Edward Strutt Abdy (1791–1846) was an English legal academic and

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

, notable as an author on racism and race relations in the United States.

Early life

Abdy was the fifth and youngest son of Thomas Abdy Abdy, of Albyns, Essex, by Mary, daughter of James Hayes, of Holliport, a bencher of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He was educated at

Felsted School Felsted School is a co-educational independent school, independent boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school, situated in Felsted in Essex, England. It is in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, and was founded i ...

and

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, where he obtained a fellowship (B.A. 1813; M.A. 1817). He was admitted to the

in 1813.

Tour in the USA, 1833–4

Abdy made an extended American tour, beginning with a visit to

Auburn Prison Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility. History In 1816, assemblyman John H. Bea ...

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

, by way of a pretext. He visited also southern and western states. The leader of the prison reform group with which Abdy set off was William Crawford (1788–1847), sent by the British Home Secretary

Viscount Melbourne Viscount Melbourne, of Kilmore in the County of Cavan, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the Lamb family. This family descended from Matthew Lamb, who represented Stockbridge and Peterborough in the House of Commons. In 1755 h ...

to investigate the "silent system" of Auburn Prison, and the "

separate system The separate system is a form of prison management based on the principle of keeping prisoners in solitary confinement. When first introduced in the early 19th century, the objective of such a prison or "penitentiary" was that of penance by the p ...

" in operation at Pennsylvania. The tour resulted in the publication by Abdy of a three-volume ''Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United States of North America, from April 1833 to October 1834''. It reported on his research on US penal institutions, made with members of the Society for the Improvement of Prison Discipline and the Reformation of Juvenile Offenders. But Abdy wrote also at length on the

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

he perceived in American society. On his journeys, Abdy had close contact with US abolitionists including

Maria Weston Chapman Maria Weston Chapman (July 25, 1806 – July 12, 1885) was an American abolitionist. She was elected to the executive committee of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1839 and from 1839 until 1842, she served as editor of the anti-slavery journ ...

. He influenced

William Ellery Channing William Ellery Channing (April 7, 1780 – October 2, 1842) was the foremost Unitarianism, Unitarian preacher in the United States in the early nineteenth century and, along with Andrews Norton (1786–1853), one of Unitarianism's leading theolo ...

and

Lydia Maria Child Lydia Maria Child ( Francis; February 11, 1802October 20, 1880) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, Native Americans in the United States, Native American rights activist, novelist, journalis ...

; and was involved in the formation of the (American) Anti-Slavery League. Abdy paid a visit in New York to Peter Williams, Jr., the black Episcopal minister. In his ''Journal of a Residence and Tour'' Abdy recounts, under a chapter subheading "Africo-American craniology", a conversation he had on skulls, with the sexton of Williams's church, who worked in what had become the burial ground for all black New Yorkers. The sexton, on Abdy's account, told an anecdote against "Dr. Paschalis" (i.e. Félix Pascalis-Ouvière M.D. (1762–1833), French physician in New York), based on the proposition that Paschalis could not with certainty identify an African-American skull from the bone alone. Abdy's intention in the framing of this account has been regarded as problematic. On the other hand, Channing had an interest in

phrenology Phrenology is a pseudoscience that involves the measurement of bumps on the skull to predict mental traits. It is based on the concept that the Human brain, brain is the organ of the mind, and that certain brain areas have localized, specific ...

, and a copy of

George Combe George Combe (21 October 1788 – 14 August 1858) was a Scottish people, Scottish lawyer and a spokesman of the phrenology, phrenological movement for over 20 years. He founded the Edinburgh Phrenological Society in 1820 and wrote ''The Constitu ...

's ''Constitution of Man'' (Boston, 1829). In the widely-reported conversation Abdy had had with Channing, he had pushed Channing on whether he was properly informed on the free black population. Channing on this occasion produced a phrenological argument for

white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

. This encounter, in August 1834 on

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

, saw Abdy throw back some of Channing's own words at him. Channing later told

Harriet Martineau Harriet Martineau (12 June 1802 – 27 June 1876) was an English social theorist.Hill, Michael R. (2002''Harriet Martineau: Theoretical and Methodological Perspectives'' Routledge. She wrote from a sociological, holism, holistic, religious and ...

that Abdy's reasoning had an impact on his views. The public perception, based on Abdy's book and his comfort with being thought tactless, was that they had parted on bad terms.

Later life

In later life Abdy took an interest in

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

, publishing ''The Water Cure. Cases of Disease cured by Cold Water (translated from the German), with remarks addressed to people of common sense,'' a translation of a pamphlet by Rudolf von Falkenstein. His death occurred at Bath, 12 October 1846, at the age of 56. He was unmarried.

References

;Attribution

External links

*E. S. Abdy, ''Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United States of North America: From April, 1833, to October 1834'', from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

:
Volume 1
(1835)
Volume 2
(1835)
Volume 3
(1835) *E. S. Abdy,
American whites and blacks, in reply to a German orthodermist
' (1842) *Rudolph von Falkenstein, tr. E. S. Abdy,
The water cure, cases of disease cured by cold water
' (1842) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abdy, Edward Strutt 1791 births 1846 deaths English non-fiction writers Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple English male non-fiction writers