Mary Anne Estlin was the daughter of
John Bishop Estlin, a leading
ophthalmologist in
Bristol and his wife Margaret née Bagehot. Her mother died when she was a small child, and she took her father's religion as well as his opposition to
slavery. Estlin lived in the family home and never married. In 1832 she followed her father to the
West Indies where she saw the colonial slave system. In 1867 she helped establish the Bristol Women's Suffrage Society in which she acted as a treasurer. During 1870-1886 she was a member of the executive committee of the Ladies' National Association. This organization co-ordinated the feminist campaign for the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts. Estlin was among the signatories of a supportive letter sent to the first meeting of the
International Council of Women, which was held in 1888 in America. Other signers included
Margaret Tanner,
Helen Priestman Bright Clark,
Emily Sturge,
Maria Colby and
Louisa Swann, all under the title "In the Fellowship of Womanhood." Mary Anne Estelin died aged 82 on 14 November 1902 in her residence, 36 Upper Belgrave Road, Clifton, Bristol. ==References==