Isabella Emily Thomasa "Isabel" Reaney ( Edis; 15 July 1847 – 19 June 1929) was a British preacher, social activist and editor.

Life

Reaney was the daughter of Emma and Robert Edis. She was born in

Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there ...

on 15 July 1847. One of her brothers was the architect

Robert William Edis Colonel Sir Robert William Edis (13 June 1839 – 23 June 1927) was a British architect. Biography Edis was born in Huntingdon to Emma and Robert Edis. His sister was the preacher Isabella Reaney, his brother was Arthur Wellesley Edis, a gynae ...

. Her elder brother was Arthur Wellesley Edis who was a gynaecologist and her niece through Arthur was the photographer

Olive Edis Mary Olive Edis, later Edis-Galsworthy (3 September 1876 – 28 December 1955), was a British photographer and successful businesswoman who, throughout her career, owned several studios in London and East Anglia. Known primarily for her studio ...

. Reaney seems to have led a model Christian childhood. She visited the old and poor and men and women would gather at her house on a Sunday afternoon to listen to her. She moved on use a classroom and then a local hall attracting people to listen to her. Her parents were concerned that she was overreaching herself and the local Bishop took an interest. He was said to have given his blessing to her work after hearing of her determination. She married another preacher the Reverend George Sale Reaney, of Wycliffe Chapel in Warrington on 4 March 1873. He was a Congregational minister. Every Sunday she would preach at the local hall in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

. In 1876 her husband became ill and the two then spent six years in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

before moving to

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

where George took over the meeting house. She continued to work for the poor and she would take over her husband's preaching when he was ill. Reaney created a home for people recovering from illness in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...

, and when

Henrietta Barnett Dame Henrietta Octavia Weston Barnett, DBE (''née'' Rowland; 4 May 1851 – 10 June 1936) was an English social reformer, educationist, and author. She and her husband, Samuel Augustus Barnett, founded the first "University Settlement" at Toyn ...

and her husband launched the Children's Country Holidays Fund in 1884, Reaney worked with her. She was a campaigner for tramcar drivers in

who worked long hours in poor conditions for low wages. She bought shares in tram companies so that she could attend annual general meetings to ask pointed questions. In 1885 she persuaded an MP to put a question to the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

and when she arrived at a meeting of the North Metropolitan Tramways Company in 1886 her question was convincingly voted down. The following year she campaigned to other shareholders before the meeting and the defeat was closer and the company agreed to investigate the drivers hours. She died on 19 June 1929 at home in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

Selected works

* Waking and working: or from girlhood to womanhood (1874) * Sunbeam Willie, and other stories (1875) * Blessing and Blessed (1878) * Sunshine Jenny, and other stories (1878) * Just anyone, or Kitty's dream, and other stories (1879) * English Girls: Their Place and Power (1879) * Rose Gurney's Discovery (1880) * Our Brothers and Sons (1882) * Our Daughters * Chippings (1883) * Unspoken Addresses (1883) * Little Glory's Mission (1883) * Found at Last (1883) * Not alone in the World (1883)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reaney, Isabella British women activists British women non-fiction writers 1847 births 1929 deaths People from Huntingdon