Ellen Frederica Oliver (16 July 1870 – 8 July 1921) was a British

suffragette A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...

, purity activist and a follower of the Panacea Society, who was the first person to recognise Mabel Barltrop as a prophet in the movement.

Biography

Born on 16 July 1870 in

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, Oliver was one of nine children of

Samuel Pasfield Oliver Samuel Pasfield Oliver (1838–1907) was an English artillery officer, geographer and antiquary. Life Born at Bovinger, Essex, on 30 October 1838, he was the eldest and only surviving son of William Macjanley Oliver, rector of Bovinger, by his ...

, a geographer, and his wife Clara. Oliver's education appears to have been sporadic, and she did not learn to read and write until she was eleven years old. Independently wealthy due to her family's income, she travelled as a young woman to Mauritius (where her mother was born), New Zealand and possibly Jamaica. After Oliver's return from travelling, she joined the suffrage movement and became a member of the Women's Social and Political Union. She was active between 1912 and 1914, volunteering a secretary to the Worthing WSPU branch during that period. She was imprisoned in Holloway Gaol as a result of her suffrage activism. Religious, Oliver was a member of the

Church League for Women's Suffrage The Church League for Women's Suffrage (CLWS) was an organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom. The league was started in London, but by 1913 it had branches across England, in Wales and Scotland and Ireland. Aims an ...

, and was a believer in the purity movement. In 1914 she became aware of the teachings of

Joanna Southcott Joanna Southcott (or Southcote; April 1750 – 26 December 1814) was a British self-described religious prophetess from Devon. A "Southcottian" movement continued in various forms after her death. Early life Joanna Southcott was born in the h ...

, encountering them through a blue leaflet given to her after a suffrage meeting. To further her interest, Oliver began to write letters with another Southcottian, Mabel Barltrop, who had established an organisation called the Panacea Society that same year. Oliver moved to Bedford, to live as part of the Panacea community. In the Southcottian movement, there was understood to be a lineage of prophets, all with the name of 'Shiloh', who are the spiritual children of Southcott. On 14 February 1919 Oliver declared that Mabel Barltrop was the ninth prophet. Balthrop later appointed her as an apostle. The Panacea Society's first community house was at 5 Albany Road, Bedford, which Oliver co-funded the purchase of with other members. Oliver died on 8 July 1921, due to cancer. She is buried in Foster Hill Road Cemetery, Bedford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Ellen 1870 births 1921 deaths Guernsey Christians British suffragettes