 Her father, MP for Southwark, was, with William Wilberforce, a member of the Clapham Sect, an influential evangelical group within the Church of England dedicated to social reform.The Clapham Saints, as they were called, shared common political and social views concerning the liberation of slaves, the abolition of the slave trade and the reform of the penal system, amongst other social justice issues.After the early death of both parents in 1815, she and her siblings were brought up by a family friend, the politician Sir Robert Inglis.