Isaac Ironside (17 September 1808 – 20 August 1870) was an English Chartist and

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

politician, whose activities were centred in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

Early years

Born near

Masbrough Masbrough is a suburb of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. It was named as the west of Rotherham by the middle of the Industrial Revolution, namely that part on the left bank of River Don, South Yorkshire, Don. Historic counties of England, ...

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

, Ironside grew up in

, the son of Samuel Ironside, a

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

lay preacher A lay preacher is a preacher who is not ordained (i.e. a layperson) and who may not hold a formal university degree in theology. Lay preaching varies in importance between religions and their sects. Overview Some denominations specifically disco ...

, and Mary Bradbury. On both sides of the family there were roots in the Independent Church in Masbrough - Mary's grandfather Isaac Bradbury was well known as an "Old

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

". Isaac's younger brother Samuel Ironside travelled as a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

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, where he became a supporter and signatory of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

."Samuel Ironside in New Zealand", W. A. Chambers, Isaac, meanwhile, moved into politics. He began work in the

foundries A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal into a mold, and removing the mold material after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals pr ...

and undertook studies in his spare time."Ironside, Isaac", ''

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

'' Soon after marrying in the 1820s, Ironside moved to

New Harmony, Indiana New Harmony is a historic town on the Wabash River in Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, Harmony Township, Posey County, Indiana, Posey County, Indiana. It lies north of Mount Vernon, Indiana, Mount Vernon, the county seat, and is part of ...

Robert Owen Robert Owen (; 14 May 1771 – 17 November 1858) was a Welsh textile manufacturer, philanthropist, political philosopher and social reformer, and a founder of utopian socialism and the cooperative movement, co-operative movement. He strove to ...

utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

colony. However, the colony was not a success, and the couple returned to Sheffield. In 1833, he joined his father's new

accountancy Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...

business, and by the 1840s came to run it.

Chartism

A supporter of

Chartism Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of ...

, Ironside joined the Sheffield Political Union in 1831 and worked as the campaign secretary for the

Radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

candidate

Thomas Asline Ward Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

, who stood for

in the 1832 general election, but was narrowly defeated. In 1833, he became a founder member of Sheffield's

Mechanics Institute Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult ed ...

. He increasingly became a leading figure in Sheffield Chartism, and spoke alongside

Ebenezer Elliott Ebenezer Elliott (17 March 1781 – 1 December 1849) was an English poet, known as the ''Corn Law rhymer'' for his leading the fight to repeal the Corn Laws, which were causing hardship and starvation among the poor. Though a factory owner himse ...

at a mass meeting in Paradise Square in 1838. However, with the defeat of the first Chartist petition, the local movement was split between supporters of and opponents of violence, and he increasingly stayed away from meetings. During the late 1830s, Ironside took up

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 ...

, but soon abandoned it, as it was "not capable of rigid demonstration", and because many of its practitioners made implausible claims about it.

Conflict

In 1839, poet James Montgomery had Ironside removed from his post as honorary secretary of the Institute after Ironside placed eight books dealing with

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

on the shelves. Montgomery also claimed that Ironside had encouraged

subversion Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to sabotage the established social order and its structures of Power (philosophy), power, authority, tradition, h ...

by opening a coffee room. Instead, Ironside worked with Owen, proposing agrarian communities, and opening a Hall of Science in Sheffield. He wrote a polemic attacking John Brindley and despite moving away from Owen, founded a Workers' Educational Institute at the Hall of Science in 1848.

Power

In 1846, Ironside was elected to Sheffield Town Council representing

Ecclesall Ecclesall Ward—which includes the neighbourhoods of Banner Cross, Bents Green, Carterknowle, Ecclesall, Greystones, Millhouses, and Ringinglow—is one of the 28 electoral wards in the Sheffield district, in the county of South Yorkshire, En ...

, where he founded the Central Democratic Association to raise socialist and Chartist demands. By 1849, this grouping had grown to 22 members and was able to force the creation of a health committee and the construction of a model farm on broadly Owenite principles at Hollow Meadows. Utilising

Joshua Toulmin Smith Joshua Toulmin Smith (born 29 May 1816 – death 28 April 1869) was a British political theorist, lawyer and local historian of Birmingham. Born in Birmingham as Joshua Smith, the son of William Hawkes Smith (1786–1840), an economic and educ ...

localist Localism is a range of political philosophies which prioritize the local. Generally, localism supports local production and Local purchasing, consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and lo ...

ideas, he set up a system of "wardmote" committees where any local citizen could influence council policy. With their support, he ensured that Sheffield's streets were paved and underground sewers were laid during the 1850s. He also supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, and encouraged Anne Knight to found the Sheffield Female Political Association. At the Town Council meeting of 14 January 1848, Ironside gave an antisemitic speech in responded to a proposal to express the Council's support for the removal of bar on Jews becoming MPs.

Later years

In 1851, Ironside founded the ''Sheffield Free Press'', becoming an outspoken supporter of

David Urquhart David Urquhart (1 July 180516 May 1877) was a British diplomat, writer and politician, serving as a Member of Parliament for Stafford from 1847 to 1852. He also was an early promoter in the United Kingdom of the hammam (known to westerners as th ...

, and leading support for Toulmin Smith's candidature for Sheffield at the 1852 general election. In 1856, he corresponded with

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

.Letters of Marx and Engels: 1856
/ref> He retained his seat on the council until 1868. He died in 1870 and was buried in

Sheffield General Cemetery The General Cemetery in the Sheffield, City of Sheffield, England opened in 1836 and closed for burial in 1978. It was the principal cemetery in Victorian era, Victorian Sheffield with over 87,000 burials. Today it is a listed Landscape (Grade I ...

. Isaac and his wife Elizabeth had five daughters:General Register Office, Indexes of Births (for the younger four daughters) and of Marriages (for Emma) Emma (1835), Frances (1841), Una (1845), Kate (1850), and Lilian (1852).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ironside, Isaac 1870 deaths Chartists Councillors in Sheffield English socialists People from Rotherham Politics of Sheffield Burials at Sheffield General Cemetery 1808 births