''The Dairyman's Daughter'' is an early 19th-century

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

religious booklet of 52 pages, which had a remarkably wide distribution and influence. It was a narrative of the religious experience of Elizabeth Wallbridge, who was the person after whom the book was named.

Elizabeth Wallbridge

Elizabeth Wallbridge, daughter of Joseph Wallbridge, was born, lived and died in the Parish of

Arreton Arreton is a village and civil parish in the central eastern part of the Isle of Wight, England. It is about 3 miles south east of Newport. Name The settlement has had different names and different spellings over the years. For example, the vil ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, England. Her parents were worthy, but lowly and poor, and their children put out to

domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

at an early age. The author of the narrative was Rev.

Legh Richmond Legh Richmond (1772–1827) was a Church of England clergyman and writer. He is noted for tracts, narratives of conversion that innovated in the relation of stories of the poor and female subjects, and which were subsequently much imitated. He wa ...

, a religious writer of the period, who was

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of the nearby Church of England parish of

Brading The ancient 'Kynges Towne' of Brading is the main town of the civil parishes in England, civil parish of the same name. The ecclesiastical parish of Brading used to cover about a tenth of the Isle of Wight. The civil parish now includes the town ...

. According to the account in the book, Miss Wallbridge's life until the age of 26 was of a most worldly character. Although never immoral, she was wilful, proud, selfish and irreligious. However, her life was transformed by a sermon and she became very devout. With exceptional strength of mind, a retentive memory, the mastery of a few religious classics and enforced leisure because of illness, she devoted time and strength to the study of the Bible, in which she became remarkably knowledgeable. Miss Wallbridge died after a lingering sickness of a year and a half, on 30 May 1801, at the age of 31. During her illness

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

often visited her and talked with her, and these discussions inspired him to write the book.

Religious meaning of the book

Her spiritual experience, excepting its intensity, was very normal and free of excess. She said, Her religious experience was not morbid nor morose but winsome and cheerful. She met her serious difficulties with rare heroism, humility, altruism and unwavering faith in her Lord. It is this simplicity, the strength and normal character of her experience which gave it such extensive influence.

Publication and popularity

''The Dairyman's Daughter'' was first issued in tract form in 1814 by the

Religious Tract Society The Religious Tract Society was a British evangelical Christian organization founded in 1799 and known for publishing a variety of popular religious and quasi-religious texts in the 19th century. The society engaged in charity as well as commerci ...

and in the same year by the New England Tract Society in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. The National Society in 1825 published it as Tract No. 9, and circulated at least half a million copies of this narrative, as the chief agency for its distribution in America. In 1828, 14 years after its first publication, its circulation exceeded four million copies in 19 languages, and the number of conversions from its perusal were estimated in the thousands. Its popularity increased for several decades and it is estimated that over ten million copies have been distributed in many languages. Some writers have claimed that ''The Dairyman's Daughter'' has had a more extensive influence and a wider circulation than any other similar publication. One chapter of a recent book surveying the history of the Religious Tract Society,

Lutterworth Press The Lutterworth Press, one of the oldest independent British publishing houses, has traded since the late eighteenth century - initially as the Religious Tract Society (RTS). The Lutterworth imprint, named after the small English town of Lutte ...

and children's literature is devoted to ''The Dairyman's Daughter''. The success of the story led many to make the pilgrimage to

to visit the grave of the Dairyman's Daughter, including

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. The simple chair on which Miss Wallbridge sat when talking with Rev. Richmond was preserved and in 1836 sent to America, where it remains in the possession of the

American Tract Society The American Tract Society (ATS) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian but evangelical organization founded on May 11, 1825, in New York City for the purpose of publishing and disseminating tracts of Christian literature. ATS traces its lineage back thro ...

. A chapel was erected in her memory on the main road between Arreton and

Apse Heath Apse Heath is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight, UK. Apse Heath is centered on the intersection of Newport Road and Alverstone Road. At the 2011 Census the Post Office said the population of the hamlet was included in the civil parish of Newchurch, ...

. Now closed and converted into a residence, the foundation stone is still visible from the road. In 1859, the American artist

Jasper Francis Cropsey Jasper Francis Cropsey (February 18, 1823 – June 22, 1900) was an important American landscape artist of the Hudson River School. Early years Cropsey was born on his father Jacob Rezeau Cropsey's farm in Rossville on Staten Island, New ...

painted a work entitled ''The Cottage of the Dairyman's Daughter''.

Present-day influence

During most of the 19th century, Christian writers extensively used sickness and death-bed experiences. However, this morbid theme, was not well adapted to the tastes and the requirements of the 20th century and beyond. The book is now not widely known, although the short text of it has been reprinted innumerable times in various anthologies and publications. The best-known memorial today to the Dairyman's Daughter in her home parish of

is a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

of the same name,The Dairyman's Daughter pub description and pictures
located close to Wallbridge's grave in the churchyard of St George's Church.

References

External links

Link to the Project Gutenberg text of the book
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dairymans Daughter 1814 books 1825 non-fiction books 19th-century Christian texts Christianity on the Isle of Wight Christian writers English non-fiction literature People from the Isle of Wight