Anne Cropper (1797-1876)

Anne Cropper (née Wakefield) and her husband John were philanthropists and abolitionists. The Croppers were a rich Quaker family well known in Liverpool for their generosity and charitable ventures. They lived at 'Dingle Bank', a large estate of several cottages near Liverpool, and were visited there by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1853 and again in 1856. John's brother Edward and his wife Margaret also lived at 'Dingle Bank'. In 1840 John Cropper attended The Anti-Slavery Convention in London which was organised largely on the initiative of his brother-in-law Joseph Sturge. 

"I shall not be able to meet the ship if it comes in

tomorrow…" 

In a letter probably written to Sampson Low on 5th August 1856, Anne Cropper expresses how much she is looking forward to meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe and her daughters at their family home, 'Dingle Bank' in Liverpool. 

Mrs Stowe was first entertained by the Croppers at 'Dingle Bank', when she arrived from America on a tour of Britain and Europe on 10th April 1853. In her book 'Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands' published in 1854, she writes about her visit and first arriving in Liverpool: "Our carriage at last drove on, taking us through Lliverpool, and a mile or two out, and at length wound its way along the gravel paths of a beautiful little retreat, on the banks of the Mersey, called the "Dingle". It opened my eyes like a paradise, all wearied I was with the tossing of the sea."

Mrs Stowe revisited the Croppers again in August 1856 at the beginning of another tour of Europe, after arriving on 6th August 1856 with some of her family. That month she also spent time with Sampson Low in London completing arrangements for the publication of her novel 'Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp'. 

View Anne Cropper's letter [opens in a new window]

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