide-ranging programme of events Heathfield Hall in Handsworth (demolished and activities in partnership with a in 1927). host of other Birmingham organisations. Following his retirement in 1800 he continued to develop new inventions For more information about the in his workshop at Heathfield.
    [Show full text]
  • Matthew Boutlon and Francis Eginton's Mechanical
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository MATTHEW BOULTON AND FRANCIS EGINTON’S MECHANICAL PAINTINGS: PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION 1777 TO 1781 by BARBARA FOGARTY A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY Department of History of Art College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham June 2010 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The mechanical paintings of Matthew Boulton and Francis Eginton have been the subject of few scholarly publications since their invention in the 1770s. Such interest as there has been has focussed on the unknown process, and the lack of scientific material analysis has resulted in several confusing theories of production. This thesis’s use of the Archives of Soho, containing Boulton’s business papers, has cast light on the production and consumption of mechanical paintings, while collaboration with the British Museum, and their new scientific evidence, have both supported and challenged the archival evidence. This thesis seeks to prove various propositions about authenticity, the role of class and taste in the selection of artists and subjects for mechanical painting reproduction, and the role played by the reproductive process’s ingenuity in marketing the finished product.
    [Show full text]
  • A Catechism of the Steam Engine by John Bourne</H1>
    A Catechism of the Steam Engine by John Bourne A Catechism of the Steam Engine by John Bourne Produced by Robert Connal and PG Distributed Proofreaders from images generously provided by the Digital & Multimedia Center, Michigan State University Libraries. A CATECHISM OF THE STEAM ENGINE IN ITS VARIOUS APPLICATIONS TO MINES, MILLS, STEAM NAVIGATION, RAILWAYS, AND AGRICULTURE. WITH PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE MANUFACTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF ENGINES OF EVERY CLASS. BY page 1 / 559 JOHN BOURNE, C.E. _NEW AND REVISED EDITION._ [Transcriber's Note: Inconsistencies in chapter headings and numbering of paragraphs and illustrations have been retained in this edition.] PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. For some years past a new edition of this work has been called for, but I was unwilling to allow a new edition to go forth with all the original faults of the work upon its head, and I have been too much engaged in the practical construction of steam ships and steam engines to find time for the thorough revision which I knew the work required. At length, however, I have sufficiently disengaged myself from these onerous pursuits to accomplish this necessary revision; and I now offer the work to the public, with the confidence that it will be found better deserving of the favorable acceptation and high praise it has already received. There are very few errors, either of fact or of inference, in the early editions, which I have had to correct; but there are many omissions which I have had to supply, and faults of arrangement and classification which I have had to rectify.
    [Show full text]
  • Accounting and Labour Control at Boulton and Watt, C. 1775-1810
    This is a repository copy of Accounting and Labour Control at Boulton and Watt, c. 1775- 1810. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/11233/ Monograph: Toms, S. (2010) Accounting and Labour Control at Boulton and Watt, c. 1775-1810. Working Paper. Department of Management Studies, University of York Reuse Items deposited in White Rose Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the White Rose Research Online record for the item. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ promoting access to White Rose research papers Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ 11233 Working Paper Toms, S (2010) Accounting and Labour Control at Boulton and Watt, c. 1775-1810 Working paper number 52. White Rose Research Online [email protected] University of York The York Management School Working Paper No. 52 ISSN Number: 1743-4041 March 2010 Accounting and Labour Control at Boulton and Watt, c.
    [Show full text]
  • PEAES Guide: Haverford College
    PEAES Guide: Haverford College http://www.librarycompany.org/Economics/PEAESguide/haverford.htm Keyword Search Entire Guide View Resources by Institution Search Guide Institutions Surveyed - Select One Haverford College Magill Library 370 Lancaster Avenue Haverford, PA 19041-1392 (610) 896-1161 www.haverford.edu/library/sc/sc.html Contact People: Elisabeth Potts Brown, Quaker Bibliographer, [email protected] Emma Jones Lapsansky, Curator, Professor of History, [email protected] Diana Franzusoff Peterson, Manuscripts Cataloger/Archivist, [email protected] Overview Both the Special Collections and Quaker Collections are housed together within Haverford’s Magill Library; materials relating to the Society of Friends (Quakers) comprise the bulk of the collection. Used in conjunction with the resources at Swarthmore (see separate entry), this collection sheds light on the intersection of economic life and religious thought. Some of the greatest merchants in early America were also members of the Society of Friends (Thomas Pim [Pym] Cope, Samuel B. Morris, and the Pembertons, among others). These men enjoyed a large social network that shaped their economic ventures domestically and abroad. The records contained in this collection and the one at Swarthmore document both the lives of individual Quaker merchants and community economic practices; due to space limitations and a religious schism resulting in two separate Philadelphia Yearly Meetings, the records are divided between the Haverford collections and Swarthmore's library. Haverford’s collections consist of manuscripts, books, and periodicals written by and about the Society of Friends. Materials relate to Quaker history and practice in the Philadelphia region and also cover other parts of the United States and Great Britain, tracing Quaker origins (during the 1600s) to the present.
    [Show full text]
  • KJ MASTER THESIS FINAL Corrections
    Ordered Spaces, Separate Spheres: Women and the Building of British Convents, 1829-1939 Kate Jordan University College London Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy I, Kate Jordan confirm that the work present- ed in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. _______________________________ Kate Jordan !2 Abstract Over the last forty years, feminist discourses have made considerable impact on the way that we understand women’s historical agency. Linda Nochlin’s question, ‘why have there been no great women artists’ challenged assumptions about the way we consider women in art history and Amanda Vickery brought to the fore questions of women’s authority within ‘separate spheres’ ideology. The paucity of research on women’s historical contributions to architecture, however, is a gap that misrepresents their significant roles. This thesis explores a hitherto overlooked group of buildings designed by and for women; nineteenth and twentieth century English convents. Many of these sites were built according to the rules of communities whose ministries extended beyond contemplative prayer and into the wider community, requiring spaces that allowed lay-women to live and work within the convent walls but without disrupting the real and imagined fabric of monastic traditions - spaces that were able to synthesise contemporary domestic, industrial and institutional architecture with the medieval cloister. The demanding specifications for these highly innovative and complex spaces were drawn up, overwhelmingly, by nuns. While convents might be read as spaces which operated at the interstices between different architectures, I will argue they were instead conceived as sites that per- formed varying and contradictory functions simultaneously.
    [Show full text]