Born: 1829 (Youghal, County Cork, Ireland)
Died: 1922 (Temple Hill, Dublin)
Biography:
Anna Maria Haslam (née Fisher; 1829–1922) was a suffragist and a major figure in the 19th and early 20th-century women’s movement in Ireland. Born in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland on April 6, 1829, she was the 16th of 17 children to Jane and Abraham Fisher. Anna was brought up in a Quaker family that was known for their charitable works, particularly during the Great Famine. They provided aid in soup kitchens and established cottage industries for local girls, focused on lace-making, crocheting, and knitting. Growing up, Anna strongly believed in gender equality, as well as advocating against slavery, and supporting causes such as temperance and pacifism.
Educated in Quaker boarding schools, Anna attended Newtown School in County Waterford and Castlegate School in York, which later became The Mount School, York. Following her education, she became a teaching assistant at Ackworth School in Yorkshire. It was during her time there that she met Thomas Haslam, a fellow teacher from Mountmellick, County Laois. Anna and Thomas married on March 20, 1854, at the Cork Registry Office. Their marriage remained mostly celibate, as they both chose not to have children. Thomas was a feminist theorist and advocated for women’s rights, including topics such as prostitution, birth control, and women’s suffrage.
Both Anna and Thomas were expelled from the Society of Friends due to their involvement in social reform, though they continued to maintain ties with the community. Thomas was disowned for holding ideas contrary to Quaker teachings. In 1868, Thomas published a pamphlet titled The Marriage Problem, in which he discussed and supported the idea of family limitation and outlined various contraceptive methods, including the concept of safe periods.
Thomas Haslam passed away on January 30, 1917, at the age of ninety-two. He and Anna were buried together in the Quaker burying ground at Temple Hill, Dublin. Anna Haslam is best remembered for her work in the suffrage movement, particularly her advocacy for women’s right to vote. She was a pioneer in various feminist campaigns in 19th-century Ireland and tirelessly fought for women’s suffrage from as early as 1866. In 1872, she organized the General Meeting of the members and friends of the Irish Society for Women’s Suffrage in Blackrock, Dublin. The meeting was chaired by George Owens and attended by Members of Parliament.