Charles Thomas Esq^re’s

Woodcote Stoke Bishop

near Bristol March 9^th / 66

My dear M^r Douglass

It is a very long time since we have exchanged greetings or communications of any sort, and as we are purposing to leave England for two or three month's travel in a few days I will first send you a few lines to assure you of our continued sympathy and interest in all that concern you & your cause. We have lately heard both from Miss Anne DruryDrury, Anne

and Mrs. CroftsCrofts, Julia Griffiths

A native of London, Julia Griffiths (1811–95) was the oldest of seven children born to Thomas Griffiths, a onetime stationer turned publisher and bookseller, and his wife Charlotte Powis. She first met Douglass during the latter half of 1846 when he lectured in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she was visiting with friends. Her mother had been a friend of William Wilberforce, who had advocated for the abolition of slavery in England, and she herself was active in the British antislavery movement. Charmed by the American, Griffiths followed Douglass back to the United States with her younger sister, Eliza, in 1848. In 1850, Eliza married John Dick, one of Douglass’s printers for the North Star, and the couple moved to Toronto. Julia became a constant companion and partner to Douglass and a leading antislavery organizer in Rochester for the next five years. She contributed to the North Star as copy editor and journalist, and saved the paper from financial ruin by organizing its books and by aggressively pursuing subscribers and donations. She helped found the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, acting as its secretary, and organized the Rochester Anti-Slavery Fair. Initially, she lived with the Douglass family, which led to tension in the household and to unsubstantiated rumors that Douglass and Griffiths shared more than a business relationship. In 1853, the vicious attacks upon her in abolitionist newspapers drove her from the Douglass home and finally forced her to return to England in 1855, ostensibly to raise funds for the North Star. In 1859 she married a Methodist minister from Halifax, Henry O. Crofts (1814–80), who acted as an agent for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Through the Civil War, she continued to organize and revitalize ladies’ antislavery societies and to lecture against slavery. After the war and her husband’s death, she ran a boarding school and worked as a governess. Her friendship with Douglass continued in frequent correspondence, and she welcomed him and his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass, when they visited England in 1886. British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, new ser., 5:82 (1 April 1857); 1871 England Census, Durham County, Gateshead, 41; London, England: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812, Ancestry.com; Maria Diedrich, Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass (New York, 1999), 179–84; Waldo E. Martin, Jr., The Mind of Frederick Douglass (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1984), 40–41; Janet Douglas, “A Cherished Friendship: Julia Griffiths Crofts and Frederick Douglass,” Slavery and Abolition, 33:265–74 (June 2012); Erwin Palmer, “A Partnership in the Abolition Movement,” University of Rochester Library Bulletin, 26:1–17 (Autumn/Winter 1970–71). that you had been chosen by the colored people to represent them in Congress, & that you were going to Washington for that purpose, & in the paper we saw an account of an interview you had with the President at the White House. The fact of your having such an interview in that House shows a marked change for the better, does it not? The President does not seem to be the friend of freedom of the freed people that we hoped he would have been. I wonder whether he will be re-elected or will a change be made when he has

completed Mr Lincoln's four years? I enclose a check for ₤7. which you must accept if you please from two or three friends to aid of your son Lewis's School in Maryland. My motherBrowne, Mary Osler

Mary Osler Browne (c. 1785-1877) was the wife of the businessman William Browne (c. 1791-1859) and the sister of Thomas Osler (1783-1861), founder of F. & C. Osler, who was one of the most prominent crystal manufacturers in nineteenth-century Britain, specializing in chandeliers and fountains. 1841 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, 22; England and Wales, Christening Records, 1530-1906 (online); England and Wales, Death Index, 1837-1915 (online); Sandra Davison, Conservation and Restoration of Glass (1989; Burlington, Mass., 2003), 71. sends ₤ 3.3, some friends at Bridport ₤1.8 & the remainder is from ourselves. If we had been remaining at home this winter we hoped to have done rather more amongst our Bridgeport friends in aid of the Freedmen, but Mr Carpenter's illness has interfered with this & other matters that we hoped to have accomplished. We were very much interested in hearing of the school wch your son is conducting, & which I understand you partly support, at the very place where you opened a Sunday School more than thirty years ago, and especially at the circumstances that two or of your old scholars are now attending your son's school. Any particulars that you can send us about this school will be interesting to us. How many scholars does it contain? Are they mostly of those who have become free during the war? And are they generally

entirely ignorant or have they had a little schooling before. Mr. H. Thomas who got this draft for me writes with it—"Advise L. Douglass that this draft was obtained by Christopher Thomas & Brother Bristol, at the West of England & South District Bank here. If he is identified by a Banker at Rochester & passes it on thro' that Banker it will doubtless be paid in that way."

Now I must tell you a little of ourselves perhaps you have heard from Mrs. CroftsCrofts, Julia Griffiths

A native of London, Julia Griffiths (1811–95) was the oldest of seven children born to Thomas Griffiths, a onetime stationer turned publisher and bookseller, and his wife Charlotte Powis. She first met Douglass during the latter half of 1846 when he lectured in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she was visiting with friends. Her mother had been a friend of William Wilberforce, who had advocated for the abolition of slavery in England, and she herself was active in the British antislavery movement. Charmed by the American, Griffiths followed Douglass back to the United States with her younger sister, Eliza, in 1848. In 1850, Eliza married John Dick, one of Douglass’s printers for the North Star, and the couple moved to Toronto. Julia became a constant companion and partner to Douglass and a leading antislavery organizer in Rochester for the next five years. She contributed to the North Star as copy editor and journalist, and saved the paper from financial ruin by organizing its books and by aggressively pursuing subscribers and donations. She helped found the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, acting as its secretary, and organized the Rochester Anti-Slavery Fair. Initially, she lived with the Douglass family, which led to tension in the household and to unsubstantiated rumors that Douglass and Griffiths shared more than a business relationship. In 1853, the vicious attacks upon her in abolitionist newspapers drove her from the Douglass home and finally forced her to return to England in 1855, ostensibly to raise funds for the North Star. In 1859 she married a Methodist minister from Halifax, Henry O. Crofts (1814–80), who acted as an agent for Frederick Douglass’ Paper. Through the Civil War, she continued to organize and revitalize ladies’ antislavery societies and to lecture against slavery. After the war and her husband’s death, she ran a boarding school and worked as a governess. Her friendship with Douglass continued in frequent correspondence, and she welcomed him and his second wife, Helen Pitts Douglass, when they visited England in 1886. British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Reporter, new ser., 5:82 (1 April 1857); 1871 England Census, Durham County, Gateshead, 41; London, England: Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538–1812, Ancestry.com; Maria Diedrich, Love Across Color Lines: Ottilie Assing and Frederick Douglass (New York, 1999), 179–84; Waldo E. Martin, Jr., The Mind of Frederick Douglass (Chapel Hill, N.C., 1984), 40–41; Janet Douglas, “A Cherished Friendship: Julia Griffiths Crofts and Frederick Douglass,” Slavery and Abolition, 33:265–74 (June 2012); Erwin Palmer, “A Partnership in the Abolition Movement,” University of Rochester Library Bulletin, 26:1–17 (Autumn/Winter 1970–71). that Mr CarpenterCarpenter, Russell Lant

The Reverend Russell Lant Carpenter (1816-92), a Unitarian minister, spent his childhood in Bristol, England. He attended Bristol College in preparation for a life of ministry, continued his studies at Manchester and York Colleges and was one of the first to graduate from London University in 1840. Carpenter became intensely involved in the temperance movement and subsequently quit his pastorate at Bridgwater, England, since part of the church's endowment came from taverns selling liquors. In August 18-19 he journeyed to the United States, where he spent a full year preaching from Montreal to St. Louis to Boston. His father, Dr. Lant Carpenter, was a well-known teacher whose Unitarian writings were already known to the antislavery men of the day. Thus, Carpenter became acquainted with Garrison, Douglass, and others. Having returned to England, he married in 1853 and continued his ministerial work there until his death. His works include Memoirs of Lant Carpenter (1842), Discourses and Devotional Services (1849), A Monotessaron (1851), and a biography about his brother, Philip, Memoirs of the Life and Work of Philip Pearsall Carpenter (1880). Carpenter also contributed frequently to the Inquirer and to other periodicals. London Inquirer, 30 January 1892. has been ill for some time. I am thankful to be able to report him much better, tho' still far from well. His illness has not been of any acute kind, or accompanied by much suffering, except from the feeling, a very distressing one, of extreme weakness. This has been coming on for a long time, before Xmas he suffered much from cough & sore throat, & the medicines which cured these ailments disordered the system in other ways, & at last it got into a very low state—he lost all appetite & looked a mere shadow, so

very thin. You know he never has much flesh to spare. Well, just seven weeks ago we came to Bristol for further medical advice, and were at once told that he must take a long rest from preaching & all worry probably six months, & in the mean time both mind & body must be kept in repose. Fortunately, we are able to do this, we have been staying from that time in this neighbourhood, first for five weeks in St. George Rd. with Mr.Thomas, Herbert

& Mrs. Herbert ThomasThomas, Anna Carpenter

(Mrs H. T. is Mr. Carpenters sister Anna) & now we are with my sister LucyThomas, Lucy Browne

The third daughter of Mary and William Browne, Lucy Browne (1825–1909) married Charles Thomas of Bristol in May 1850. 1851, 1871, 1901 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, FamilySearch.org; “England and Wales, Death Index, 1837–1915”; London Christian Reformer, 6: 452 (July 1850). in this very pleasant Country house over Durdham Down. Mr CarpenterCarpenter, Russell Lant

The Reverend Russell Lant Carpenter (1816-92), a Unitarian minister, spent his childhood in Bristol, England. He attended Bristol College in preparation for a life of ministry, continued his studies at Manchester and York Colleges and was one of the first to graduate from London University in 1840. Carpenter became intensely involved in the temperance movement and subsequently quit his pastorate at Bridgwater, England, since part of the church's endowment came from taverns selling liquors. In August 18-19 he journeyed to the United States, where he spent a full year preaching from Montreal to St. Louis to Boston. His father, Dr. Lant Carpenter, was a well-known teacher whose Unitarian writings were already known to the antislavery men of the day. Thus, Carpenter became acquainted with Garrison, Douglass, and others. Having returned to England, he married in 1853 and continued his ministerial work there until his death. His works include Memoirs of Lant Carpenter (1842), Discourses and Devotional Services (1849), A Monotessaron (1851), and a biography about his brother, Philip, Memoirs of the Life and Work of Philip Pearsall Carpenter (1880). Carpenter also contributed frequently to the Inquirer and to other periodicals. London Inquirer, 30 January 1892. is in every way much better, his appetite is good, & his strength has returned in some measure, so that he now walks out for three or four miles daily, & can read & write a little without discomfort.

As soon as it seems desirable for Mr. C. to have further change we intend starting for two or three months foreign travel. We should like to visit Italy, and as Rome is

not considered healthy after April we mean if we can to set off in time to reach Rome, & spend a fortnight there, before the end of April. If we get on as well as we hope to we may perhaps spend May in the neighbourhood of Naples, & in June visit Florence & Venice on our return. I quite hope that this complete change will be a great refreshment to Mr. Carpenter, & that he may return home by Midsummer in better health than he has been for a very long time. As yet his progress has been steady & satisfactory, tho' slow. When I found that our absence from Bridport would be so much longer that we had supposed w^d be necessary, I returned there to make the needful arrangements, & to shut up our house. We have been fortunately able to supply the pulpit there till the end of April, & I hope there will be no difficulty after that time. Since we have been in Bristol I have been hearing M^r Channing

who is settled here as Minister of a new chapel which was opened at Clifton about a year ago, late July. Our nephew Estlin CarpenterCarpenter, Joseph Estlin

Joseph Estlin Carpenter (1844–1927) was an English Unitarian minister, grandson of Lant Carpenter, and son of William Benjamin Carpenter. Estlin studied moral philosophy at University College, London, and then moved to Manchester for training in the Unitarian ministry at New College. Beginning in 1866, he was the minister of the Oakfield Road Unitarian Church in Clifton, Bristol, for three years, and then preached at Mill Hill Chapel in Leeds from 1869 to 1875. Carpenter was forced to change his career from preaching to academia after he developed a speech defect. After an extended trip to Switzerland, Egypt, and Palestine did not improve his impairment, he became professor of ecclesiastical history at Manchester College in Oxford and studied Sanskrit, Pali, and Hebrew. A prolific author, he wrote a book about his aunt Mary Carpenter in 1879 and numerous religious works, including Life in Palestine When Jesus Lived (1884), The First Three Gospels (1890), James Martineau, Theologian and Teacher: A Study of His Life and Thought (1905), The Historical Jesus and the Theological Christ (1911), and Theism in Medieval India (1921). ODNB (online). (a son of Dr. Carpenter London) who has been educated for the Ministry, a very clever & promising young man, is engaged as the settled Minister of their new chapel (Archfield Road Church it is called) but he has not yet completed his studies, he is to come & enter upon his duties in October. In the meantime the Cong'n are fortunate in securing Mr. Channing for much of the interval. These weeks spent with our dear & very kind sisters & their husbands have been very happy ones, we shall be quite sorry to leave them all, but we are also looking forward with pleasure & hope to our wandering amongst scenes of so much interest & fascination. Please do send me a few lines to say that you have rec'd the ₤7 safely - if we have left your letter will be duly forwarded to us. I will leave the other half short for the chance of Mr. C. adding a few lines.

Believe me ever sincerely & affectionately yours,

Mary CarpenterCarpenter, Mary Browne

Mary Browne Carpenter (c. 1824–98) was the wife of the prominent Unitarian minister Russell Lant Carpenter (1819–92). They were married in Bridgwater, Somersetshire, in 1853. She was one of four daughters born to William Browne, a wealthy Unitarian merchant, and his wife, Mary. William Browne served as mayor of Bridgwater in 1854. In addition to her support of the antislavery effort, Mary Browne Carpenter was also deeply involved in the woman suffrage movement, belonging to one of the more radical suffrage societies in Bridport. She also supported the animal rights and temperance movements. 1841 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, 22; “England and Wales, Christening Records, 1530–1906,” FamilySearch.org; “England and Wales, Death Index, 1837–1915,” FamilySearch.org; “England and Wales, Marriage Index, 1837–1915,” FamilySearch. org; “England and Wales, Non-Conformist Records Indexes, 1588–1977,” FamilySearch.org; Elizabeth Crawford, The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland: A Regional Survey (New York, 2006), 161, 169.She has not been identified by name.

P.S. Mr. Carpenter has just returned from a long expedition into Bristol he has been calling on several friends and is now too tired to write as he intended to have done. He sends his very kind regards to you. We are both of us poor correspondents—but we very often think & talk of you—& however seldom we write you may be sure that you are warmly remembered by us. My sister LucyThomas, Lucy Browne

The third daughter of Mary and William Browne, Lucy Browne (1825–1909) married Charles Thomas of Bristol in May 1850. 1851, 1871, 1901 England Census, Gloucestershire, Bristol, FamilySearch.org; “England and Wales, Death Index, 1837–1915”; London Christian Reformer, 6: 452 (July 1850). wishes to be kindly remembered to you. I wish you could join us here one fine day—It is a most lovely spot. Lucy's oldest child Gertrude is growing up fast—she is taller than her mother tho' only 14—they have one boy Howard, who is at school at London, & two sweet little girls Nelly 8 & Muriel 6 years old.