Editing Emmeline Pankhurst (section)

=== Richard's death ===
During the struggle at Boggart Hole Clough, Richard Pankhurst began to experience severe [[Abdominal pain|stomach pains]]. He had developed a [[gastric ulcer]], and his health deteriorated in 1897. The family moved briefly to [[Mobberley]], with the hope that country air would help his condition. He soon felt well again, and the family returned to Manchester in the autumn. In the summer of 1898, he suffered a sudden relapse. Emmeline Pankhurst had taken their oldest daughter Christabel to [[Corsier]], Switzerland, to visit her old friend Noémie. A telegram arrived from Richard, reading: "I am not well. Please come home, my love."<ref>Quoted in Purvis 2002, p. 52.</ref> Leaving Christabel with Noémie, Pankhurst returned immediately to England. On 5 July, while on a train from London to Manchester, she noticed a newspaper announcing the death of Richard Pankhurst.<ref>Purvis 2002, pp. 51–52; Bartley, pp. 59–60; Pugh, pp. 75–77.</ref>

[[File: Christabel Pankhurst.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Christabel Pankhurst]], often called the favourite child, spent almost 15 years working by her mother's side for women's suffrage.]]

The loss of her husband left Pankhurst with new responsibilities and a significant amount of debt. She moved the family to a smaller house at 62 Nelson Street, resigned from the Board of Guardians, and was given a paid position as Registrar of Births and Deaths in Chorlton. This work gave her more insight into the conditions of women in the region. She wrote in her autobiography: "They used to tell me their stories, dreadful stories some of them, and all of them pathetic with that patient and uncomplaining pathos of poverty."<ref name="epank3234">E. Pankhurst 1914, p. 32–34.</ref> Her observations of the differences between the lives of men and women, for example in relation to [[illegitimacy]], reinforced her conviction that women needed the right to vote before their conditions could improve. In 1900 she was elected to the Manchester School Board and saw new examples of women suffering unequal treatment and limited opportunities. During this time she also re-opened her store, with the hope that it would provide additional income for the family.<ref name="epank3234"/><ref>Bartley, pp. 61–64; Purvis 2002, pp. 57–58; Pugh, p. 86.</ref>

The individual identities of the Pankhurst children began to emerge around the time of their father's death. Before long they were all involved in the struggle for women's suffrage. Christabel enjoyed a privileged status among the daughters, as Sylvia noted in 1931: "She was our mother's favourite; we all knew it, and I, for one, never resented the fact."<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, p. 99.</ref> Christabel did not share her mother's fervour for political work, however, until she befriended the suffrage activists [[Esther Roper]] and [[Eva Gore-Booth]]. She soon became involved with the suffrage movement and joined her mother at speaking events.<ref>, Pugh, pp. 92–93; E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 164–165.</ref> Sylvia took lessons from a respected local artist and soon received a scholarship to the [[Manchester Metropolitan University|Manchester School of Art]]. She went on to study art in Florence and Venice.<ref>E. S. Pankhurst 1931, pp. 162–163; Pugh, pp. 96–98.</ref> The younger children, Adela and Harry, had difficulty finding a path for their studies. Adela was sent to a local [[boarding school]], where she was cut off from her friends and contracted [[Pediculosis|head lice]]. Harry also had difficulty at school; he suffered from [[measles]] and vision problems.<ref>Pugh, pp. 82–83; Purvis 2002, p. 56.</ref>{{Clear}}