Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck (née Galton, 25 November 1778 – 29 August 1856) was a British writer in the

anti-slavery movement Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

Early life

Born at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, she was eldest child of Samuel "John" Galton and his wife, Lucy Barclay. Both parents were members of the Society of Friends, and brought up their children strictly. In 1785 the family moved to Barr, Staffordshire. There among their frequent visitors were James Watt,

Richard Lovell Edgeworth Richard Lovell Edgeworth (31 May 1744 – 13 June 1817) was an Anglo-Irish politician, writer and inventor. Biography Edgeworth was born in Pierrepont Street, Bath, England, son of Richard Edgeworth senior, and great-grandson of Sir Sal ...

, Thomas Day,

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

Samuel Parr Samuel Parr (26 January 1747 – 6 March 1825), was an English schoolmaster, writer, minister and Doctor of Law. He was known in his time for political writing, and (flatteringly) as "the Whig Johnson", though his reputation has lasted less well ...

, and Erasmus Darwin whose daughter Violetta married Mary Anne's eldest brother,

Samuel Tertius Galton Samuel Tertius Galton (23 March 1783 – 23 October 1844) was a businessman and scientist. Life He was the son of Samuel "John" Galton, a prominent member of the scientific Lunar Society, and the father of Francis Galton the eminent Victoria ...

. When about eighteen Mary Anne visited her cousins, the Gurneys of

Earlham Hall Earlham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. It is located just to the west of the city of Norwich, on Earlham Road, on the outskirts of the village of Earlham. For generations it was the home of the Gurney family. The Gurneys were kn ...

, and Catherine Gurney, the eldest daughter, remained her friend through life. She was also the guest of Anna Barbauld; and the winter of 1799 was spent in London. Mary Martha Butt met her at Bath about 1801, and described her as simple, agreeable, and unaffected. On 29 September 1806 Mary Anne Galton married Lambert Schimmelpenninck of Berkeley Square,

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, a member of a branch of a noble Dutch family in the shipping trade at Bristol. The newly married couple settled in the city. Mrs. Schimmelpenninck took part in local charities and education, holding classes for young people at her own house. About 1811 her husband fell into money troubles. At the same time a dispute regarding her settlements led to a breach between her and all the members of her family, which was never healed.

Writer

Schimmelpenninck turned her attention to literature for a livelihood.

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at a ...

had, about this time, sent her some of the writings of the Port-Royalists. In 1813 she published a compilation based on one of those volumes, ''Narrative of a Tour to La Grande Chartreuse and Alet'', by Dom. Claude Lancelot. A second edition was soon called for, and others followed. She pursued her investigations into the work of the Port-Royalists, and in 1815, during a tour on the continent, she visited Port Royal. In 1816 appeared, in 3 vols., ''Narrative of the Demolition of the Monastery of Port Royal des Champs''. This work and its predecessor were republished, with additions, in 1829 under the title of ''Select Memoirs of Port Royal''. A fifth edition appeared in 1858. Among her books on other subjects was ''Theory on the Classification of Beauty and Deformity'', 1815. She also developed a system for recording findings during

phrenological Phrenology () is a pseudoscience which involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits.Wihe, J. V. (2002). "Science and Pseudoscience: A Primer in Critical Thinking." In ''Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience'', pp. 195–203. C ...

examinations, published in 1827 as ''Phrenographic Register, or Phrenologist's Assistant in Recording Manipulations with Facility, Accuracy, and Despatch.'' Schimmelpenninck had prepared the phrenology report used in the prosecution of accused murderer

John Horwood John Horwood (1803 – 13 April 1821) was a miner's son convicted of murder in Bristol, England, and executed in 1821. He was the first person to be hanged at Bristol New Gaol. Life John Horwood was born in Hanham, the fifth son of Thomas and ...

in 1821. She also studied Hebrew with Mrs. Richard Smith, "her more than sister for forty-three years", and embodied the result in ''Biblical Fragments'', 1821–2, 2 vols.

Views

Schimmelpenninck passed through various phases of religious belief. Even as a child, when attending the Friends' meetings with her parents, she was troubled with doubts. She told Caroline Fox that she had "suffered from an indiscriminate theological education". In 1818 she joined the

Moravian Church , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Prot ...

; and although towards the end of her life she was attracted to the Roman Catholic church, she remained a Moravian until her death.

Later life

In 1837 Schimmelpenninck was attacked with paralysis, and moved to Clifton. Her health improved slowly. After her husband's death, in June 1840, she led a retired life. She died at Bristol on 29 August 1856, and was buried in the burying-ground of the Moravian chapel there.

Works

Other works by Schimmelpenninck are: * ''Asaph, or the Herrnhutters; a rhythmical sketch of the modern history of the Moravians'', 1822. * ''Psalms according to the Authorised Version'', 1825. * ''Some Particulars relating to the late Emperor Alexander'', translated from the French, 1830. * ''The Principles of Beauty, as manifested in Nature, Art, and Human Character'', edited by Christiana C. Hankin, 1859. * ''Sacred Musings on the Manifestations of God to the Soul of Man'', edited by Hankin, 1860.

Bibliography

*
Life of Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck vol 1 Autobiography
'; ed. Christiana C Hankin; London, Longman, Green ''et al.'', 1858. *
Life of Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck vol 2 Biographical Sketch and Letters
'; ed. Christina C. Hankin; London, Longman, Green ''et al.'', 1858. * ''Narrative of a Tour to La Grande Chartreuse and Alet'' * ''Narrative of the Demolition of the Monastery of Port Royal des Champs''

References

External links

The Literacy Encyclopedia profile page for Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Schimmelpenninck, Mary Anne 1778 births 1856 deaths English abolitionists 19th-century English writers People from Birmingham, West Midlands People from Great Barr