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Annie Seymour Pearson

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British suffragette

Annie Pearson
WSPU prison brooch of the type awarded to Pearson
BornAnnie Jane Bennett
1873
Bolsover, Derbyshire, England
Died1956(1956-00-00) (aged 82–83)
NationalityBritish
Known forSuffragette
SpouseArthur Seymour Pearson
ChildrenFour

Annie Jane Bennett Pearson (née Bennett, 1873–1956), also known as Annie Seymour Pearson, was a British women's suffrage activist who ran a safe house for suffragettes evading police.

Personal life

Pearson was born at Bolsover, Derbyshire in 1873 and was known as Nancy or Nance to friends. She was married to Arthur, had four children (surviving children were Elsa, Francis and Roland), and lived in York.

Activism

Pearson was a supporter of votes for women and was both arrested for her militant campaigning and supported others to evade arrest. In 1912,18-year-old journalist Harry Johnson, a supporter of women's enfranchisement and possible member of the Men's Political Union (MPU), was sentenced to a year's imprisonment in Wakefield Gaol with hard labour for attempting to blow up a house near Doncaster for the cause. He went on hunger strike and was released temporarily from prison under the Cat and Mouse Act, and Pearson, along with Violet Key Jones, helped him to evade rearrest. Pearson also set up her own safe house for suffragettes and supporters.

In 1913, Pearson went to protest at the House of Commons and walked arm-in-arm with a nurse from Birmingham towards Downing Street. She was arrested, charged with obstructing the police, and summoned to appear in court on 18 January 1913. Pearson was sentenced to a choice of a 40 shilling fine, or time in prison and opted for prison. Two days later her husband paid the 25 shillings and sixpence fine, and Pearson was released from Holloway.

After returning to York, Pearson received a Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) prison brooch, and was invited to the next WSPU prisoners' reception where she was thanked for her contribution. She was interviewed by a reporter from The Yorkshire Herald during which she explained her motivation for travelling to the demonstration and what happened when there.

In popular culture

In 2017, York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre staged Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes a play about Pearson and other suffragettes. Pearson was a central character who was played by professional actress Barbara Marten. Maten has said that "the house in Heworth Green, where she ran a safe house, no longer stands and there’s no blue plaque. Even her obituary made no mention of her having been a Suffragette.”

References

  1. ^ "Mrs Annie Seymour Pearson / Database - Women's Suffrage Resources". Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Who were the York suffragettes?". York Press. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  3. Suffragettes-STUDENT-V1.pdf (PDF), p. 21, retrieved 3 June 2020
  4. ^ Suffragettes-STUDENT-V1.pdf (PDF), p. 16, retrieved 3 June 2020
  5. "Mr Harry Johnson / Database - Women's Suffrage Resources". www.suffrageresources.org.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  6. "In History: Suffragettes speak about direct action and their brutal treatment". BBC News. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  7. "What did the suffragettes do in York? Quite a lot actually..." York Press. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. Godfrey, Jennifer (4 July 2024). Secret Missions of the Suffragettes: Glassbreakers and Safe Houses. Pen and Sword History. p. 159. ISBN 978-1-3990-1399-4.
  9. ^ "Theatre: Suffragette city heading to York". The Northern Echo. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  10. Suffragettes-STUDENT-V1.pdf (PDF), p. 17, retrieved 3 June 2020
  11. Cowman, Krista (15 July 2007). Women of the Right Spirit: Paid Organisers of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), 1904-18. Manchester University Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7190-7002-0.
  12. Suffragettes-STUDENT-V1.pdf (PDF), pp. 22–23, retrieved 3 June 2020
  13. Cowman, Krista (2007). The Militant Suffragette Movement in York. Borthwick Publications. p. 18. ISBN 9781904497219.
  14. Suffragettes-STUDENT-V1.pdf (PDF), pp. 24–25, retrieved 3 June 2020
  15. Brennan, Clare (25 June 2017). "Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes review – an extraordinary community production | Stage | The Guardian". The Observer. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  16. Hutchinson, Charles (30 April 2020). "York Theatre Royal goes digital for Suffragette stream of Everything Is Possible protest play". charleshutchpress. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
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