Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck

Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck (née Galton, 25 November 1778 – 29 August 1856) was a British writer in the anti-slavery movement.

Born at Birmingham, she was eldest child of Samuel "John" Galton and his wife, Lucy Barclay. Both parents were members of the Society of Friends, and brought up their children strictly. In 1785 the family moved to Barr, Staffordshire. There among their frequent visitors were James Watt, Richard Lovell Edgeworth, Thomas Day, Joseph Priestley, Samuel Parr, and Erasmus Darwin whose daughter Violetta married Mary Anne's eldest brother, Samuel Tertius Galton.

When about eighteen Mary Anne visited her cousins, the Gurneys of Earlham Hall, and Catherine Gurney, the eldest daughter, remained her friend through life. She was also the guest of Anna Barbauld; and the winter of 1799 was spent in London. Mary Martha Butt met her at Bath about 1801, and described her as simple, agreeable, and unaffected.

On 29 September 1806 Mary Anne Galton married Lambert Schimmelpenninck of Berkeley Square, Bristol, a member of a branch of a noble Dutch family in the shipping trade at Bristol. The newly married couple settled in the city. Mrs. Schimmelpenninck took part in local charities and education, holding classes for young people at her own house. About 1811 her husband fell into money troubles. At the same time a dispute regarding her settlements led to a breach between her and all the members of her family, which was never healed.

Schimmelpenninck turned her attention to literature for a livelihood. Hannah More had, about this time, sent her some of the writings of the Port-Royalists. In 1813 she published a compilation based on one of those volumes, ‘Narrative of a Tour to La Grande Chartreuse and Alet, by Dom. Claude Lancelot.’ A second edition was soon called for, and others followed. She pursued her investigations into the work of the Port-Royalists, and in 1815, during a tour on the continent, she visited Port Royal. In 1816 appeared, in 3 vols., ‘Narrative of the Demolition of the Monastery of Port Royal des Champs.’ This work and its predecessor were republished, with additions, in 1829 under the title of ‘Select Memoirs of Port Royal.’ A fifth edition appeared in 1858.

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