Caroline Ashurst Stansfeld
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Caroline Stansfeld | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Caroline Ashurst Stansfeld | |
| Born | 28 January 1816 |
| Died | 29 March 1885 (aged 69) |
| Occupation | Activist |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Joseph James Stansfeld |
| Relatives | William Ashurst (father) Eliza Ann Ashurst Bardonneau (sister) Matilda Ashurst Biggs (sister) Emilie Ashurst Venturi (sister) |
Caroline Ashurst Stansfeld (/ˈstænsfiːld/ STANSS-feeld; 28 January 1816 – 29 March 1885) was a member of an important family of radical activists in mid-nineteenth-century England who supported causes ranging from women's suffrage to Italian unification. In 1844, she married[1] Sir James Stansfeld (1820–1898), the future MP for Halifax and preeminent political advocate for the movement to repeal the Contagious Diseases Acts.[2] She maintained a close friendship with Italian nationalist Giuseppe Mazzini, who wrote to her frequently and 1,500 of his letters to the family have been published in E.F. Richards’ collection: Letters to an English Family.[3]
In London, on 28 January 1816, Caroline Ashurst was born to Elizabeth Brown and William Ashurst. Her siblings were William Henry Ashurst, Eliza Ann Ashurst (Bardonneau), Emilie Ashurst (Venturi) and Matilda Ashurst (Biggs).[4] She grew up in the Ashurst home in Muswell Hill.[4]
The daughters were brought up in Muswell Hill, London, in a community of 19th-century reformers and free thinkers who advocated for more equality in society including anti-slavery. Her father gave his daughters freedom "considered shocking" for those times.[4]
Caroline and James Stansfeld (1820–1898) were married in Finsbury at the South Place Chapel, on 27 July 1844, by William Johnson Fox. Although trained as a lawyer, Stansfeld worked as a brewer, owning the Swan Brewery.[4] In 1859 Stansfeld entered Parliament, when he advocated for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts.[4]
On 19 April 1852, the couple had a son, Joseph James Stansfeld, named after Giuseppe Mazzini.[4] Mazzini considered him a godson, sending letters and books from abroad.[5]