Martha Yeardley (née Savory, March 8, 1781 – May 8, 1851) was an English poet,

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 ...

minister, and author of educational works and travel literature.

Life

Martha Savory Yeardley was born in London on 8 March 1781 to Anna and Joseph Savory, the latter a Quaker goldsmith. She had two sisters and a brother, and three half-sisters from her father's second marriage to Mary Pryor after the death of Anna Savory in or around 1785. At one point, she and her siblings lived in Pentonville across the road from Charles Lamb. She was educated "at

Frenchay Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne. It is on the outskirts to the north east of the city of Bristol. Frenchay was first recorded in 1257 as ''Fromscawe'' and later as '' ...

" where many Quaker merchants were established. Her family's financial resources have been described as "ample." She published her first work, ''Inspiration, a Poetical Essay'', in 1805, followed by two other poetry collections before the end of the decade. She became committed to Quaker ministry and undertook "gospel tours" in Europe. In 1824 on one such tour she met her future husband,

John Yeardley John Yeardley (3 January 1786 – 11 August 1858) was a Quaker missionary. He was the son of Joel and Frances Yeardley, small dairy farmers at Orgreave, near Rotherham, Yorkshire. John was admitted a member of the Society of Friends in his twent ...

(1786-1858), and married him in 1826. Over the twenty-five years of their partnership, the couple made five further tours (1827-28, 1828-33, 1833-34, 1842-43, and 1843-50). During the fourth tour, Yeardley established a school for girls in

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. Yeardley continued to publish poetry, as well as various works co-authored with her husband,Colbert, Benjamin.
Martha Yeardley
" ''British Travel Writing''. University of Wolverhampton. Accessed 2023-06-07. often with William Darton, a Quaker publisher particularly known for children's titles. In addition to these substantive publications, the Yeardley's co-authored a series of fourteen tracts for use in their missionary work.Smith, Joseph. ''A Descriptive Catalogue of Friends' Books: Or Books Written by Members of the Society of Friends''. 1867, pp. 969-971. ( text Google) Martha Yeardley was the "driving force of the ouple'sliterary partnership," according to one commentator.Colbert, Benjamin.
John Yeardley
" ''British Travel Writing''. University of Wolverhampton. Accessed 2023-06-08. "Worn out with travel," she died on 8 May, 1851.

Works

*Savory, Martha. ''Inspiration, a Poetical Essay''. London: J. and A. Arch, 1805. *Savory, M. ''Poetical Tales, Founded on Facts''. London: Darton Harvey, 1808. Reissued by James Goodwin as ''Pathetic Tales'' by "Mrs. Smith" in 1813 after Yeardley sought to suppress it. *Savory, Mrs. ''Life's Vicissitudes, or, winter's tears. Original poems''. London: G. Robinson for the author, 1809. *Savory, Martha. ''An Original Wreath of Forget-me-not. Presented to Those who Love to Reflect on Heavenly Things. Published for the benefit of the Infant School at Burton''. London/York: Harvey and Darton, Edmund Fry/William Alexander, 1829. (U.S. edition, 1829; 2nd UK edition, 1830; reissued by Jane Trathan, Falmouth, in 1835.) *Anon. ''Christian Faith and Benevolence Exemplified, in an institution for poor children, at Locle, in Switzerland, wherein labour is combined with education''. London: Harvey and Darton, 1829. *Yeardley, M. ''Questions on the Gospels''. London: Darton and Harvey, ca. 1835.Darton, Lawrence. ''The Dartons: an annotated check-list of children's books issued by two publishing houses, 1787-1876''. London: British Library; New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2004.
Etext
Internet Archive) *Yeardley, J. and M. ''A Brief Memoir of Mary Ann Calame, with some account of the Institution at Locle, Switzerland''. London: Darton and Harvey, 1835. *''Extracts from the Letters of John and Martha Yeardley, Whilst on a Religious Visit to Some Parts of the Continent of Europe, the Ionian Isles, &c''. Lindfield: W. Eade, at the Schools of Industry, 1835.Yeardley, John, Yeardley, Martha.
Extracts from the Letters of John and Martha Yeardley, Whilst on a Religious Visit to Some Parts of the Continent of Europe, the Ionian Isles, &c
'' ''The Women's Print History Project'', 2019, title ID 15174. Accessed 2023-06-07. *Yeardley, M. ''Conversations between a Governess and her Pupils. Elicited by Scriptural Readings, Designed for Young Persons''. London: Darton and Clark, ca. 1838. *Yeardley, M. ''True Tales from Foreign Lands. In Verse. Designed for the Young''. London/York: Darton and Clark, E. Fry/W. Hipsley, ca. 1835.Jackson, J. R. de J. ''Romantic poetry by women: a bibliography, 1770-1835''. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Etext
Internet Archive) *Yeardley, J., and M. Yeardley. ''Eastern Customs; Illustrative of Scripture Passages: with Some Observations on the Character, Manners, &c. of the Greeks''. London: Harvey and Darton, 1842. *M. Y. ''Poetical Sketches of Scripture Characters'', London, 1848. *The manuscript diary of their Greek journey was, in 1900, held at Devonshire House.

Etexts

*''Poetical Tales founded on Facts'', 1808.
Etext
Google) *''Extracts from the Letters of John and Martha Yeardley'', 1835.
Etext
Internet Archive) *''Eastern Customs; Illustrative of Scripture Passages'', 1842.
Etext
Google)

Notes and references

Notes

References

*''Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel''. Ed. Charles Tylor. Philadelphia: Henry Longstreeth, 1860.
Etext
Project Gutenberg) * Biography in

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

External links

* * {{Authority control 1781 births 1851 deaths Quaker missionaries English Quakers English religious writers English women non-fiction writers English Protestant missionaries Protestant missionaries in Switzerland Protestant missionaries in the Netherlands Protestant missionaries in Greece English women poets 19th-century poets