Sharp, Abraham

This item is active and ready to use

Sharp, Abraham

Portrait of Abraham Sharp, aged 73, by John Sowden

Sowden note in notebooks -
'A generation of Bradford politicians has arisen which knows little or nothing of Abe Sharp. He was a notable working class orator long before labour was spelled with a capital `L'. His interest in politics began at the time of the Chartist movement, when he became a member of the organisation. He was born at School Green, Thornton, October 15th 1815. As a boy he attended Kipping Chapel Sunday School Thornton until his family removed to Queensbury. He worked at the factory owned by Messrs Paul Speak & Sons at Queensbury. He first went as a spinner, his hours being 5.30 a.m. to 7.30 p.m. and his earnings (after six weeks learning for which he received nothing) 1s 6d per week. Afterwards he, like his father, became a handloom weaver. In 1843 he joined the Teetotallers, and remained a vigorous teetotaller all his life. He was a great worker in the Bradford Election Contest of 1847 when the Liberals, Mr Wm. Busfield & Colonel J. Perronet Thompson defeated Mr H.W. Wickham, conservative, & Mr Gaythorne Hardy (afterwards Lord Cranbrook) who then stood as a Moderate Liberal. His advanced politics created difficulties for him in finding employment and he accepted an engagement at Stockton-on-Tees where he lived for seven years. He afterwards went to America to improve his pecuniary position which did not prove a success. On his return the fierce Election campaign Miall-Ripley was in progress and he of course was first and foremost in the work. For four years and a half he perambulated in one of the Liberal `Red Vans' in the Buckrose Divisions of the East Riding when he was seventy five and did yeoman's work in winning the division to Liberalism from the Conservatives. He was a prominent figure at `Laycocks' & to hear him talk of old times with his inexhaustible store of anecdotes was especially instructive'.

Year

1888

Creator

John Sowden

Image filename

sowden-2