Mary Burns

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Mary Burns ( Mary Byrne ) (born September 29, 1821 in Manchester ; died January 7, 1863 there ), was an Irish cotton spinner and wife of Friedrich Engels . At times she lived under the pseudonym Mary Boardman .

Life

"The Hidden Gem" officially St Mary's Catholic Church in Manchester. Mary Burns was baptized here on October 31, 1821.

Mary Burns was the daughter of the dyer Michael Byrne (* around 1790 in Ireland ) and his wife Mary, b. Conroy . The marriage resulted in four daughters: Mary , Ann (born June 14, 1824), Bridget (born September 23, 1826) and Elizabeth (Lydia called Lizzy ) (born August 6, 1827). Mary Burns was born on October 31, 1821 in the Roman Catholic Church of St. Mary's ”, baptized Mulberry Street in Manchester .

Mary met Engels in Manchester in 1842 or 1843. She was employed in the Victoria Mills by Ermen & Engels . It is also said to have been a source for Engels' book The Condition of the Working Class in England .

On August 11, 1845, at the suggestion of the London company “Messrs. Coutts & Co. ”issued a pass for“ Miss Georgina Mary Byrne ”for the trip to“ The Continent ”. The fee for this pass was £ 2 7 shillings and 6 pence. On August 22nd, she met Engels in Brussels. On April 3, 1846, Mary Burns was first mentioned in a letter from Engels as his "wife". In early July 1846, Mary Burns left Brussels and traveled to Ireland. Engels' next contact with Mary and Lydia Burns is documented in December 1850.

The April 1861 census counted Mary Boardman ("Wife of a Business Traveler") and her sister-in-law Elizabeth Byrne at 7 Rial Street in Manchester . On February 28, 1862, Engels wrote to Karl Marx : “I now live almost entirely with Mary in order to spend as little money as possible; Unfortunately, I can't do without lodgings, otherwise I would hesitate to go to her. ”Engels has lived with the Burns sisters at various addresses since 1853 and at the same time rented apartments for his business friends as a subtenant. While his sub-tenancy only appears in private letters, only Engels pseudonyms are used in censuses, tax files, and electoral registers.

On January 7, 1863, Mary Burns died surprisingly in the shared house at 252 Hyde Road of "heart disease or stroke" as Engels suspected. To this Marx replies: “Dear Engels, the news of Mary's death surprised me as much as it dismayed me. She was very good-natured, funny and clung to you. May the devil know that nothing but bad luck is happening in our circles now. I also absolutely no longer know where my head is. ”Engels is disappointed with Marx and writes:“ Dear Marx, you will find it in order that this time my own bad luck and your frosty view of it made it positively impossible for me, To answer you sooner. All my friends, including acquaintances from the Philistines, showed me more sympathy and friendship than I could have expected on this occasion, which must truly have moved me close enough. You found the moment right to assert the superiority of your cool way of thinking. ”Marx's reaction to Engels' loss was on the brink. On January 24, 1863, Marx wrote to Engels: “Dear Frederick, I thought it would be a good idea to let some time pass before answering you. Your situation on the one hand and mine on the other made it difficult to grasp the situation in a 'cool' way. It was very wrong of me to write you the letter, and I regretted it as soon as it was sent. "

The grave or cemetery where Mary Burns was buried has not yet been identified.

A legend

The Maison du Cygne (The Swan) inn. Here Karl Marx celebrated New Year's Eve 1847/1848 with the German Workers' Association, Brussels

Stephan Born published his "Memories of a Forty-Eight" in 1898. In it he wrote about an event organized by the German Workers' Association on December 31, 1847 in Brussels : “On the threshold of the storm-filled, historically difficult year of 1848, people even gathered for dinner together. A socio-political festival that I had written, needless to say, was staged. Among those present there was Marx with his wife and Engels with his - lady. The two couples were separated from each other by a large room. When I came up to Marx to greet him and his wife, he gave me a look and a meaningful smile to understand that his wife strictly refused to meet that lady. The noble woman was intransigent in matters of honor and purity of morals. The expectation of making a concession in this area if one had been made to them would have been rejected with indignation. In any case, it was overbold von Engels, by introducing his maitresse to this circle, which is mostly visited by workers, of a reproach so often made to the rich factory owners' sons that they know how to draw the daughters of the people into the service of their joys. "

These claims by Stephan Born were spread, most recently by Gisela Mettele and Angelika Limmroth, without having taken note of the work of Jacques Grandjonc and Helmut Elsner.

The New Year's Eve celebration took place in Brussels. Karl Marx was also present. Jenny Marx was also named. But without Friedrich Engels, who did not arrive in Brussels again from Paris until January 29, 1848 and had visited Heinrich Heine in Paris on December 31, 1847 , so could not be present in Brussels at the same time. Mary Burns, who had left Brussels in 1846, could not be ignored either. Mary Burns lived with Engels in 1845/1846 at "Rue de l'Alliance 7", while the Marx family lived next door ("Rue de l'Alliance 5") in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode .

literature

  • Stephan Born: Memories of a man in his forties . Georg Heinrich Meyer, Leipzig 1898.
  • Walther Victor : General and the women. From experience to theory . Gutenberg Book Guild, Berlin 1932.
    • Walther Victor: General and the women. From experience to theory. A book about Friedrich Engels . Hammerich and Lesser, Hamburg 1947.
    • Walther Victor: General and the women. From experience to theory . Reprint d. Orig. Berlin 1932. Ed. U. commented by Harald Wessel. Central antiquariat of the GDR, Leipzig 1982.
  • VW: Memories of Friedrich Engels. The three last women in the “Generals” house . In: The People's Illustrated . VI. Vol., 1937, No. 35.
  • Harald Wessel : House visit to Friedrich Engels. A journey on his life path . Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1971, pp. 38-43.
  • Yvonne Kapp : Eleanor Marx. Family Life (1855-1883). Lawrence and Wishart, London 1972, pp. 47, 109-110, 116. ISBN 0-85315-248-9
  • Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels' places of residence in Manchester from 1850–1869 . In: News from the Engels House . Issue 3. ceres, Wuppertal 1980, pp. 85-101.
  • Rosi Rudich: Where did Friedrich Engels live in Manchester? In: Contributions to Marx-Engels Research 7, Berlin 1980, pp. 69–81.
  • Michael Knieriem : known and unknown personal historical data on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, during the Brussels period 1845–1848 . In: Prokotoll of the International Colloquium of the Marx-Engels-Foundation e. V. on November 28, 1980 in Wuppertal-Elberfeld. Print: Voerkel & Co, Wuppertal 1981, pp. 72-107.
  • Rosi Rudich: Some comments on the article “Where did Friedrich Engels live in Manchester?” In: Contributions to Marx-Engels research 10, Berlin 1981, pp. 117–119.
  • Harald Wessel: Tussy or thirty letters about the very eventful life of Eleanor Marx-Aveling. Written between 1973 and 1980 at various locations, in Brighton, Stratford, Derby and others. Manchester, Paris, New York a. Scheveningen, on Ufnau in Lake Zurich, in Leipzig, Halle, Karlovy Vary, on the Moselle and Spree, in the North Sea regions, but mostly on the banks of the Thames. Addressed to a woman of our day . 4. edit Ed. Verlag für die Frau, Leipzig 1982.
  • Walther Victor: Return over the mountains. An autobiography , edited by Herbert Greiner-Mai with the collaboration of Marianne Victor. Aufbau Verlag, Berlin and Weimar 1982.
  • Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels in Manchester. The Search for a Shadow . Working Class Movement Library, Manchester 1988. ISBN 0-906932-21-1
  • Heinrich Gemkow : Five women at Friedrich Engels' side . In: Contributions to the history of the labor movement . (BzG), Berlin 1995, No. 4, pp. 47-58.
  • Jacques Grandjonc : “On the correct use of memories in historiography. Stephan Born on Marx and Engels, fifty years later. ” In: Doris Obschernitzki (Ed.): France's German Emigrants. Texts by and memories of Jacques Grandjonc (1933–2000) . Hentrich & Hentrich, Teetz 2003. ISBN 3-933471-36-2 , pp. 132-148.
  • Gisela Mettele: Mary and Lizzie Burns. Friedrich Engels' companions in life . In: Marx-Engels-Yearbook 2011 . Akademie Verlag, Berlin 2012, pp. 130–149.
  • Christian Frings: Mary Burns and Karl Marx - a missed opportunity in machine and gender research . In: Contributions to Marx-Engels research. New episode 2018/19 . Argument Verlag, Hamburg 2019, ISBN 978-3-86754-685-0 , pp. 153-164.

Web links

supporting documents

  1. ↑ Irish spelling. (Michael Knieriem: known and unknown personal historical data on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, during the Brussels period 1845–1848 .)
  2. ^ Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels' places of residence in Manchester from 1850–1869 , p. 98.
  3. ↑ In the April 1861 census she lived with her husband Friedrich Engels, alias Frederick Boardman, at 7 Rial Street in Manchester. (Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels' Residence in Manchester from 1850–1869 , p. 91.)
  4. ↑ Facsimile of the marriage entry of April 26, 1821. (Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels in Manchester. The Search for a Shadow , p. 86.)
  5. ↑ "Table C". (Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels in Manchester. The Search for a Shadow , p. 87.)
  6. ^ Roy Whitfield: Friedrich Engels' places of residence in Manchester from 1850–1869 , p. 98.
  7. ↑ Harry Schmidtgall: Friedrich Engels' Manchester stay 1842-1844. Social movements and political discussions. With excerpts from Jakob Venedey 's book on England (1845) and unknown Engels documents . Trier 1981, p. 61. (= writings from the Karl-Marx-Haus No. 25)
  8. ↑ Michael Knieriem: known and unknown personal historical data on Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, during the Brussels period 1845–1848 , SS 99 and 101.
  9. ↑ Because I “didn't earn a penny with my writing all winter and therefore had to live with my wife almost exclusively on the money I got from home”. (Engels to his brother-in-law Emil Blank April 3, 1846. Marx-Engels Complete Edition . Section III. Volume 1. Berlin 1975, p. 283.)
  10. ↑ “Furthermore, Fried is still staying here. Engels whose book you have read about England. His wife is a little English woman from Manchester ”. (Georg Weerth to his mother Wilhelmine Weerth. June 13, 1846. The League of Communists. Documents and materials . Volume 1. Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1970, p. 215.)
  11. ^ "Tell E. Mary is now in the 'Land of Burns', will be there 3 or 4 months." George Julian Harney to the Communist Correspondence Committee in Brussels. July 20, 1846 ( Marx-Engels Complete Edition . Department III. Volume 2, Berlin 1979, p. 264).
  12. ^ "What are the Irish women doing?" ( Wilhelm Pieper to Engels. December 16, 1850. Marx-Engels-Gesamtausgabe . Section III. Volume 3. Berlin 1981, p. 703.)
  13. ↑ On the identity of Friedrich Engels with "Frederick Boardman" see the essay by Roy Whitfield from 1980: Friedrich Engels' residence in Manchester from 1850–1869 .
  14. ^ Marx-Engels works . Volume 30, p. 215.
  15. ↑ Roy Whitfield was the first to determine the relevant files and thus also uncovered the pseudonyms of Engels and the Burns sisters.
  16. ↑ Engels to Marx. January 7, 1863 online ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . (Marx-Engels-Werke. Volume 30, p. 309.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dearchiv.de
  17. ↑ Marx to Engels. January 8, 1863 online ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . (Marx-Engels-Werke. Volume 30, p. 310.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dearchiv.de
  18. ↑ Engels to Marx. January 13, 1863 online ( Memento of the original from August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . (Marx-Engels-Werke. Volume 30, pp. 312-313.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dearchiv.de
  19. ↑ Marx to Engels. 24 January 1863 online ( Memento of the original from 10 August 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . (Marx-Engels-Werke. Volume 30, pp. 314-316.) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dearchiv.de
  20. ↑ Stephan Born: Memories of a Forty-Eight (1978), p. 41.
  21. ↑ Gisela Mettele: Mary and Lizzie Burns. Friedrich Engels' companions in life . In: Marx-Engels-Yearbook 2011 . Berlin 2012, p. 132 ff.
  22. ↑ Angelika Limmroth: Jenny Marx. The biography . Karl Dietz Verlag, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-320-02296-9 , p. 111 f.
  23. ↑ See in detail Jacques Grandjonc: “On the correct use of memories in historiography. Stephan Born on Marx and Engels, fifty years later. "
  24. ^ Fragments on international democratic activities around 1848 (M. Bakunin, F. Engels, F. Mellinet et al.) . Ed. And edit. by Helmut Elsner, Jacques Grandjonc, Elisabeth Neu and Hans Pelger. Trier 2000. ISBN 3-86077-545-6 (= writings from Karl-Marx-Haus no.48)
  25. ^ "+ The 'German Workers' Association' celebrated New Year's Eve [...]". ( Deutsche-Brusser-Zeitung . Volume 2, No. 1 of January 3, 1848, p. 2, column 2.)
  26. ↑ "Then Karl Marx took the floor and made a toast in French to the Brussels democratic society [...]" ( Deutsche-Brusser-Zeitung . 2nd vol. No. 2 of January 6, 1848, p. 2, Column 1.)
  27. ↑ “After the banquet there was music, then a dramatic performance in which Dr. Marx developed her ingenious talent for declamation. "( Deutsche-Brusser-Zeitung . Volume 2, No. 2 of January 6, 1848, p. 2, column 3.)
  28. ↑ “Brussels. Friedrich Engels, who last Saturday, January 29th, received the order from the Paris police to leave Paris within 24 hours and France as quickly as possible, arrived here on January 31st. "( Deutsche-Brusser-Zeitung . 2. Vol. 10 of February 2, 1848, p. 2, column 3.)
  29. ↑ "Heine is about to break down. I was with him 14 days ago and he was in bed and had a nervous attack. He was up yesterday, but extremely miserable. ” Engels to Marx January 14, 1848. online Marx-Engels-Werke . Volume 27, pp. 109–112.) ( Memento of the original dated August 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.dearchiv.de
  30. ↑ Quoted from: Stephan Born: Memories of a Warning Forty . Ed. U. a. by Hans J. Schütz. JHW Dietz Nachf., Berlin, Bonn 1978. ISBN 3-8012-0031-0 .
  31. ↑ Especially the chapter “Mary”, pp. 42–45 and the chapter “The Voice from the Factory”, pp. 46–48.
  32. ↑ This is Walther Victor.
  33. ^ Facsimile print in: Heinz Willmann : History of the Arbeiter-Illustrierte Zeitung 1921–1938 . Dietz Verlag, Berlin 1975, pp. 348-349.
  34. ↑ Essentially reproduces Roy Whitfield's information: Friedrich Engels' places of residence in Manchester from 1850–1869 .
  35. ↑ Makes it clear that Harald Wessel would by no means be in the right with regard to Engels “official” or “official addresses”.
personal data
SURNAME Burns, Mary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Byrne, Mary (maiden name); Boardman, Mary (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Irish cotton spinner and wife of Friedrich Engels
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1821
PLACE OF BIRTH Manchester
DATE OF DEATH January 7, 1863
Place of death Manchester