Anna Maria Priestman (23 March 1828 – 9 October 1914), was a British social reformer and women's rights activist.
Early life
Anna Maria Priestman was born on 23 March 1828, the seventh of nine children of Jonathan Priestman (d. 1863), a wealthy
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
tanner from
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...
, and Rachel Bragg (1791–1854), a travelling minister in the
Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
, and the daughter of
Margaret Wilson Bragg, also a Quaker minister.
They lived in the Summerhill district of Newcastle.
Career
Priestman, along with members of hers and the Bright family, were important in the creation of some of the first women's suffrage societies, founded in London, Bristol, and Bath.
![Priestman sisters](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Priestman_sisters.jpg)
She was also a supporter of the
, which was formed in 1870 by
Josephine Butler
Josephine Elizabeth Butler (' Grey; 13 April 1828 – 30 December 1906) was an English feminist and social reformer in the Victorian era. She campaigned for women's suffrage, the right of women to better education, the end of coverture ...
to protest against legislation which undermined the civil rights of those who had been designated prostitutes by the authorities in specified naval and military towns.
Her sister Mary Priestman was the secretary of this organization and her sister
Margaret Tanner was its treasurer.
All three sisters supported international campaigns against the government regulation of prostitution, and continued their family's close association with the
temperance movement
The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...
.
Legacy
Priestman's photographs, papers related to her speeches, diaries, and her correspondence including letters to
Margaret Clark Gillett
Margaret Clark Gillett (1878–1962) was a British botanist and social reformer who is noted for advocating for women and children held in concentration camps following the Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 O ...
,
Alice Clark Alice Clark may refer to:
* Alice Clark (historian), British feminist and historian
* Alice Clark (singer), American soul singer
See also
* Alice Clarke, English cricketer
{{hndis, Clark, Alice ...
,
Helen Priestman Bright
Helen Bright Clark (1840–1927) was a British women's rights activist and suffragist. The daughter of a radical Member of Parliament, Clark was a prominent speaker for women's voting rights and at times a political realist who served as a mains ...
,
Priscilla Bright McLaren
Priscilla Bright McLaren (8 September 1815 – 5 November 1906) was a British activist who served and linked the anti-slavery movement with the women's suffrage movement in the nineteenth century. She was a member of the Edinburgh Ladies' Emanci ...
and
Margaret Tanner, covering the period from 1837 to 1913 are held by the
National Archives.
Personal life
Priestman chose to remain single, and discussed her views on marriage in correspondence with her cousin and lifelong friend Jane Pease, who also never married.
Later life
Priestman died at their Bristol home, 37 Durdham Park, which she shared with her sister Mary Priestman, on 9 October 1914, five days after her sister died.
"The outbreak of the First World War was said to have been too much for either herself or Mary Priestman to bear."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Priestman, Anna
1828 births
1914 deaths
British women's rights activists
British women activists
People from Newcastle upon Tyne
British Quakers