Her father, a carpenter who died in 1810, sold fossils to tourists to supplement his income. When early modern naturalists did accept that fossils had once been alive, they tended to draw on Scripture, ancient history, and contemporary reports of natural anomalies. In the late 18th century, scientists in other fields were already beginning to suspect that Earth was much older than 6,000 years. The vegetation on the shore, including palms and tree ferns, was inspired by plant fossils found around Lyme Regis. Charles Bradlaugh, an atheist activist, viewed paleontology and geology as tools in his fight against the Church of England.