Mary Burns
Encyclopedia
Mary Burns was an Irish woman, living in Salford, near Manchester
, England
, known as the lifelong partner of Friedrich Engels
.
. Burns met Engels during his first stay in Manchester, probably early 1843. The working class woman guided Engels through the region, showing him the worst districts of Salford and Manchester for his research. She introduced him to working class circles. Without Burns, Engels may never had written "The Condition of the Working Class in England".
Burns worked in the Victoria cotton mill of "Ermen & Engels", a big textile manufacturer partly owned by the Engels' family. The Engels' originated from Barmen
, Germany (now Wuppertal
), where they owned several cotton mills and factories. In this area the industrial revolution started about a decade later than in the Manchester area.
Mary Burns was the daughter of Michael Burns or Byrne, a dyer in a cotton mill, and of Mary Conroy, the family could have lived off Deansgate. She had a younger sister called Lydia (1827–1878), known as “Lizzie”, and a niece called Mary Ellen Burns (born 1859), known as "Pumps". Their mother died before 1835, and Michael married again, and it seems that both the children left home.
Mary has probably been working in a cotton mill since the age of nine, but the 1841 census records both her and her sister as domestic servants. After meeting in the 1840s, Burns and Engels formed a relationship that lasted until Burns' death at the age of 41 on 7 January 1863. Although the custom of the day was marriage, the two were politically opposed to the bourgeois institution of marriage and never married.
Not much is written about Mary Burns, possibly because Engels wanted to hide his life with Burns. The only direct references to Mary Burns that survived, is a letter from Marx to Engels on learning of her death saying she was "very good natured" and "witty", and a letter from Marx's daughter, Eleanor, saying she was "very pretty, witty and an altogether charming girl, but in later years drank to excess." In a genealogy from Stephan Redshaw, born 1970, published on the internet, a Mary Burns from Ireland, born 1828, is mentioned, with a sister, Jayne, that was born 10 years later in Manchester.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, known as the lifelong partner of Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels
Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...
.
. Burns met Engels during his first stay in Manchester, probably early 1843. The working class woman guided Engels through the region, showing him the worst districts of Salford and Manchester for his research. She introduced him to working class circles. Without Burns, Engels may never had written "The Condition of the Working Class in England".
Burns worked in the Victoria cotton mill of "Ermen & Engels", a big textile manufacturer partly owned by the Engels' family. The Engels' originated from Barmen
Barmen
Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which in 1929 with four other towns was merged with the city of Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia. Barmen was the birth-place of Friedrich Engels and together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the...
, Germany (now Wuppertal
Wuppertal
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...
), where they owned several cotton mills and factories. In this area the industrial revolution started about a decade later than in the Manchester area.
Mary Burns was the daughter of Michael Burns or Byrne, a dyer in a cotton mill, and of Mary Conroy, the family could have lived off Deansgate. She had a younger sister called Lydia (1827–1878), known as “Lizzie”, and a niece called Mary Ellen Burns (born 1859), known as "Pumps". Their mother died before 1835, and Michael married again, and it seems that both the children left home.
Mary has probably been working in a cotton mill since the age of nine, but the 1841 census records both her and her sister as domestic servants. After meeting in the 1840s, Burns and Engels formed a relationship that lasted until Burns' death at the age of 41 on 7 January 1863. Although the custom of the day was marriage, the two were politically opposed to the bourgeois institution of marriage and never married.
Not much is written about Mary Burns, possibly because Engels wanted to hide his life with Burns. The only direct references to Mary Burns that survived, is a letter from Marx to Engels on learning of her death saying she was "very good natured" and "witty", and a letter from Marx's daughter, Eleanor, saying she was "very pretty, witty and an altogether charming girl, but in later years drank to excess." In a genealogy from Stephan Redshaw, born 1970, published on the internet, a Mary Burns from Ireland, born 1828, is mentioned, with a sister, Jayne, that was born 10 years later in Manchester.
Literature
- Roy Whitfield: Die Wohnorte Friedrich Engels' in Manchester von 1850-1869 (Where Friedrich Engels live in Manchester). In: Nachrichen aus dem Engels-Haus 3, Wuppertal 1980, p. 85-101
- Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels in Manchester, Manchester 1988