Letters from Joseph Rowntree's closest circle of women reveal new insights into famous York chocolatier

New insights into the domestic life of "one of Britain's greatest and most interesting philanthropist", Joseph Rowntree and his Yorkshire family, have been revealed in letters written by the women closest to him.

Joseph Rowntree's first wife, his mother and sister, were prolific writers and their letters - catalogued by the University of York - offer revealing vignettes of family life.

They include hundreds to and from Joseph’s first wife, Julia Seebohm who died three months after giving birth to the couple’s daughter, Lillie.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The seven boxes of correspondence also include many from his mother, Sarah, and sister, Hannah who stepped in after Julia’s death to run the household.

Pictured, Joseph Rowntree with his first wife, Julia Seebohm. Photo credit: The Joesph Rowntree Foundation.Pictured, Joseph Rowntree with his first wife, Julia Seebohm. Photo credit: The Joesph Rowntree Foundation.
Pictured, Joseph Rowntree with his first wife, Julia Seebohm. Photo credit: The Joesph Rowntree Foundation.

Sally-Anne Shearn, archivist for the Borthwick Institute for Archives, at the University of York, said: "This collection gives us a very poignant and touching insight into the real domestic details of the lives of the family".

She added: "The female members of the Rowntree family were prolific letter writers".

The collection contains some letters from Joseph, including a carefully penned marriage proposal to Julia’s parents. They also include the couple’s notes written to one another during their short marriage about daily domestic arrangements during long days apart when Joseph was working at the family grocery business.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Read More
Read more: CHOCOLATE AND CHANGE: The forgotten story of how one Yorkshire family...
Pictured Joseph Rowntree's proposal letter to his first wife, Julia Seebohm. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Pictured Joseph Rowntree's proposal letter to his first wife, Julia Seebohm. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Pictured Joseph Rowntree's proposal letter to his first wife, Julia Seebohm. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The letters reveal the devastation felt by Joseph and his family after Julia’s death aged 22 and how his mother and sister stepped in to run the household and raise their daughter. The correspondence continues between the wider Seebohm and Rowntree families as they suffer further tragedy when Lillie dies of Scarlet fever, aged six.

Dr Shearn said: "Thanks to the preservation and cataloguing of these letters we can begin to know Julia a little better, not solely as the ‘tragic lost wife’, but as a daughter, sister, friend, partner and new mother".

The archives have 187 surviving letters between Julia and Joseph and Dr Shearn said the fact that they have survived in such good condition, suggests they were "cherished by Joseph and Julia’s wider family" and she added the letters reveal a "deep love and affection between the couple".

The letters also reveal the private side of the York businessman and social reformer, who demonstrates a deep affection for his fiancée, at times tempered by his Quaker roots:

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Pictured, Julia Seebohm, who died three months after giving birth to the couples daughter, Lillie. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Pictured, Julia Seebohm, who died three months after giving birth to the couples daughter, Lillie. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Pictured, Julia Seebohm, who died three months after giving birth to the couples daughter, Lillie. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

"[...] As to thy wedding dress, darling, thou will look so well in anything that it does not make much matter what thou has (within certain limits). I have no obligation to a white silk & it seems as though this might save a good deal of trouble. [...]"

A letter written by Julia to Joseph only a few weeks after they became engaged reveals her happiness:

"When we were at home in the evening he[Julia’s brother Benjamin Seebohm] thought it was quite unnecessary to ask me whether I was happy, so I suppose my face betrayed my feelings as I believe it generally does. I do sometimes feel as if I could not be thankful enough for such a friend as I feel I have in thee - however unworthy I may still feel of so much love."

The letters from Joseph to his sister, Hannah are particularly warm and affectionate, addressed usually ‘to my dearest Hannah’ ‘with ‘very dear love from thy brother, Joseph’ and covering all sorts of subjects from family news to book recommendations and parliamentary debates.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
A letter written by Julia Seebohm to her Joseph Rowntree. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.A letter written by Julia Seebohm to her Joseph Rowntree. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
A letter written by Julia Seebohm to her Joseph Rowntree. Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

In a letter written in 1907 he acknowledged the great personal debt he owed her:

"When I read thy letter yesterday I felt that the great balance of indebtedness was from me to thee. I think of thy thoughtful & tender consideration in the years following Julia’s death & of thy constant care to see that the bonds of our family circle are kept strong’ [Joseph Rowntree to Hannah Gillett, 1907]."

Dr Catherine Oakley, of The Rowntree Society, said: "The most well-known figures in the history of the Rowntree family are men.

"The conventions of the era dictated that men of status occupied roles of formal authority at home, in business and in wider society, and their lives have been documented accordingly".

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She added: "However, these letters offer rare insights into the experiences and feelings of Rowntree family women in their own words, and demonstrate the importance of their domestic and care work."

Joseph Rowntree was born in York in 1836 and was the son of grocer, Joseph Rowntree senior. He joined the family business before taking over the running of Rowntree’s chocolate factory when his brother, Henry died in 1883.

Lillie Rowntree, who died of Scarlet fever, aged six.Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Lillie Rowntree, who died of Scarlet fever, aged six.Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Lillie Rowntree, who died of Scarlet fever, aged six.Photo credit: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The Yorkshire-born chocolatier became one of the country’s leading philanthropists and advocates for social reform. Joseph did marry again to Julia’s cousin, Emma Antoinette Seebohm in 1867 and they had six children.

The letters also chart Joseph Rowntree’s late childhood and first steps in the grocery business in York.

______________________________

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice