Richard Robert Madden 1798 - 1886

Richard Robert Madden 1798 - 1886 was an Irish doctor who converted to homeopathy, a writer, abolitionist and historian of the United Irishmen, and  Consulting Physician to the Hahnemann Hospital at 39 Bloomsbury Square, 

Richard Madden was a patient of Frederick Hervey Foster Quin, and a friend of the Countess of Blessington, Keppel Richard Craven, Charles James Mathews, and the Count D’Orsay.

Richard Robert Madden also knew Joseph Sturge, and he used the services of   Sharpe, Field & Jackson, Solicitors, 41 Bedford Row - Mr. Field was a close friend of  James John Garth Wilkinson, and his father  James John Wilkinson, (Swedenborg Archive Family Register A148a Temple Bar loose leaf Documents and Summary Enclosed English Documents from 1662 (Latin documents begin 1621).

Richard Madden was also a member of the Association for the Protection of Homeopathic Students and Practitioners, alongside George Edward Allshorn, George Atkin, Francis Black, John Chapman, Paul Francois Curie, John James Drysdale, Robert Ellis Dudgeon, George Fearon, Edward Hamilton, William Hering, C. B. Kerr, William Kingdon, Joseph Laurie, Thomas Robinson Leadam, John Ozanne, David Wilson and many others.

http://www.yale.edu/glc/archive/897.htm ‘… NEW YORK December 14, 1839, JOSEPH STURGE Birmingham, My dear Friend, *When Dr. Madden was here he, in conjunction with the counsel for the poor Africans brought here in the schooner Amistad, addressed a letter to the British members of the Mixt Commission at the Havana, requesting them to procure certified copies of the Treaties between England and Spain of 1814 and 1815 and Annexes. Yesterday a letter was recd from the British Commissioners stating that it was very doubtful whether they should be able to procure them–as the Govr would not probably affix his signature–that it was an extra-judicial act in them to apply for it—they might be censured by their own Govt as well as the authorities of Cuba, &c. Still their letter was very civil & concluded thus:—’We cannot conclude without expressing our gratification to observe the truly British feeling which animates your community on the subject of the wrongs to which those unhappy victims of the Slave trade have been exposed, and the peculiar zeal and ability you manifest in their behalf.’ We shall write to Mr. Fox, [21] the British minister in this country to apply to the Spanish minister here for certified copies of the Treaties and the Cedula or Royal Decree of Spain but we have little expectation of procuring them in this way—as the Spanish minister, like the Govr of Cuba may wish, instead of facilitating us to throw every obstacle in the way of obtaining the papers wanted. We have in books (our own law books and in British books) copies of said Treaties &c, but they cannot be received in Courts of Justice. Certified copies are indispensable. It would be desirable to obtain them from Spanish sources, but if this cannot be done we must obtain them from the British authorities. To ensure copies at any rate and as speedily as possible, Theodore Sedwick Esqr. Of counsel of the Africans, has, by this vessel, written to William Sharpe Esq. of the firm of Taylor, Sharpe, Field & Jackson, Solicitors, 41 Bedford Row, London for certified copies of the Treaties between England & Spain of 1814 and 1815 and Annexes, and by my permission has directed him to apply to you for the fees &c. I will thank you to advance the sum, & on your informing me the amount I will immediately reimburse you. I will thank you to see, before paying them, that the sum charged is reasonable. If you can get Dr. Madden or Mr. Scoble to see Mr. Sharpe, and urge him to thoroughness & despatch we shall be greatly obliged. We hope also that Dr. Madden will get instructions sent from the proper authority to the British Commissioners to afford every facility in their power in this case. We are most unfortunate in attempts to procure testimony in several respects. Our own Sec. Of State (Mr. Forsyth) is a Slaveholder—we get no facilities from our own Government—and the British Commissioners even are afraid of offending the Spaniards or their own Govt by performing an act not strictly, as they conceive, within the line of their duty. Dr. Madden’s letter [22] to Dr. Channing on the Slave trade &c,. is published & I hope to send you a copy by this opportunity. It is a severe thing, but justly deserved, & will, I hope, do much good. I shall send it to the care of Messrs Cupper, Benson & co, as I do not know your regulations about postage on pamphlets. When I was in England the postage on newspapers & pamphlets was enormous. Postage on newspapers & letters is now reduced. How it is on pamphlets I shall be glad to be informed…. [23] Affect & truly your’s, Lewis Tappan.  21. Henry Stephen Fox. The communications passing between Mr. Fox and Secretary of State, John Forsyth; viz., Fox to Forsyth, January 20, 1840, and Forsyth to Fox, February 1, 1841, communicated to Congress by President Van Buren, were published in full in the B. & F. A-S reporter, II, 58-59 (March 24, 1841). For additional information on the Amistad case, see Memoirs of John Quincy Adams….Ed. By Charles Francis Adams, X, 132 ff., 367 ff.; XII, 186; Moore, J.B., International Law Digest, V, 852-854. 22. Madden Richard Robert, A Letter to W. E. Channing…on the Abuse of the Flag of the United States in…Cuba, and the advantage taken on its protection in promoting the slave trade, (Boston, 1839). A Calm Observer, writing to Dr. Channing after Madden’s letter to him had become public, accused Madden of being always unreliable, a hypocrite, and of making a pretense to learning; but he, none the less, admitted the truth of Madden’s main contention that the Americans were engaged in and facilitating the slave trade (See pp. 25-27). He claimed, however, that, as the law stood, it was impossible for the United States Consul to do anything about it and he begged of Dr. Channing that he would make a moderate appeal to the American people. A second Madden letter against Trist was addressed to Ferdinand Clark of Havana, dated September 6, 1839, and published in the Emancipator, December 19, 1839, copied from the New Orleans True American, where the one to Channing was also published. 23. As a general thing, hereafter, all references to postal rates will be omitted from the letters*…’ The Amistad was a cause celebre in America and in Britain *’… *{::}La Amistad{::}* was a ship notable as the scene of a revolt by African captives being transported from Havana to Puerto Principe, Cuba. It was a 19th century two masted schooner built in Spain and owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. The Africans took control of the ship in July 1839 and were captured off the coast of Long Island by the USS Washington of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. La Amistad became a symbol in the movement to abolish slavery. The ship was taken under control by the United States, resulting in a US Supreme Court case (1841) over the status of the Africans, as importation of slaves into the US had been prohibited since 1808…’ [**Joseph Sturge \*(1793-1859)](/archives/2010/05/06/joseph-sturge-1793-%e2%80%93-1859/) son of a farmer in Gloucestershire, was an English Quaker, abolitionist and activist, [an advocate of homeopathy](http://books.google.com/books?lr=&ei=ErziS\_mCF6CszQT\_tJWfCg&cd=14&id=tI4rAAAAYAAJ&dq=sturge+homeopath&q=sturge#search\_anchor). [Joseph Sturge](/archives/2010/05/06/joseph-sturge-1793-%e2%80%93-1859/) founded the British and Foreign [Anti Slavery Society](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Slavery\_Society) (now [Anti Slavery International](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Slavery\_International)). He worked throughout his life in Radical political actions supporting pacifism, working-class rights, and the universal emancipation of slaves. See also [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_Scoble\](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John\_Scoble) [John Scoble** {::}(1799-?)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Scoble) was a British abolitionist and émigré, and a political figure in Canada. See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis\_Tappan [Lewis Tappan {::}(1788-1873)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Tappan) was an American abolitionist ‘… who worked to achieve the freedom of the illegally enslaved Africans of the *[Amistad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Amistad). Contacted by Connecticut abolitionists soon after the [Amistad](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Amistad) arrived in port, [Lewis Tappan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Tappan) focused extensively on the captive Africans. He ensured the acquisition of high-quality lawyers for the captives, which led to their being set free after the case went to the United States Supreme Court. With his brother [Arthur Tappan*{::}_ (1786-1865)\*](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur\_Tappan)**, *\*[_Lewis Tappan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis\_Tappan) not only gained legal help and acquittal for the Africans, but also managed to increase public support and fundraising. Finally, he organized the return trip home to Africa for surviving members of the group.** **__In addition, Tappan was among the founders of the [American Missionary Association](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American\_Missionary\_Association) in 1846, which began more than 100 anti-slavery Congregational churches throughout the Midwest, and after the American Civil War, founded numerous schools and colleges to aid in the education of freedmen…’ See also /archives/2009/01/10/richard-robert-madden-1798-1886/ \*Richard Robert Madden{::} {::}(1798-1886)** was an orthodox Irish doctor who converted to homeopathy, a writer, abolitionist and historian of the United Irishmen. He was a patient of [Frederick Hervey Foster Quin](/archives/2009/01/10/archives/2008/10/14/archives/2008/07/11/frederick-hervey-foster-quin-and-homeopathy/), the founder of The *[Brighton Homeopathic Dispensary*](http://books.google.com/books?id=ZNSu-SiyeUcC&pg=PR1&dq=William+Morgan+homeopath+british&lr=&ei=QHoHTKzVK5q8zAT3yvSMCQ&cd=3#v=onepage&q&f=false), Consulting Physician to the [Hahnemann Hospital at 39 Bloomsbury Square](/archives/2008/10/08/the-hahnemann-hospital-39-bloomsbury-square/), and a member of the [Association for the Protection of Homeopathic Students and Practitioners](/archives/2009/01/10/archives/2008/10/17/british-homeopathic-associations-and-journals/). See also [/archives/2008/03/08/the-channing-family-and-homeopathy/](/archives/2008/03/08/the-channing-family-and-homeopathy/)  See also [/archives/2008/02/03/the-peabody-family-and-homeopathy/](/archives/2008/02/03/the-peabody-family-and-homeopathy/) [William Ellery Channing (1780-1842{::})](/archives/2008/03/08/the-channing-family-and-homeopathy/)** was a member of the prestigious American Channing family who were ardent supporter and practitioners of homeopathy. [William Ellery Channing](/archives/2008/03/08/the-channing-family-and-homeopathy/) was a Universalist preacher who became the mentor of [Elizabeth Palmer Peabody **(1804-1894)](/archives/2008/02/03/the-peabody-family-and-homeopathy/) who was the daughter of a homeopath and ran the famous Elizabeth Palmer Peabody’s West Street Bookstore where the elite of Boston met to socialise.

With thanks to *Alan Campbell (private researcher in Brighton 2.12.10):

Robert Madden is reported as opening a homeopathic dispensary in 10 Little George Street, Brighton – see Brighton Folthorp City Directory for 1848 under a  Robert Midden ?Madden,

Brighton Directory (no publisher) 1846: no entry Folthorp 1848:  Henry R Madden, 76 Grand Parade Folthorp 1850:  Henry R Madden, 76 Grand Parade Taylors  1854:  Henry R Madden, 10 Pavilion Parade Folthorp 1861: H R Madden, 10 Pavilion Parade Folthorp 1862: H R Madden, 10 Pavilion Parade Pages   1873: nada

Thanks Alan!

Richard Madden was born at Wormwood Gate, Dublin to Edward Madden, a silk manufacturer. He was educated at private schools. He studied medicine in Paris, Italy, and St George’s Hospital, London. While in Naples he became acquainted with the Countess of Blessingto and her circle.

Madden was employed in the British civil service from 1833, first as a justice of the peace in Jamaica, where he was one of six Special Magistrates sent to oversee the eventual liberation of Jamaica’s slave population, according to the terms of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

From 1835 he was Superintendent of the freed Africans in Havana. In 1839 he became the investigating officer into the slave trade on the west coast of Africa, in 1847 the secretary for the West Australian colonies. He returned to Dublin and in 1850 he was named secretary of the Office for Loan Funds in Dublin.

He died at at his home in Booterstown, just south of Dublin city, in 1886.

Of interest:

A Dr. Madden was a homeopath in Brighton in 1902, and an active supporter of the newly formed British Homeopathic Association,

Edward Madden (?-?), father of Richard Robert Madden, was a silk manufacturer in Dublin (and ?possibly a colleague of Jean Barthelemy Arles Dufour).

Edward M Madden (?-?) MD, ?son of Richard Robert Madden, was a British orthodox physician who converted to homeopathy, Founder of the Phillips Memorial Homeopathic Hospital Bromley,  Surgeon for Diseases of Women to the Birmingham and Midland Homeopathic Hospital, was a leading member and President of the British Homeopathic Society, and also a friend of Frederick Hervey Foster Quin. Edward M Madden practiced at 36 Sackville Street, Piccadilly in 1871. Edward M Madden wrote various articles and submitted cases to many homeopathic journals and publications.

Edward M Madden attended (Anon, The Homeopathic World, Volume 43, (1908). Page 236) the 2nd International Homeopathic Congress held in London (Anon, The Medical Counselor, Volume 7, (The Michigan State Homeopathic Society, 1883). Page 347) in on 11th-18th July 1881 (Anon, The Homeopathic World, (August 1,1881)) at Aberdeen House, Argyll Street, Regent Street.

Henry R Madden (?-?) was a British homeopath in 1868, and a colleague of Edward M Madden, Henry R Madden used the Magnetometer to investigate all of the remedies in the Homeopathic Pharmacopaeia, Henry R Madden practiced in Brighton, Henry R Madden wrote various articles and submitted cases to many homeopathic journals and publications.

Scanned from the _Folthorp Brighton City Directory 1861 p 446-447 (__ (_With thanks to *Alan Campbell (private researcher in Brighton 2.12.10):

LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. HOMEOPATHIC DISPENSARY. 6, Prince Albert-street.

Medical Officers. HENRY R. MADDEN, M.D. 10, Pavilion-parade. G. H. HANSON, Esq., 25, Norfolk-road. (note - this would be George H Hanson, the brother of Sydney Hanson)

Hon. Sec.—HENRY JAMES, Esq., Lieut. R.N.

Subscribers receive one ticket for each shilling subscribed, which ticket will admit a patient for one month to the benefits of the Institution.  Donations of Five Pounds will entitle the giver to have Twenty-four tickets annually, and so on in proportion for any larger sum. Patients who do not obtain the recommendation of a Subscriber, may be admitted to the benefits of the Institution, on payment of One Shilling per month.

The Dispensary is open for the purpose of affording advice and medicine every day from nine till ten in the morning (Saturday and Sundays excepted). New cases cannot be admitted after 9.30.

Patients who are too ill to attend at the Dispensary will be visited at their own homes, but when such attendance is required, except in cases of emergency, it is necessary that notice should be sent to the Surgeon before 9 A.M. Subscriptions and Donations may be enclosed to the Honorary Secretary, or paid to the Collector, at the Dispensary, 6, Prince Albert-street.