Read Part One HERE
In this post I will focus on a woman named Lucy Jesse Townsend. She lived from 1781 - 1847. Her father was William Jesse from West Bromwich. Lucy married Rev. Charles Townsend, curate of West Bromwich in 1807. Apart from her duties as the vicar's wife and being a mother of six children, she was involved in many voluntary organisations and supported the anti-slavery movement.
On 8 April 1825, Lucy held a meeting at her home in West Bromwich inviting her friends and other influential women to discuss setting up an all female anti-slavery movement. Amongst those present were, Ameila Moilliett, Sarah Wedgwood, Sophia Sturge and Miss Galton to name just a few. This was the moment when the Birmingham Ladies Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves was established (later to be called The Female Society for Birmingham). A committee was formed with Elizabeth Heyrick as trasurer for the organisation. Lucy and her friend Mary Lloyd were joint secretaries and under their leadership the society developed.
The group planned to raise funds from subscriptions and donations. The sale of goods such as workbags and albums etc would follow, the workbags being sewn from East India cotton, silk or satin so as to avoid using the product of slave labour.
Read Part Seventy-Two HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment