Biography
Elizabeth Appleton’s skill and accomplishments as an educationist and author, including establishing a school for young women and writing to improve women’s education, are what enabled her reputation as an eminent woman of the eighteenth century. However, Elizabeth Appleton’s success was certainly not linear. Throughout her lifetime, Appleton grappled with pecuniary difficulties and imperfect access to education. Her ability to achieve her own financial security and establish her own career was quite remarkable, considering the limitations placed on women during this period.
Elizabeth Appleton was born in 1790 in Castle Street, Bristol. She was born into a large family, with three siblings, one of whom died young. After birthing their first three children, Appleton’s parents, Mary née Barnet and William Henry Appleton moved from Warwick to Bristol, where she was born. While her mother came from a respectable family, her father’s risky financial decisions seemed to result in a depletion of the family’s funds (Chalus). Appleton’s father was employed at the Kidbrooke Park Estate in Sussex, his position unknown. Appleton’s family moved to London, where her father believed that Elizabeth’s eldest brother, William Henry Barnet Appleton, would be able to make use of his musical talent (Chalus). Unfortunately, William Appleton died before he was able to achieve any success. As stated in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, The Appleton’s found themselves with a significant loss of wealth after spending a large number of their earnings in an attempt for her brother to pursue a music career. As a result, Appleton found herself frequently relocating as her parents sought work in various places (Chalus). Appleton’s father died in 1802 when she was twelve.
According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, her family’s economic turmoil impacted her education. Her educational experiences did fluctuate between being home-schooled by her mother, being a charity student, being schooled by a governess hired by her family, and being a student at a well-known, high-class London school. Nonetheless, being able to afford to educate their daughter, especially hiring a governess and sending her to a high-class London school, would suggest that her family would have at least been financially comfortable, if not, considerably wealthy. Appleton’s parents made every effort to ensure their daughter received an education, and certainly, had the resources to do so. At quite a young age, Appleton’s intellect was acknowledged by her parents, who “believed that her future independence lay in teaching” (Chalus). Spending the weekends and holidays during her adolescent years with her wealthy relatives in West End London, Appleton acquainted with polite society (Chalus). In 1809, Appleton was granted a position as an art student at Townley Gallery in the British Museum, indicating she may have also possessed some skill in fine arts (Chalus).
Around 1808, when she would have been eighteen years of age, Appleton embarked on a three-year trip to Europe that was funded by her relatives (Chalus). On her way to France, she met the Pordens, sparking a close friendship between her and Eleanor Anne Porden, with whom she continued her travels (Chubb). Eleanor Anne Porden was a poet, who had been educated privately by her father (Sutherland). According to the article titled “Miss Elizabeth Appleton – an independent Regency woman” by Chubb, Eleanor Porden’s father’s value for women’s education is likely one of the reasons why these two women became friends. In 1811, Appleton returned to England where she became a governess, working alongside Eleanor Anne Porden. At the beginning of her career, Appleton’s financial stress can be revealed within a letter from William Upcott’s collection of letters from women, that she sent to the publisher, Henry Colburn, where she indicates her eagerness to have a book published. Appleton taught the daughters of various aristocratic families. In 1814 she was employed as a governess for the family of John Walmsley, a high sheriff of Lancashire. She also taught the daughters of the 9th Earl of Leven.
Appleton’s first and most notable publication, Private education; or, A practical plan for the studies of young ladies, published in 1815 by Henry Colburn, was based on her experiences as an educator. In this book, she argued that women’s education must be broadened with the integration of subjects such as geography, astronomy, and arithmetic. Her book also presented governesses and parents with details on how these subjects should be taught according to certain age groups and by different ranges of capabilities. Shortly after, Appleton wrote her next book, Edgar: a national tale, which was also published by Henry Colburn in 1816. Her early works were likely to have considerably advanced career, as she went on to found a school for girls in Portland Place, London, in 1822, which she directed for ten years (Chubb). The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography indicates that by 1825, Appleton had been earning approximately £4000 per year. Appleton went on to gain so much success as an educator that she was “consulted about the education of Princess Charlotte” (Chalus), and allegedly, was asked to be the governess of Princess Victoria (Chalus).
At the age of thirty-five, Elizabeth Appleton married a curate, the Revd. John Lachlan in 1825. It is not indicated whether they had any children. However, based on her age, it is likely that they did not have children. Marrying at an older age and not having any children, perhaps hints at Appleton’s independence – she was likely more concerned with establishing her own career. The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography claims that John Lachlan’s financial status was much less stable than Appleton’s, revealing that Appleton would have likely been financially independent enough to support both of them. Eventually, Appleton’s wealth began to deteriorate as a result of her uncle, John Barnet, who gained access to her finances and eventually went bankrupt. It is unclear how her uncle had access to Appleton and her husband’s money, but the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography reveals that John Barnet had been “managing the purchase of the living of West Molesey, Surrey”, indicating that he could have perhaps borrowed money from Appleton prior to going bankrupt. As their financial status worsened, her husband, John Lachlan, eventually took off to Dunkirk to escape his debts (Chalus). Appleton also attempted to re-establish her school but was unsuccessful (Chalus).
Appleton continued writing and publishing up until the end of her life. Before she died of cholera at age sixty in 1849, she spent her last few years writing and circulating religious tracts (Chalus). Appleton became a fervent Evangelical Christian, which led to a decline in her reputation (Chalus). According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, she was labeled a “fanatic” by many of her contemporaries (Chalus). Appleton’s last work, Magdalena’s voyages and travels through the kingdom of this world into the kingdom of grace and Jehovah Jireh was published in 1850, a year after her death. Despite the decline in Appleton’s reputation, she can be remembered for her various accomplishments and determination to achieve her own financial security. Not only does Elizabeth Appleton’s success as an educator illustrate growing respect for women educators, but her book, Private Education; or, a practical plan for the studies of young ladies, indicates a significant turning point towards the broadening of girls’ and women’s education.
Works Cited
Chalus, E.H. “Appleton [Married Name Lachlan], Elizabeth (C.1790–1849), Educationist and Author.” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (Oxford University Press, 23 Sept. 2004)
Chubb, Sarah. “An Update on Elizabeth Appleton for Women's History Month.” Derbyshire Record Office, 16 Feb. 2021, https://recordoffice.wordpress.com/2020/03/31/an-update-on-elizabeth-appleton-for-womens-history-month/.
Chubb, Sarah. “Miss Elizabeth Appleton – an Independent Regency Woman.” Derbyshire Record Office, 22 July 2017, https://recordoffice.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/miss-elizabeth-appleton-an-independent-regency-woman/.
“Elizabeth Lachlan.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 29 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Lachlan.
Sutherland, Kathryn. “Porden [married name Franklin], Eleanor Anne (1795-1825).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford University Press, 2004)
Upcott, William, Ed. Original Letters Collected by William Upcott of the London Institution, Vol. XXX: Eminent Women, 1824.
