Playwright Michael Crowley reflects of the challenges of bringing #Chartism and the events of 1842 to the stage in Waiting for Wesley. Now on our website https://sslh.org.uk/2023/07/17/chartism-the-great-strike-of-1842-and-the-possibilities-of-drama/

#Histodons #Chartism #LabourHistory
I’ve been writing about the veteran Chartist Allen Davenport, who as president of the London Democratic Association provided a direct personal link back to the ultra radical Spenceans of an earlier generation and became a significant influence on the thinking of a young George Julian Harney. It’s here https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/allen-davenport-1775-1846/

#Histodons #LabourHistory #Chartism
In 1839, the Chartist George Julian Harney had been arrested at Bedlington in Northumberland and was on bail awaiting his trial for sedition when he sent this letter to his lawyer. Read more on our website… https://sslh.org.uk/2023/04/01/the-chartist-his-lawyer-and-a-matter-of-vital-importance/

#Chartism #Histodons #Victorianists
I recently visited Kensal Green Cemetery in north west London where some of the best known figures in Chartism were buried - including Feargus O’Connor, GWM Reynolds and Henry Hetherington. I’ve written about it and posted some photos on the Chartist Ancestors website; I’ve also provided a map if anyone is interested in making a similar pilgrimage. https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/meet-the-kensal-green-chartists/

#Chartism #LabourHistory #Histodons
The Chartist leader Feargus O’Connor began his political career as a ‘gentleman radical’, inheriting family money and funding the Northern Star newspaper largely from his own pocket. But how much was he worth by the time he died in 1855? I’ve found some probate details that answer the question… https://chartist-ancestors.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-financial-downfall-of-feargus.html

Chartism Day 2023 will be at Sheffield Hallam University on Saturday 17 June.

It's an opportunity to hear about new research and recent publications, and typically attracts a diverse audience of new and established academics, independent researchers, local and family historians, and others who simply want to find out more about this key historical movement.

Booking opens on 1 May.

https://sslh.org.uk/2023/03/05/chartism-day-2023/
#Chartism #LabourHistory #SocietyForTheStudyOfLabourHistory

#Chartism #Histodons
Pleased to have been able to uncover some details of the life of May Paris (born May Archer), a Chartist activist in Greenwich. She is said to have personally collected hundreds of signatures to the great petition of 1842 and been among the crowd who took it to Parliament. https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/may-paris-1807-1849/

#Chartism #Histodons @histodons
Some Chartists went to unmarked pauper graves, others lie buried beneath imposing monuments.I’ve added a new page to the Chartist Ancestors website which starts to answer the question, ‘Where are they now?’ Additions welcome.
https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/where-are-they-now-pauper-graves-and-obelisks/

Chartist orator and organiser Henry Vincent died #OnThisDay in 1878. Vincent earned a huge and loyal following while working as a missionary for the London Working Men’s Association in Wales and the West of England in 1838. After being imprisoned for his activities, Vincent tempered his radicalism, focusing on teetotalism (he had been teetotal since 1836) and became, if anything, still more popular. Pic: National Gallery of Scotland. #Histodons: more Teetotal #Chartism https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/teetotal-chartism-2/

#Chartism #LabourHistory @histodons
Susanna Inge died in New York on Boxing Day 1902. There were no obituaries in the papers, and for more than a century she was lost to history. But in the 1840s, Susanna had been something of a sensation. Born into a working-class family, she became secretary of the City of London Female Chartist Association and a speaker for the cause - until she fell foul of the Chartist leadership . Her life story is told here https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/susanna-inge-1820-1902/

The aristocratic radical MP Thomas Slingsby Duncombe was the best and most consistent supporter of #Chartism and trade unions in the House of Commons. This print is from the Chartist Northern Star newspaper. Duncombe was an inveterate gambler who lost the family fortune at the card table, and had a very public reputation as a rake. But his private life hid a surprising secret. More for #histodons and #victorianists at https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/thomas-slingsby-duncombe-1796-1861/

The aristocratic radical MP Thomas Slingsby Duncombe was the best and most consistent supporter of #Chartism and trade unions in the House of Commons. This print is from the Chartist Northern Star newspaper. Duncombe was an inveterate gambler who lost the family fortune at the card table, and had a very public reputation as a rake. But his private life hid a surprising secret. More for #histodons and #victorianists at https://www.chartistancestors.co.uk/thomas-slingsby-duncombe-1796-1861/

A very merry Christmas from Queen Victoria. December 1838.
#Chartism #Histodons

Save the date: #ChartismDay2023 will be in Sheffield on 17 June. More details as we get nearer the date @histodons #LabourHistory #Chartism
You can read about the 2022 event at https://sslh.org.uk/2022/03/20/chartism-day-2022-report-from-a-day-of-research-song-and-a-missing-friend/

So… #Chartism: I set up the Chartist Ancestors website back in 2003, primarily as a free #FamilyHistory resource for people whose research interests overlapped with my own. It has grown a fair bit since then, and now includes a databank of some 14,000 people who were involved in this great radical cause of the mid-nineteenth century. But it’s all still free to use. Hopefully of interest to @histodons @geneadons and others
Website: https://chartistancestors.co.uk
Blog: https://chartist-ancestors.blogspot.com/