Jane Wigham (née Smeal; 1801–1888) was a leading

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

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 ...

, and was the secretary of the Glasgow Ladies' Emancipation Society.

Life

Smeal was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1801, the sister of William Smeal. She was educated as a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

Ackworth School Ackworth School is a private day and boarding school located in the village of High Ackworth, near Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The school (or more accurately its Head) is a member of t ...

in Yorkshire. The family resided in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, later moving to

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. As Quakers, Smeal's family were unusual in Scotland. The 1851 census shows that there were fewer than 400 active Scottish Quakers at the time. Smeal became the leader and secretary of the radical Glasgow Ladies Emancipation Society. Her brother William in 1822 founded the Glasgow Anti-Slavery Society, a forerunner of the

Glasgow Emancipation Society The Glasgow Emancipation Society was a group of Glaswegians who formed an anti-slavery abolitionist group in 1833. Prominent members included James McCune Smith, John Murray, William Smeal, Ralph Wardlaw, Anthony Wigham and Hugh Heugh. There ...

, and was later active in the latter.Women on the Platform
DRBs Scottish Women’s History Group. Retrieved 3 June 2015 Smeal had a record of anti-slavery activity, long before the Free Church became involved in the issue. In 1838 she published an important pamphlet with Elizabeth Pease of Darlington titled ''Address to the Women of Great Britain''. This document called for British women to speak in public and to form anti-slavery organisations for women. An address that Smeal prepared for

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 ...

has been credited with being the "final blow" that ended slavery in the Caribbean. In 1840 Smeal became the second wife of the Quaker John Wigham, who was a tea merchant and active abolitionist in Glasgow. In 1830, Wigham's wife and two of their children died however the family was revitalized when he married Smeal. Jane Smeal became Jane Wigham and she formed a close friendship and collaboration with her stepdaughter,

Eliza Wigham Eliza Wigham (23 February 1820 – 3 November 1899), born Elizabeth Wigham, was a Scottish campaigner for women's suffrage, anti-slavery, peace and temperance in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was involved in several major campaigns to improve women ...

. Smeal and Wigham's marriage took place in the same year as the

World's 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 exclus ...

in London, where Eliza was one of the delegates. After the Ladies' Emancipation Society ceased activity, Jane and Eliza, along with some of their friends, set up the Edinburgh chapter of the National Society of Women's Suffrage.

Priscilla Bright McLaren Priscilla Bright McLaren (8 September 1815 – 5 November 1906) was an English activist who served and linked the anti-slavery movement with the women's suffrage movement in the nineteenth century. She was a member of the Edinburgh Ladies' Emanc ...

, the president, Elizabeth Pease, the treasurer, and McLaren's daughter

Agnes McLaren Agnes McLaren (4 July 1837 – 17 April 1913) FRCPI was a Scottish doctor who was one of the first to give medical assistance to women in India who, because of custom, were unable to access medical help from male doctors. Agnes was active in s ...

joined Eliza as joint secretaries.National Society of Women's Suffrage. ''Examiner''; 14 Jan 1871; 3285; British Periodicals pg 55 Despite a lack of support from her husband John, Jane and her stepdaughter established the Edinburgh society as one of the leading British groups supporting the controversial views of the American abolitionist and social reformer

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was an Abolitionism in the United States, American abolitionist, journalist, and reformism (historical), social reformer. He is best known for his widely read anti-slavery newspaper ''The ...

. John Wigham died in 1864 and Eliza remained on at the family home on South Gray Street in Edinburgh to care for her stepmother. Jane died in November 1888 after a prolonged illness.Lesley M. Richmond, 'Wigham, Eliza (1820–1899)', ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 3 June 2015
/ref>

Legacy

Four of the women associated with Edinburgh in the 19th century were the subject of a campaign by Edinburgh historians in 2015. The group aimed to gain recognition for

Elizabeth Pease Nichol Elizabeth Nichol (''née'' Pease; 5 January 1807 – 3 February 1897) was an English abolitionist, anti-segregationist, woman suffragist, chartist and anti-vivisectionist. She was active in the Peace Society, the Temperance movement and fou ...

, and Jane Smeal – the city's "forgotten heroines".Campaign to honour four 'forgotten' heroines of Scottish history
''The Herald'' (Glasgow), 2 June 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigham, Jane 1801 births 1888 deaths Politicians from Glasgow Scottish abolitionists British women activists National Society for Women's Suffrage