Chosen by God : the Female Itinerants of Early Primitive Methodism : E. Dorothy Graham A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY E. Dorothy Graham AUTHOR’S NOTE When reading this thesis it is as well to remember that it was written 25 years ago and that styles of presentation and type have changed over time. Further information has been gleaned resulting in some of the original observations and comments needing to be up-dated. In addition there are several important points to be noted. 1. The Wesley Historical Society Library is now located in The Oxford Centre for Methodism and Church History, Oxford Westminster Institute of Education, Oxford Brookes University, Harcourt Hill, Oxford OX2 9AT. [ www.wesleyhistoricalsociety.org.uk] 2. More information relating to some of the female travelling preachers has come to light, so the original Biographical and Additional Biographical Appendix is no longer included within the thesis. Readers are advised to follow the web-link to Chosen by God: A list of the Female Travelling Preachers of Early Primitive Methodism (Graham, E. Dorothy, 2010, Wesley Historical Society, Evesham) which is given after the Appendices. E. Dorothy Graham April 2013 1 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Chosen by God : the Female Itinerants of Early Primitive Methodism : E. Dorothy Graham A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts of the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY E. Dorothy Graham Department of Theology University of Birmingham 1986 SYNOPSIS Present day Methodists are often surprised to learn that ‘women in the Ministry’ is not a twentieth century phenomenon; that the Bible Christians and Primitive Methodists had the flexibility and foresight to make valuable use of female preaching talents. This research has concentrated on the women travelling preachers of Primitive Methodism, starting from the premise that there were doubtless far more than was immediately apparent; searching them out; looking at their life and work; their value and influence within the context of the movement itself and in relation to the strata of society to which it chiefly appealed. I have sought to weigh the contemporary arguments about the merits and demerits of female preaching; to look at the gradual decline and ultimate demise of the female itinerant; to see if an explanation for their disappearance could be found in the prevailing social conditions or if the answer lay within Primitive Methodism itself. As Primitive Methodism moved from enthusiastic evangelism towards consolidation so its emphasis shifted and its attitudes developed and changed. The female travelling preachers played a vital, though often little acknowledged, role in the Connexional evolution and it is this role which I have tried to explore and evaluate. (200 words) (Total number of words approximately 100,000) 2 Chosen by God : the Female Itinerants of Early Primitive Methodism : E. Dorothy Graham PREFACE It should be pointed out that as far as possible I have purposely tried not to rely on H.B. Kendall: The Origin and History of the Primitive Methodist Church 2 volumes (n.d. ? 1904) which has been the basis of much of the research into Primitive Methodism, but to seek out other material from extant records and also from the Primitive Methodist Magazine in particular in order to confirm or supplement Kendall’s work. It would be impossible to mention all the people who, over the years, have shown interest and given me encouragement in this project. Staff in Record Offices and Libraries who have tried to trace the almost untraceable, especially those in the John Rylands Library, Manchester and members of the Wesley Historical Society who have answered my queries with patience and good humour. I am grateful to Norfolk Record Office for permission to include copies of local records. Special thanks must be expressed to the Rev. William Leary, the Connexional Archivist of the Methodist Church, who has dealt graciously and helpfully with much questioning and whose work ‘The Ministers of Primitive Methodism’ has been of inestimable value. This work would never have been finished, indeed would probably have been given up long ago, but for the invaluable advice and encouragement of Dr. D. Hugh McLeod, who has endured with great forbearance time-consuming discussions which prodded me into continuing. How he put up with me I will never know, but his trouble has been sincerely appreciated. To all my family and friends many thanks are due for ‘living’ with ‘my women’ for so long, and especially to Linda for her librarianship expertise and advice and to Ian for reproducing Kendall’s photographs so competently. Last, but by no means least I would like to thank Mrs. Sue Bowen who managed to cope admirably with my handwriting and inexpert typing. 3 Chosen by God : the Female Itinerants of Early Primitive Methodism : E. Dorothy Graham ABBREVIATIONS BC Bible Christians HMGB A History of Methodism in Great Britain, ed. Davies, R. George, A.R., Rupp, G. 3 volumes (1965, 1978, 1983) JWL John Wesley, Letters (Standard edition, 8 volumes, ed. Telford, J. 1931) JWJ John Wesley, Journal (Standard edition, 8 volumes, ed. Curnock, N. 1909-1916) MARC Methodist Archives and Research Centre, John Rylands Library, Manchester MNC Methodist New Connexion PM Primitive Methodist PMM Primitive Methodist Magazine PM Mins Minutes of the Primitive Methodist Conference PMQR Primitive Methodist Quarterly Review formerly Christian Ambassador RO Record Office UM United Methodist WHS Wesley Historical Society WHS Proc. Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society WM Wesleyan Methodism WMHS World Methodist Historical Society 4 Chosen by God : the Female Itinerants of Early Primitive Methodism : E. Dorothy Graham Contents AUTHOR’S NOTE ................................................................................................................................................. 1 SYNOPSIS .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 PREFACE ............................................................................................................................................................... 3 ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................................ 4 FRONTISPIECE ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO: THE ORIGINS OF PRIMITIVE METHODISM: WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO (THE INFLUENCE OF) WOMEN....................................................................................................................... 16 CHAPTER THREE: CASE FOR FEMALE PREACHING ................................................................................. 35 CHAPTER FOUR: DAY BY DAY REALITY: THE LIFE AND WORK OF EARLY PRIMITIVE METHODIST ITINERANTS ....................................................................................................................................................... 55 CHAPTER FIVE: WOMEN: CHOSEN BY GOD ............................................................................................. 102 CHAPTER SIX: A DETAILED STUDY OF THREE FEMALE ITINERANTS .............................................. 135 CHAPTER SEVEN: THREE WOMEN: A COMPARISON ............................................................................. 160 CHAPTER EIGHT: DECLINE OF FEMALE ITINERANT PREACHERS IN PRIMITIVE METHODISM .. 172 CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 200 Appendices I - XVI APPENDIX I :TRANSCRIPT OF MSS LETTER FROM MR. STOBART, HEXHAM, MAY 1827 .............. 202 APPENDIX II: MSS LETTER FROM MR STOBART TO Z TAFT ................................................................ 204 APPENDIX III:COPY OF A LETTER FROM JOHN PAWSON WITH REGARD TO THE PREACHING OF MARY TAFT ...................................................................................................................................................... 208 APPENDIX IV: REMARKS ON THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN – HUGH BOURNE ................................... 210 APPENDIX V BIBLICAL TEXTS USED BY FEMALE ITINERANTS ......................................................... 214 APPENDIX VI BIBLICAL TEXTS USED BY MALE IIINERANTS (excluding those used at Camp Meetings and funerals) a selection ...................................................................................................................................... 219 APPENDIX VII: A MISSIONARY SPEECH - ELIZABETH SMITH ............................................................