Isaac Ironside

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

socialist politician, whose activities were centred in Sheffield
.

Early years

Born near

Methodist missionary to New Zealand, where he became a supporter and signatory of the Treaty of Waitangi.[1] Isaac, meanwhile, moved into politics. He began work in the foundries and undertook studies in his spare time.[2]

Soon after marrying in the 1820s, Ironside moved to

accountancy business, and by the 1840s came to run it.[2]

Chartism

A supporter of

Mechanics Institute.[2] He increasingly became a leading figure in Sheffield Chartism, and spoke alongside Ebenezer Elliott at a mass meeting in Paradise Square in 1838.[4] 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.[2]

During the late 1830s, Ironside took up phrenology, but soon abandoned it, as it was "not capable of rigid demonstration", and because many of its practitioners made implausible claims about it.[5]

Conflict

In 1839, poet

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.[2]

Power

In 1846, Ironside was elected to

localist 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.[2] He also supported women's suffrage, and encouraged Anne Knight to found the Sheffield Female Political Association.[7]

Later years

In 1851, Ironside founded the Sheffield Free Press, becoming an outspoken supporter of David Urquhart, and leading support for Toulmin Smith's candidature for Sheffield at the 1852 general election.[2] In 1856, he corresponded with Karl Marx.[8] He retained his seat on the council until 1868. He died in 1870 and was buried in Sheffield General Cemetery.[2]

Isaac and his wife Elizabeth had five daughters:[9] Emma (1835), Frances (1841), Una (1845), Kate (1850), and Lilian (1852).

References

  1. ISBN 0-908596-15-4
  2. ^
    Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  3. ^ "John Arnold, Razor-Maker". Archived from the original on 6 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2007.
  4. ^ Chartism in South Yorkshire Archived 24 September 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Roger Cooter, The Cultural Meaning of Popular Science
  6. ^ Friends of Sheffield General Cemetery, "Montgomery James" Archived 1 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Jane Rendall, "Glossary Archived 13 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine", Women's Politics in Britain 1780-1870: Claiming Citizenship.
  8. ^ Letters of Marx and Engels: 1856
  9. ^ General Register Office, Indexes of Births (for the younger four daughters) and of Marriages (for Emma)
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