Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan

Sophia Elizabeth De Morgan (born Sophia Elizabeth Frend; 10 November 1809 – 5 January 1892) was an English writer, social reformer and spiritualist. The eldest child of mathematician and political reformer William Frend and Sarah Blackburne, she grew up within the intellectual and reforming circles associated with the Frend family in early nineteenth-century London. Her activities included women's education, children's welfare, workhouse reform, anti-slavery activism and women's suffrage. She was also an early tutor of Ada Lovelace and later became a confidante of Lovelace's mother, Lady Byron.

Early life and family background

Sophia Elizabeth Frend was born in London, the eldest of seven children of William Frend and his wife Sarah Blackburne. Sarah was the daughter of a clergyman of the established church. Her daughter Mary De Morgan later described the Blackburne family's traditions as in many respects similar to those of William Frend.

William Frend was a mathematician, religious dissenter and political and social reformer who had been a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge. Sophia's upbringing in London was unusual for a girl of her period. Her father took her with him from a young age and personally supervised much of her education, instructing her in philosophy and Hebrew. She also studied mathematics and astronomy.

The Frend household was associated with an extensive circle of intellectuals, religious dissenters and social reformers. George Dyer was a friend of the family, as was Charles Lamb, who wrote Sophia an acrostic poem based on her name.

In 1820 the family moved from Blackfriars to Stoke Newington. Anna Letitia Barbauld, then in her mid-70s, was a neighbour of the Frends, and Sophia at the age of 11 took part in some of her intellectual games.

The family returned to central London, settling in Tavistock Square, in 1831. De Morgan later recalled that the family found itself among a small community of philanthropists. The intellectual and reforming environment of the Frend household has been identified as an important influence on her later commitment to education and social reform. Ada was also tutored by William King and Arabella Lawrence from about 1830. Sophia initially had reservations about Ada.

Around 1832, Sophia expressed scepticism about a phrenological reading of Ada's head by James De Ville, which had been arranged by Lady Byron. In June 1833 Ada visited Charles Babbage and saw his difference engine, and Sophia reported that Ada had understood the principle of the machine.

Sophia subsequently became a confidante of Lady Byron on family matters. Lady Byron also helped introduce her to organised philanthropy.

Marriage and family

Sophia Elizabeth Frend married the mathematician Augustus De Morgan on 3 August 1837, unconventionally for the period at the registry office in St Pancras. Augustus had been a neighbour of the Frends in Upper Gower Street since 1831, and by the time of the marriage had known the family for around ten years.

The couple had seven children, including the ceramicist, designer and novelist William Frend De Morgan, the mathematician George Campbell De Morgan, and the writer Mary De Morgan.

Their eldest son was given the full name William Frend De Morgan, preserving the Frend name in the next generation. He was named after Sophia's father, William Frend.

There were three sons and four daughters. Their son Edward married Ada Margaret Wright. Their daughter Anne Isabella married the physician Reginald Edward Thompson and was the mother of the archaeologist and Assyriologist Reginald Campbell Thompson.

Their daughters Elizabeth Alice and Helena Christiana died of tuberculosis, in 1853 and 1870 respectively.

Social reform

Children's welfare

Around 1835 Lady Byron brought Sophia onto the committee of the Children's Friend Society. The society worked with poor and vulnerable children. Her involvement began a long-standing interest in children's welfare and education.

De Morgan supported education for working-class children and later became involved in efforts to provide recreational spaces for children living in densely populated areas of London. The project developed into Bedford College, one of the earliest institutions in Britain established to provide higher education for women.

It is thought that De Morgan acted as secretary to early meetings of the group, but she later withdrew because of ill health. Papers concerning her involvement in the foundation of Bedford College survive in archival collections.

She also supported the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women, founded in 1859 to improve women's access to paid employment and vocational opportunities. Through Fry, Sophia became involved in prison and workhouse reform.

After becoming concerned about conditions experienced by the poor in St Pancras, De Morgan sought permission to inspect the local workhouse. Her initial request was refused. She was eventually permitted to visit in 1854 and became involved in a committee of women who regularly visited the wards and considered the welfare of inmates.

Playgrounds for poor children

One of De Morgan's sustained social concerns was the provision of places where poor urban children could play safely. She became a member of a committee for the establishment of playgrounds, founded in 1856.

Later in life she became a critic of vivisection, objecting to the use of live animals in scientific experimentation.

Her interest intensified following the death from tuberculosis of her eldest daughter, Alice, in 1853.

In 1863 she published From Matter to Spirit: The Result of Ten Years' Experience in Spirit Manifestations, under the initials "C.D."

Works

De Morgan wrote on spiritualism, social reform and family history. Her works include:

From Matter to Spirit: the result of ten years' experience in spirit manifestations (1863), as "C.D." Playgrounds for Poor Children, published in Good Words (1867) Recollections of a London Workhouse Forty Years Ago, subsequently published by the Society for Promoting the Return of Women as Poor Law Guardians

A play parodying Augustus De Morgan's Elements of Algebra (1835), which was a precursor of the abstract algebra approach, survives in manuscript in Sophia's handwriting. It is attributed to her, or to her father William Frend.