Ɛpsilon

From G. S. Ffinden   19 March 1880

Downe.

March 19.1880.

C. R. Darwin Esqre.

Sir,

I beg hereby to tender my resignation as a Member of the Downe Schools’ Committee as from the 2 [0] inst.1

I will forward a cheque for the balance in hand, with the Books &c, if you will let me know to whom they should be sent.

I am, Sir, | Your obedient Servant, | G. S. Ffinden

1
Ffinden was vicar of Down and had been chairman of the Down School Committee. The Darwins had previously been involved in a series of disputes with Ffinden, including one over Ffinden’s objection to the use of the Down schoolroom as a reading room for working men in the evenings; see Correspondence vol. 23, letter to J. B. Innes, 10 May [1875] and n. 6. Ffinden’s resignation from the committee had been prompted by Francis Darwin, now serving on the committee, seeking the election of a new chairman, to whom Ffinden refused to be subordinate; see Moore 1985, p. 472.

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-12538A,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-12538A