Cobbe (Frances Power) Correspondence, 1855-1904

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Summary

Title:
Frances Power Cobbe correspondence
Dates:
1855-1904
Creators:
Cobbe, Frances Power, 1822-1904, addressee.
Abstract:
Letters addressed to Irish philanthropist and activist Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904) covering women's suffrage and rights; antivivisection, her work in Bristol and her moral and religious writings; comments on her books and articles. Correspondents include Mary Carpenter, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Charles Darwin, Earl of Shaftesbury, James Anthony Froude, Keshub Chunder Sen, James Martineau, Theodore Parker, Felix Pecaut, and others.
Extent:
14.4 Linear Feet (12 boxes)
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Frances Power Cobbe correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

Letters addressed to Frances Power Cobbe cover women's suffrage and rights; antivivisection, her social work in Bristol, and her moral and religious writings; comments on her books and articles. Correspondents include Mary Carpenter, Anthony Ashley Cooper, Charles Darwin, Earl of Shaftesbury, James Anthony Froude, Keshub Chunder Sen, James Martineau, Theodore Parker, Felix Pecaut, and others.

Some important or interesting items
  1. Bray, Caroline (Hennell). 1895, May 21. Re: George Eliot.
  2. Cobbe, Charles, Abp. of Dublin. To his son, Charles Cobbe. 1750, Mar. 17. Letter of advice on going abroad.
  3. Dodgson, Charles Lutwidge. 1875, May 7. Re: vivisection.
  4. Froude, James Anthony. Interesting series of letters.
  5. Galton, Sir Francis. 1877, Aug. 27. Re: motives for murder.
  6. Kesavachandra Sena. 1878, Apr. 26. Re: the marriage of his young daughter.
  7. Montefiore, Claude G. 1882, Dec. 4. On inter-racial marriage with Jews.
  8. Parker, Theodore. 1848, May 5. On religion.
  9. Russell, John, styled Viscount Amberly. 1874, Nov. 10 & 25. Letter about Frances Power Cobbe's essay on Mill.
  10. Sidgwick, Eleanor Mildred (Balfour). 1890, Jan. 10. On premonitions, telepathy, and hallucinations.
  11. Spencer, Herbert. 1872. Criticism of Miss Cobbe's Darwinism in Morals.
  12. Stevenson, Robert Louis. 1884, Mar. 9. Re: his friendliness toward dogs and his views on vivisection.
Persons represented by 3 or more pieces
  1. Amos, Sheldon (3 pieces, 1879-83)
  2. Bonheur, Rosa (4 pieces, 1869-98)
  3. Boyle, Eleanor Vere (Gordon) ((3 pieces, c.1890?)
  4. Brown, Edward Harold, Bp. of Winchester (8 pieces, 1878-89)
  5. Butler, Frances Anne (Kemble) (5 pieces, c. 1865-90)
  6. Carpenter, Mary (23 pieces, 1858-77)
  7. Carpenter, William Benjamin (4 pieces, 1867-73)
  8. Channing, William Henry (5 pieces, 1860-83)
  9. Colenso, John William, Bp. of Natal (11 pieces, 1863-74)
  10. Collins, William Wilkie (3 pieces, 1882-83)
  11. Cooper, Anthony Ashley (7th Earl of Shaftesbury, 238 pieces, 1877-85)
  12. Darwin, Charles Robert (5 pieces, c.1870-75)
  13. Darwin, Emma (Wedgewood) (4 pieces, c.1870-90)
  14. Eastlake, Elizabeth (Rigby) , Lady (3 pieces, 1885-89)
  15. Edwards, Amelia Ann Blandford (3 pieces, 1888-89)
  16. Fawcett, Millicent (Garrett) (3 pieces, c.1885-90)
  17. Froude, James Anthony (34 pieces, 1861-92)
  18. Greg, William Rathbone (3 pieces, c.1870-80)
  19. Herbert, George Robert Charles (13th Earl of Pembroke, 4 pieces, 1888)
  20. Hoare, John N (4 pieces, 1894)
  21. How, William Walsham, Bp. of Wakefield (5 pieces, 1889-94)
  22. Hutton, Richard Holt (8 pieces, 1875-92)
  23. James, Henry (3 pieces, 1893)
  24. Jowett, Benjamin (4 pieces, 1860-65)
  25. Kesavachandra Sena (14 pieces, 1863-78)
  26. Lecky, William Edward Hartpole (5 pieces, 1865-90)
  27. Lilly, William Samuel (3 pieces, 1885-86)
  28. Manning, Henry Edward, Cardinal (5 pieces, 1882-89)
  29. Martineau, James (26 pieces, 1865-97)
  30. Morley, John (1st Viscount Morley of Blackburn, 5 pieces, 1880)
  31. Morris, Sir Lewis (3 pieces, 1881-c.1887)
  32. Newman, Francis William (3 pieces, 1859-76)
  33. Paget Walpurga Ehrengarde... (4 pieces, 1891)
  34. Parker, Theodore (17 pieces, 1848-60)
  35. Pécaut, Félix (12 pieces, 1863-71)
  36. Pécaut, J Elie (5 pieces, 1898)
  37. Ponsonby, Sir Henry Frederick (4 pieces, 1884-87)
  38. Rhys, Sir John (3 pieces, 1891-93)
  39. Ritchie, Anne Isabella ... (3 pieces, c.1875-82)
  40. Roberts, William Page (3 pieces, 1886-87)
  41. Spencer, Herbert (5 pieces, 1866-c.1875)
  42. Stanley, Arthur Penrhyn (10 pieces, 1871-79)
  43. Taylor, Helen (3 pieces, 1868-74)
  44. Taylor, Sir Henry (3 pieces, 1879-82)
  45. Tennyson, Hallam (2d Baron Tennyson, 4 pieces, 1882-94)
  46. Tyndall, John (4 pieces, 1865-c.1875)
  47. Upton, Charles Barnes (3 pieces, 1883-86)
  48. Ward, Mary Augusta (Arnold) (10 pieces, 1888-94)
  49. Watson, Sir William (3 pieces, c.1890-1900)
  50. Webster, Augusta (3 pieces, 1878-81)
  51. Welldon, James Edward Cowell (4 pieces, 1886-92)
  52. Wilberforce, Albert Basil Orme (7 pieces, c.1890-92)
Biographical / historical:

Frances Power Cobbe (1822-1904), Irish philanthropist and religious writer, commenced her social work at Bristol with Mary Carpenter at Red Lodge reformatory and the ragged schools. Her social work and work house philanthropy led to the writing of numerous books and articles on subjects in those fields. Through travel abroad and a widening circle of friends, she became acquainted with many of the prominent persons of her time. She lectured on the duties of women, promoted the Matrimonial Causes Act of 1878, and worked hard on the anti-vivisection movement. A number of her books were devoted to expressions of her religious feelings.

In 1884 Miss Cobbe retired from the busy life of London to live at Hengwrt, Wales. In 1894 she wrote here Life, published in two volumes, in which some of the letters in the present collection were printed.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Ifan Kyrle Fletcher, 1949.
Arrangement:

Letters arranged chronologically in twelve boxes, with a watercolor drawing and 9 miscellaneous ephemeral pieces, documents, and fragments at the end of Box 12.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Huntington Library staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Xiuzhi Zhou and Diann Benti.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-06-16 12:50:25 -0700 .

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Frances Power Cobbe correspondence, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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