Unknown

83

Single

37 Durdham Park, Redland, Bristol BS6 6XF

NUWSS

Complies

Anna Maria was born in Newcastle in 1828. Her mother, Rachel Bragg, was a prominent anti-slavery agitator. Alongside her sister, Mary, she signed the 1866 suffrage petition. Anna Maria and Mary moved to Bristol in 1870, living at 37 Durdham Park for the rest of their lives. In 1870, Anna Maria joined the committee of the Bristol and West of England Society for Women’s Suffrage, of which she was still a member in 1908. In 1870, alongside her sister, Anna Maria refused to pay tax, leading to their dining chairs being removed in place of the taxation payment. They were returned after their fine was anonymously paid. In 1881, alongside Emily Sturge, Anna Maria formed the first women's liberal association that would only support candidates who agreed with women’s enfranchisement. Anna Maria favoured the mobilisation of the middle and lower classes, leading to her raising £1000 for the Bristol and West England branch of the national suffrage to support organising activities and work. After the 1884 women’s suffrage movement amendment failed, Anna Maria focused on the women’s liberal association and supporting enfranchisement. After the split in the central committee for women’s suffrage in 1888, she remained with the central national society and became a member of their executive committee. Anna Maria formed the union of practical suffragists in 1896 after a defeat in maintaining the WLF's support for candidates who did support women’s enfranchisement. She wrote a pamphlet entitled ‘Women and Votes’, published by the union in 1896. This seemed a success in 1903 when the WLF agreed to only support candidates that also supported enfranchisement, but in 1905, she was removed as president of the Bristol and West England women’s liberal association. After this, Anna Maria and Mary joined WSPU in 1907, donating £25 in 1908 and continuing to contribute in 1909. Anna Maria and her sister contributed to the election expenses of George Lansbury, a suffrage candidate supported by Christabel Pankhurst. Anna Maria complied with the 1911 census, by this time she was apart of the NUWSS. As a pacifist, Anna Maria, with her sister Mary, attended the peace conference in Berne in 1892, an international forum concerning issues of international conflict. Anna Maria died within 5 days of her sister Mary in 1914, it has been inferred that neither could handle the prospect of the looming Great War. Contributed by Becca Aspden, URSS student researcher, History, Warwick University. Sources: Crawford, E. The Women’s Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide, 1866-1928 (London, 1999) pp. 565-67; Liddington, J. Vanishing for the Vote: Suffrage, Citizenship and the Battle for the Census (Manchester University Press, 2014) p.319.