Samuel Roberts, a Sheffield cutler, author and supporter of benevolent causes, was born in the city on 18 April 1763. He died there at the age of 85 on 24 July 1848 and was buried in Anston churchyard.
Samuel Roberts, a Sheffield cutler, author and supporter of benevolent causes, was born in the city on 18 April 1763. He died there at the age of 85 on 24 July 1848 and was buried in Anston churchyard.
Samuel Roberts was the second son of the similarly named Sheffield manufacturer and merchant, Samuel Roberts (1732–1799), by his wife Mary Sykes. At the age of fourteen he entered his father's business of silver and plated goods, remaining there until 1784, when he established a firm of his own with fellow apprentice George Cadman (1760–1823). The business prospered and by 1841 had a London showroom at Duke Street, Adelphi. Regarded as one of the ablest manufacturers in Sheffield, Roberts also registered a string of patents for his various innovations. [1]
As a successful and prosperous businessman, he was made an Overseer of the Poor in 1804, a position he shared with James Montgomery, to whose newspaper The Sheffield Iris he now began to contribute. Soon after this, the two started to cooperate in philanthropic schemes. Their first project was forming an association for the abolition of the use of climbing boys in sweeping chimneys, which shortly became a national campaign. In support of this Roberts wrote "The Song of the Poor Little Sweep", [2] composed in a quantitative metre but otherwise resembling William Blake's earlier treatments of the theme in his Songs of Innocence and of Experience . [3]
From then on, "by a rigid economy of time, he found innumerable opportunities for the exercise of his pen on a great variety of subjects" [4] in both verse and prose. On account of his books, pamphlets, broadsheets, and contributions to the press in support of the socially disenfranchised, Roberts became known as "The Paupers’ Advocate". Among the many other benevolent causes he championed, along with Montgomery, was the abolition of slavery and opposition to war, to capital punishment and, particularly in his final years, to the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. In at least one case the two shared in attacking the lottery, where Montgomery added his poem "Thoughts on Wheels" to Roberts' The State Lottery: A Dream (1817). Often, too, Roberts' pamphlets with a purely local appeal were printed from the press of Montgomery's newspaper.
Having married Elizabeth Wright, of Anston, on 22 October 1794, Roberts parented a son (also called Samuel) who followed him into his business. Of his three daughters, the second was Mary Roberts, who became an author in her own right with the long poem The Royal Exile (1822). To this her father contributed a sympathetic biography of its subject, Mary, Queen of Scots. [5] His portrait by local artist William Poole (1799–1888), shows him standing with his cane, hat and gloves in one hand and his watch in the other. An engraving of this appeared as a frontispiece to some of his books. [6]
The volume published in the year following Roberts' death and purporting to be his autobiography in reality only contains an autobiographical fragment covering the years up to 1800, before he became a public figure. The greater part is taken up with an anonymous commentary on copious extracts from his writing. [7] It was followed in 1862 by Some Memorials of the Family of Roberts by his son, Samuel. [8] Largely directed to family members, the memoir follows the family line from the first records in Ecclesfield towards the end of the 17th century through to the book's date of publication. Included there is a more succinct biography of his father.
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery and liberate slaves around the world.
A chimney sweep is a person who inspects then clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys may be straight or contain many changes of direction. During normal operation, a layer of creosote builds up on the inside of the chimney, restricting the flow. The creosote can also catch fire, setting the chimney alight. The chimney must be swept to remove the soot.
James Montgomery was a Scottish-born hymn writer, poet and editor, who eventually settled in Sheffield. He was raised in the Moravian Church and theologically trained there, so that his writings often reflect concern for humanitarian causes, such as the abolition of slavery and the exploitation of child chimney sweeps.
The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharp Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day rebellion that started on 25 December 1831 and involved up to 60,000 of the 300,000 slaves in the Colony of Jamaica. The uprising was led by a black Baptist deacon, Samuel Sharpe, and waged largely by his followers. The revolt, though militarily unsuccessful, played a major part in the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire.
Ebenezer Elliott was an English poet, known as the Corn Law rhymer for his leading the fight to repeal the Corn Laws, which were causing hardship and starvation among the poor. Though a factory owner himself, his single-minded devotion to the welfare of the labouring classes won him a sympathetic reputation long after his poetry ceased to be read.
John Pierpont was an American poet, who was also successively a teacher, lawyer, merchant, and Unitarian minister. His poem The Airs of Palestine made him one of the best-known poets in the U.S. in his day. He was the grandfather of J. P. Morgan.
John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane,, styled Lord Glenorchy until 1831 and as Earl of Ormelie from 1831 to 1834, was a Scottish nobleman and Liberal politician.
Sir Robert John Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet, GCH, PC, FRS, born Robert John Wilmot, was a British politician, sociopolitical theorist, and colonial administrator. He was Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies between 1821 and 1828, and Governor of Ceylon between 1831 and 1837. He is most widely known for his writings on assisted emigration to the colonies of the British Empire.
William Upham was an American attorney and politician from Montpelier, Vermont. He was most notable for his service as a United States senator from Vermont.
John Pye-Smith was a Congregational minister, theologian and tutor, associated with reconciling geological sciences with the Bible, repealing the Corn Laws and abolishing slavery. He was the author of many learned works.
The Venerable Francis Wrangham was the Archdeacon of the East Riding. He was a noted author, translator, book collector and abolitionist.
Samuel Bowly (1802–1884) was an English abolitionist and temperance advocate.
Sir Edward Baines, also known as Edward Baines Jr, was a nonconformist English newspaper editor and Member of Parliament (MP).
Mary Anne Rawson (1801–1887) was an abolitionist who also a campaigned with the Tract Society and the British and Foreign Bible Society, for Italian nationalism and against child labour. She was first involved with a Sheffield group, which successfully campaigned for people to boycott sugar from the West Indies, as it was produced by slave labour. She is pictured attending the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840.
Commissioner Elijah Cadman was an evangelist, an early member of The Salvation Army and the originator of the idea that Salvationists should wear uniforms. Just five feet tall, he became known as "the Converted Sweep" and "Fiery Elijah" because of his zeal for preaching.
Abolitionism in the United Kingdom was the movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to end the practice of slavery, whether formal or informal, in the United Kingdom, the British Empire and the world, including ending the Atlantic slave trade. It was part of a wider abolitionism movement in Western Europe and the Americas.
Mary Hutton was an English labouring class writer from Yorkshire. Born in Wakefield on 10 July 1794, she moved to Sheffield when young and spent most of her life there. She was the author of three poetry collections, the last of which was a miscellany of prose and verse.
Wilson Armistead was an English businessman, abolitionist and writer from Leeds. He led the Leeds Anti-Slavery Association and wrote and edited anti-slavery texts. His best known work, A Tribute for the Negro, was published in 1848 in which he describes slavery as "the most extensive and extraordinary system of crime the world ever witnessed". In 1851 he hosted Ellen and William Craft, including them on the census return as 'fugitive slaves' in an act that has been described as "guerrilla inscription".
Jane Alice Sargant (1789–1869) was a British writer who produced conservative and religious writing in a number of genres, including children's fiction, poetry, biographies, plays, conduct books, and political pamphlets.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
