Ann Yearsley (1753 - 1806), the "Milkwoman & Poetess." Ann was a poor milkmaid from Bristol until discovered by the famous aristocrat writer Hannah More, who encouraged her to write and helped her publish a volume of poems in 1785. The success of the book caused a jealous rivalry between the two writers. Bristol was an important port in the slave trade between Africa and the British colonies, and in 1788, Ann published "A Poem on the Inhumanity of the Slave-Trade.". Copperplate engraving by Lowry.