Elizabeth Hanbury (9 June 1793 – 31 October 1901) was a British philanthropist who worked with

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

. She is thought to have been Queen Victoria's "oldest subject"; she died in 1901, aged 108 years and 144 days.

Life

Elizabeth Sanderson was born in

Leadenhall Street __NOTOC__ Leadenhall Street () is a street in the City of London. It is about and links Cornhill, London, Cornhill in the west to Aldgate in the east. It was formerly the start of the A11 road (England), A11 road from London to Norwich, but th ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1793; a record of her birth was made at the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of All Hallows-on-the-Wall. Her father was a "China tea merchant", and she had family connections dating back to Robert Sanderson,

Bishop of Lincoln The Bishop of Lincoln is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury. The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of Nort ...

. She and her sister Mary were Quakers and they visited prisons with the famous reformer

, including prisoners who were bound for transportation. In 1833 Elizabeth Hanbury was recognized as a minister in the Quaker church. She married Cornelius Hanbury of the chemist company Allen & Hanburys in 1826, becoming his second wife. (Cornelius had been married to a daughter of his business partner William Allen.) He was the first cousin of the Gurney family of Norwich. In 1830 the Hanburys had a daughter named Charlotte, who was to become a missionary in Morocco;Timothy C. F. Stunt, ‘Hanbury , Elizabeth (1793–1901)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2006
accessed 11 Jan 2015
/ref> The Hanburys had one son, also named Cornelius; his two daughters, Elizabeth and Charlotte, became missionaries in India and China. Her husband, Cornelius, attended the

World Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The excl ...

in 1840 at which only men were allowed to speak. He died in 1869. In 1887, Elizabeth and Charlotte Hanbury left the wilds and moved to the home of Cornelius, in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, on the western outskirts of London. When Elizabeth Hanbury was 100 years old her portrait was painted by Percy Bigland. This portrait passed down to

Thomas Hanbury Sir Thomas Hanbury (21 June 18329 March 1907) was an English businessman, gardener and philanthropist. He built the Giardini Botanici Hanbury, or Hanbury botanical gardens, at Mortola Inferiore, between Ventimiglia and Menton, on the coast of ...

, creator of the

botanical gardens in Italy Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially their anatomy, taxonomy, and ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who specialises in this field. "Plant" and "botany ...

. In 1900 she wrote a letter to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

from her "oldest subject". She died in Richmond in 1901 at the age of 108 years and 144 days. Her long life was documented in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' and later reported in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' and in the ''Morning Post'' in Queensland. An autobiography of Elizabeth was published soon after her death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanbury, Elizabeth 1793 births 1901 deaths British women centenarians Philanthropists from London People from the City of London 19th-century British philanthropists 19th-century British women philanthropists

Life

See also

References