Sophia Hull
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Sophia, Lady Raffles, born Sophia Hull (5 May 1786 – 12 December 1858), was the second wife of
Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...
, who was a
botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
and known as the founder of modern Singapore.


Early life

Sophia Hull was born in
Millman Street Millman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Dan Millman (born 1946), American author and lecturer *Dick Millman, American chief executive *Michael Millman (1939–2014), American criminal defense lawyer *Jacob Millman (1911–19 ...
,
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, the daughter of James Watson Hull and his wife Sophia (née Hollamby). She met Stamford Raffles in
1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in s ...
in
Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...
, where she lived, and married him on 22 February 1817. She was aged thirty, her husband five years older.


Sophia, Lady Raffles

Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...
had previously been married in 1804 to
Olivia Mariamne Devenish Olivia Mariamne Devenish (16 February 1771 – 26 November 1814) was the spouse of Sir Stamford Raffles, vice governor of Java (1811–1816) from 1805 to 1814. A monument was erected to her memory in the botanical garden of Buitenzorg (Bogor ...
, a widow who was ten years older than him. Olivia had died in
West Java West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
,
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...
, in 1814; his grief at her death was such that he erected a memorial to her which still stands at the
Taman Prasasti Museum Museum Taman Prasasti (Indonesian for Museum of Memorial Stone Park or Inscription Museum) is a museum located in Jakarta, Indonesia. The museum was formerly a cemetery, built by the Dutch colonial government in 1795 as a final resting place for ...
, a former cemetery, in
Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...
, Indonesia. There were no surviving children from this first marriage.


Married life

Sophia had five children by
Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is b ...
, two sons and three daughters: * Charlotte Raffles (daughter) ( 1818
1822 Events January–March * January 1 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. *January 3 - The famous French explorer, Aimé Bonpland, is made prisoner in Paraguay accused of being a spy. ...
) * Leopold Raffles (son) (
1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...
1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Be ...
) * Stanford Marsden Raffles (son) (
1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). *January 8 – General Maritime T ...
1822 Events January–March * January 1 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. *January 3 - The famous French explorer, Aimé Bonpland, is made prisoner in Paraguay accused of being a spy. ...
) * Ella Sophia Raffles (daughter) (
1821 Events January–March * January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen. * January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von Be ...
1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janua ...
) * Flora Nightingale Raffles (daughter) (born and died
1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutio ...
) Her first child Charlotte was born on board ship during the voyage to
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
, Indonesia, made by the couple soon after their marriage. All their children succumbed to
tropical disease Tropical diseases are Infectious disease, diseases that are prevalent in or unique to tropics, tropical and subtropics, subtropical regions. The diseases are less prevalent in temperate climates, due in part to the occurrence of a cold season, whic ...
s, and were buried overseas, apart from Ella, who was sent back to
Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
for the sake of her health. In
1825 Events January–March * January 4 – King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies in Naples and is succeeded by his son, Francis. * February 3 – Vendsyssel-Thy, once part of the Jutland peninsula forming westernmost Denmark, becomes a ...
, Sir Stamford and Lady Raffles also returned to Britain; the seaward journey took nearly a year, having lost many of their possessions in a fire on board
East Indiaman East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...
ship '' Fame'', which they barely escaped with their lives; both were in poor health on board the ship ''
Mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...
'' by the time they arrived. After her husband's death on 5 July
1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island o ...
, Lady Raffles found she was in
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...
to the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
(EIC). She was nevertheless determined to write Sir Stamford's
biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
, which she did in the years that immediately followed, and the first edition of ''Memoir of the life and public services of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, F.R.S. &c.; particularly in the government of Java, 1811–1816; and of Bencoolen and its dependencies, 1817–1824; with details of the commerce and resources of the Eastern archipelago; and selections from his correspondence'' was published in
1830 It is known in European history as a rather tumultuous year with the Revolutions of 1830 in France, Belgium, Poland, Switzerland and Italy. Events January–March * January 11 – LaGrange College (later the University of North Alabama) b ...
by
John Murray III John Murray III (1808–1892) was a British publisher, third of the name at the John Murray company founded in London in 1777. Life The eldest son of John Murray II (1778–1843) by Anne Elliott, daughter of Charles Elliot, the Edinburgh publis ...
of the John Murray publishing house. Her remaining child, daughter Ella Sophia, became engaged to marry John Sumner, the eldest son of
Charles Richard Sumner Charles Richard Sumner (22 November 179015 August 1874) was a Church of England bishop. Life Charles Sumner was a brother of John Bird Sumner, Archbishop of Canterbury. Their father was Robert Sumner and their mother was Hannah Bird, a first co ...
, the Bishop of Winchester, and nephew of
John Bird Sumner John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury. Early life John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the R ...
, the Bishop of Canterbury. Ella met John when her mother Sophia spent time recuperating from illness at the bishop's home in
Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
. She and Sophia were particularly interested when Sumner was ordained as a
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man during their visit. Ella and John were due to marry in the summer of
1840 Events January–March * January 3 – One of the predecessor papers of the ''Herald Sun'' of Melbourne, Australia, ''The Port Phillip Herald'', is founded. * January 10 – Uniform Penny Post is introduced in the United Kingdom. * Janua ...
, but Ella herself was then taken ill, initially with a broken blood vessel. Having deteriorated over several months, Ella died on 12 May 1840, to her mother's despair. She was 19 years old, and Sophia's last living link to Ella's father, the late Stamford Raffles. Sophia's friend and former neighbour, Bishop Samuel Wilberforce (the third son of
William Wilberforce William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
), described the funeral:
. . . the deep sobbing of Lady Raffles and John was most affecting. Then Lady Raffles had to be removed: and it was almost too much. She clung to the coffin and kissed its repulsive blackness: saying in a sort of thrilling whisper of agony "My child, my child, my babe. Must I leave thee?"


Death

Lady Raffles continued to live on at Highwood House in Highwood Hill,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...
. She died in 1858, aged 72. Lady Raffles was buried in the graveyard of St Paul's Church,
Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18, ...
. Following her death, her husband's heir, his nephew Rev William Charles Raffles Flint, tried to sell the collection of Sir Stamford's possessions, known as the 'Raffles Collection', to the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
in London; they declined to purchase it. However, Raffles Flint eventually donated the Raffles Collection to the British Museum.


References


Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hull, Sophia 1786 births 1858 deaths English writers