Miss Ann Swaine

Other sources: https://www.parliament.uk/1866
Elizabeth Crawford, The Women's Suffrage Movement in Britain and Ireland: A Regional Survey (2006)

Additional Information: Ann signed the 1866 petition, attended a local suffrage meeting in 1879 in York, and took to the platform as a speaker at a suffrage meeting held in 1880 at the Victoria Hall. The thrust of the meeting was to discuss women's support to promote the election of Liberal MPs in York, which was seen as the best way of securing votes for women at that time.

Other Suffrage Activities: Ann was a Unitarian and very much involved in movements for the higher education of women and of cookery in schools. She was the author of a pamphlet, 'Remarkable Women as Examples for Girls'. Later, in the 1881 census, she described herself as 'Having no proper trade or education', suggesting frustration with the opportunities available for women. Her father (Edward Swaine) had also written a pamphlet in 1849: 'The Political Franchise: A Public Trust'. In it, he advocated the extension of manhood suffrage, but the exclusion of women. Did Ann manage to alter his view?