CONSTRUCTING THE EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY WOMAN: THE ADVENTUROUS HISTORY OF SABRINA SIDNEY By KATHARINE ILES A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham April 2012 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties.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 story of Thomas Day’s attempt to educate a young girl according to the theories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, with the aim of marrying her, has often been referred to as a footnote in Enlightenment history. However, the girl chosen by Day, Sabrina Sidney, has never been placed at the centre of any historical enquiry, nor has the experiment been explored in any depth. This study places Sabrina at its centre to investigate its impact on her and to examine the intellectual and societal debates that informed Thomas Day’s decision to educate a wife. This thesis argues that Sabrina Sidney was in a constant state of construction, which changed depending on a myriad of factors and that constructions of her were fluid and flexible. These constructions were both conscious and unconscious and crucially, they were created as much by Sabrina as by those around her. This research concludes that placing minor historical figures to the centre of historical enquiry fundamentally changes the histories of which they are a part and that it is possible to use a variety of sources to construct a rich and detailed biographical study that offers a new perspective on the English Enlightenment. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere and grateful thanks go to my supervisor, Dr Malcolm Dick, for the constant encouragement and support he gave me throughout my research. I would also like to thank Malcolm for suggesting I look at Milton’s Comus, relating to the naming of Sabrina and for all of his guidance and feedback on my work. Dr Desmond King-Hele also informed me of the reference to Sabrina Sidney by Susannah Darwin. I also acknowledge the assistance provided by staff at the following repositories who helped me to locate research material: the London Metropolitan Archives, the National Archives of Ireland, the National Archives of Scotland, Birmingham Central Library, Birmingham University Library and the Cadbury Research Library, the British Library, Lichfield Record Office, the Samuel Johnson Birthplace Trust Museum, Shropshire Archives, Greenwich Heritage Centre and the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Yale. I am grateful to all those who provided valuable feedback when I presented my research at various conferences and enabled me to develop the ideas and arguments presented in this thesis. These events included the DOMUS seminars and the day schools at the University of Birmingham, the Social History Conference at Warwick and the Education in the Long Eighteenth Century Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research. I would like to thank the board of Midland History for a research grant. Others supported me as my research progressed, including Pete Tillyer and Liz Atkins, whose hospitality enabled me to make several research trips to London and to my fellow member of the Centre for West Midlands History, Elaine Mitchell who copy edited the thesis during its final stages. Any remaining errors, of course, remain my own responsibility. ii Finally, my mother Christine provided unfailing encouragement, enthusiasm and supported me in many ways as I went in search of Sabrina, and my father David encouraged my interest in history and taught me to never stop asking ‘why?’. They have my love and grateful thanks. It is to my father’s memory that I dedicate this thesis. iii NOTE ON NAMES Sabrina Sidney had a number of names during the course of her life; her given family name was Manima Butler, but, she never became aware of this. The name given to her by the Foundling Hospital authorities was Anne Kingstone (also rendered as Ann and Kingston in various hospital documents) and Thomas Day re-named her Sabrina Sidney in 1769. This thesis uses the name that Sabrina would have understood as ‘her’ name at the particular period of time under discussion. Therefore, when discussing her early years at the Foundling Hospital, she is referred to as Anne and after she left the hospital with Day, she is referred to as Sabrina. The second girl Day acquired from the Foundling Hospital likewise underwent a change of name and the same naming convention has been applied. She is referred to as Dorcas Carr (sometimes rendered as Car in the hospital records) during her time at the hospital and after 1769 she is referred to as Lucretia. The surname given to Lucretia by Thomas Day has not been identified. Surnames are used to refer to all other persons mentioned. However, to avoid confusion between Richard Lovell Edgeworth and his daughter, Maria, the surname Edgeworth only applies to Richard Lovell and Maria is always referred to by her full name. iv CHRONOLOGY: SABRINA SIDNEY BICKNELL (1757 – 1843) 1757 May Manima Butler born, probably in Clerkenwell, London and possibly christened in St James Church, Clerkenwell. Received into the Hospital for the Education and Maintenance of Deserted and Abandoned Children, Lamb’s Conduit Fields, London. Renamed and baptised Anne Kingstone, numbered 4579 and sent to wet nurse Mary Pemble of Wotton, Dorking, Surrey. 1759 August Anne Kingstone returned to the London Foundling Hospital and sent to the Shrewsbury Branch Hospital. Sent to nurse Ann Casewell of Longden, Pontesbury. 1765 April Anne returned to the Shrewsbury Foundling Hospital. 1769 August Thomas Day decided to educate a girl based on the theories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and approached the Shrewsbury Foundling Hospital. Anne Kingstone apprenticed to Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Apprenticeship indenture witnessed by Thomas Day and John Bicknell. 1769 September Thomas Day became a governor of the London Foundling Hospital and donated £50. Dorcas Carr (child number 10413) apprenticed from the London Foundling Hospital to Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Anne Kingstone was re-named Sabrina Sidney and Dorcas Carr was re-named Lucretia (surname unknown) by Thomas Day. 1769 November Day took both girls to France to begin their education. 1770 Day and the girls returned to London. Lucretia was re- apprenticed to a milliner in Ludgate. v Sabrina lodged briefly with John Bicknell’s mother and then moved with Day to Stowe House in Lichfield. Sabrina’s education continued and she was introduced to Day’s friends, including Anna Seward, Dr Erasmus Darwin and Richard Lovell Edgeworth. Day gave up his education of Sabrina and sent her to a boarding- school in Sutton Coldfield. 1771 Day and Edgeworth visited France. 1773 Day wrote The Dying Negro with John Bicknell. 1774 Sabrina and Day returned to Lichfield. A perceived ‘disobedience’ by Sabrina caused Day to end his relationship with Sabrina. Dr William Small introduced Thomas Day to Esther Milnes. 1775 Day and Bicknell assumed a nom de plume and satirised Dr Charles Burney in the Joel Collier pamphlets. 1778 August Day married Esther Milnes. 1779 Thomas and Esther Day moved to Stapleford Abbot. 1784 Sabrina employed as a ladies companion, possibly for Mary Yonge of Newport, Shropshire. Received a marriage proposal from John Bicknell. On 16th April Sabrina and John Bicknell are married at St Philips Church Birmingham by special license. 1785/6 John Laurens Bicknell born to Sabrina and John Bicknell. vi 1786 December Henry Edgeworth Bicknell born to Sabrina and John Bicknell. 1787 March John Bicknell died. 1787 April Henry Edgeworth Bicknell is christened at St Pancras. John Bicknell is buried at St Dunstan-in-the-West. 1789 Thomas Day died after a fall from his horse. 1791 Sabrina joined Reverend Burney’s household as housekeeper. 1792 Esther Day died. 1804 Anna Seward published Memoirs of the Life of Dr Darwin, Chiefly During his Residence in Lichfield; with Anecdotes of his Friends, and Criticisms of his Writings, which reveals Sabrina’s relationship with Thomas Day and the educational experiment. 1817 Richard Lovell Edgeworth died. 1818 October Maria Edgeworth visited Sabrina at her home in Greenwich to show her the manuscript of Edgeworth’s Memoirs. 1827 Sabrina is recorded as resident in Circus, Greenwich. 1841 Sabrina appeared on the census as a resident of Greenwich and of independent means. Two domestic servants are living with her, Ellen Woolvet and Sarah Hunt. 1843 September Sabrina Sidney Bicknell died at 9 Circus, Greenwich. vii CONTENTS Page Chapter 01: Introduction 001 Chapter 02: The Quiet Revolution 036 Chapter 03: The Unconstructed Female (1) 1757 – 1759 053 Chapter 04: The Unconstructed Female (2) 1759 – 1769 079 Chapter 05: Constructing the Ideal Wife 1769 – 1774 105 Chapter 06: Constructing the Actual Wife 1769 – 1774 134 Chapter 07: Constructing the Ward 1774 – 1784 174 Chapter 08: Constructing the Woman 1784 – 1787 195 Chapter 09: Constructing the Mother 1787 – 1804 221 Chapter 10: Constructing the Heroine 1804 – 1843 246 Chapter 11: Conclusion 285 Appendix 1: Regulations of Shrewsbury Hospital 305 Appendix 2: Letter from Mr Taylor White to Reverend Dr Adams 307 Appendix 3: Extract from Thomas Day’s The history of Sandford and Merton 311 Appendix 4: Thomas Day’s undertaking of protection for Sabrina Sidney 313 Appendix 5: Correspondence between Sabrina Sidney and members of the Edgeworth family 314 Bibliography 323 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Pages Figure 1: Shrewsbury Foundling Hospital, now Shrewsbury School 064 Figure 2: Anne Kingstone’s entry in the General Register of Shrewsbury, 1769 108 Figure 3: Anne Kingstone’s Apprenticeship Indenture, 1769 109 Figure 4: Portrait of Sabrina Bicknell by S.