Jessie Boucherett
Encyclopedia
Jessie Boucherett (November 1825, North Willingham
near Market Rasen
, Lincolnshire
– 18 October 1905, North Willingham) was an English
campaigner for women's rights
.
A strong Conservative from a landed family in Lincolnshire
, Jessie Boucherett was the youngest daughter of Louise Pigou and Ayscoghe Boucherett, descended from French Protestants.
Boucherett's activities for women's causes were inspired by reading the English Woman's Journal, which reflected her own aims, and by an article in the Edinburgh Review
about the problems of the many 'superfluous' women in England
during the middle years of the nineteenth century, a time when there were far more women than men in the population.
With Barbara Bodichon
and Adelaide Ann Procter, Boucherett helped found the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women
in 1859. This developed into the present-day Society for Promoting the Training of Women.
Also in 1859, Boucherett and Procter joined the Langham Place Group. A small but determined group which campaigned for the improvement of the situation of women, it was active between 1857 and 1866.
Boucherett was a promoter of the women's suffrage
movement and a strong supporter of the Married Women's Property Act. She founded the Englishwoman's Review
in 1866, and edited it until 1870, when she founded with Lydia Becker
the Women's Suffrage Journal.
North Willingham
North Willingham is a village and civil parish located about south east of the town of Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, England, on the A631 road between Market Rasen and Louth...
near Market Rasen
Market Rasen
Market Rasen is a town and civil parish within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the River Rase northeast of Lincoln, east of Gainsborough and southwest of Grimsby. According to the 2001 census, it has a population of 3,200....
, Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
– 18 October 1905, North Willingham) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
campaigner for women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
.
A strong Conservative from a landed family in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Jessie Boucherett was the youngest daughter of Louise Pigou and Ayscoghe Boucherett, descended from French Protestants.
Boucherett's activities for women's causes were inspired by reading the English Woman's Journal, which reflected her own aims, and by an article in the Edinburgh Review
Edinburgh Review
The Edinburgh Review, founded in 1802, was one of the most influential British magazines of the 19th century. It ceased publication in 1929. The magazine took its Latin motto judex damnatur ubi nocens absolvitur from Publilius Syrus.In 1984, the Scottish cultural magazine New Edinburgh Review,...
about the problems of the many 'superfluous' women in England
during the middle years of the nineteenth century, a time when there were far more women than men in the population.
With Barbara Bodichon
Barbara Bodichon
Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was an English educationalist, artist, and a leading early nineteenth century feminist and activist for women's rights.-Early life:...
and Adelaide Ann Procter, Boucherett helped found the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women
Society for Promoting the Employment of Women
The Society for Promoting the Employment of Women was one of the earliest British women's organisations.The society was established in 1859 by Jessie Boucherett, Barbara Bodichon and Adelaide Anne Proctor to promote the training and employment of women...
in 1859. This developed into the present-day Society for Promoting the Training of Women.
Also in 1859, Boucherett and Procter joined the Langham Place Group. A small but determined group which campaigned for the improvement of the situation of women, it was active between 1857 and 1866.
Boucherett was a promoter of the women's suffrage
Women's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
movement and a strong supporter of the Married Women's Property Act. She founded the Englishwoman's Review
Englishwoman's Review
The Englishwoman's Review was a feminist periodical published in the United Kingdom between 1866 and 1910.Until 1869 called in full The Englishwoman's Review: a journal of woman's work, in 1870 it was renamed The Englishwoman's Review of Social and Industrial Questions.One of the first feminist...
in 1866, and edited it until 1870, when she founded with Lydia Becker
Lydia Becker
Lydia Ernestine Becker was a leader in the early British suffrage movement, as well as an amateur scientist with interests in biology and astronomy...
the Women's Suffrage Journal.
Works
- Hints on Self-Help for Young Women, 1863
- The Condition of Women in France', 1868
- 'How to Provide for Superfluous Women', in Josephine ButlerJosephine ButlerJosephine Elizabeth Butler was a Victorian era British feminist who was especially concerned with the welfare of prostitutes...
, ed., Women's Work and Women's Culture, 1869 - 'The industrial position of women', in Theodore Stanton, ed., The Woman Question in Europe, 1884