Sophia Mort (4 September 1807 – 13 September 1882) was a 19th-century British children's author who wrote both a textbook for girls' schools and a Christian short story. Additionally, she served as the principal of a ladies' school for young girls that she ran out of various locations throughout her life. Family Sophia Mort was the daughter of James Mort (July 1770 – 31 December 1827) and Dorothy Mort (c. 1773 – 4 December 1848), Her father was heavily involved with the Methodist New Connexion church and was a deeply religious man. After hearing John Wesley preach at Sunderland when he was seventeen years old, he went from being essentially nonreligious to a convert to the Methodist New Connexion. He began his career as minister of in 1797 (the year that the church was established) and served as president of the New Connexion Conference in 1805 (Manchester) and 1821 (Nottingham). During his time as a minister (1807 - 1827), he was appointed to Circuits in the following areas: Sheffield (multiple times), Chester, Longton, Bolton, Thorne, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham, Leeds, Hanley, Huddersfield (multiple times), Manchester (multiple times), and Liverpool (where he later died). Additionally, she was the second wife of William Allbut (4 March 1809 – 15 February 1879). William Allbut was an editor and publisher of Pottery Mercury (or the North Staffordshire Mercury), a newspaper detailing the pottery industry in the Staffordshire area They had seven children: William Sidney Allbut (born c. 1838), Elizabeth Ann Allbut (born c. 1840), Thomas Henry Allbut (born 16 August 1842), Sophia Jane Allbut (born c. 1845), Mary Dorothea Allbut (born c. 1848), Helen Maria Allbut (born c. 1852), and James Allbut (born c. 1841). It is possible that James Allbut died in his youth, because his name only appears in the 1841 England Census, when he was merely months old. It is apparent that the Allbut and Mort families were closely connected, but the full extent of the connections is unknown. It is known that both families were involved with a printing press founded by a Mr. Strahan in 1786. The business was first passed to a J. Mort (first name unknown) and then to James Mort (Sophia Mort's father and most likely the son of J. Mort) in c. 1796. Later, John Allbut (William Allbut's grandfather) and Thomas Allbut (William Allbut's father) took over the business. This printing press published material from many