Susanna Wesley
This is the story of Susanna Wesley, 1669-1742 Mother of Charles and John Wesley, who were founders of the Methodist Church. Susanna and her husband, Samuel, had nineteen children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Her son Charles became a well-known hymn writer and her son John became the found of Methodism. Susanna was brought up in a Puritan home as the youngest of twenty-five children. As a teenager, she became a member of the Church of England. She became the wife of a chronically debt-ridden parish rector in an English village. She said, "I have had a large experience of what the world calls adverse fortune." Nonetheless, Susanna managed to pass down to her children Christian principles that stayed with them.
This is the story of Susanna Wesley, 1669-1742 Mother of Charles and John Wesley, who were founders of the Methodist Church. Susanna and her husband, Samuel, had nineteen children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Her son Charles became a well-known hymn writer and her son John became the found of Methodism.
Susanna was brought up in a Puritan home as the youngest of twenty-five children. As a teenager, she became a member of the Church of England. She became the wife of a chronically debt-ridden parish rector in an English village. She said, "I have had a large experience of what the world calls adverse fortune." Nonetheless, Susanna managed to pass down to her children Christian principles that stayed with them.
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94 SUSANNA WESLEY.<br />
soon after the re-assembling of the family, which<br />
exhibits the only sign of petulance observable in her<br />
correspondence : "Epworth, April 7th, 1710.<br />
~"DEAR SAMMY,<br />
" I thought I should have heard from you ere<br />
now, but I find you do not think of me as I do of you.<br />
Indeed, I believe you would be very easy were you<br />
never to hear from me more ;<br />
but I cannot be satisfied,<br />
myself, without writing sometimes, though not so often<br />
as I would.<br />
" I have sent you a letter which I sent to your sister<br />
Sukey at Gainsborough, which I would have you read<br />
and copy it, if you have time. [This was probably the<br />
exposition of the Apostles' Creed previously mentioned.]<br />
"When I have my leisure, I think I cannot be better<br />
employed than in writing something that may be<br />
useful to my children and<br />
; though I know there are<br />
abundance of good books wherein these subjects are<br />
more fully and accurately treated of than I can pretend<br />
to write, yet I am willing to think that my<br />
children will somewhat regard what I do for them,<br />
though the performance be mean, since they know it<br />
comes from their mother, who is, perhaps, more concerned<br />
for their eternal happiness than anyone in the<br />
world. As you had my youth and vigour employed in<br />
your service, so I hope you will not despise the little<br />
I can do in my declining years ; but will for my sake<br />
carefully read these papers over, if it be but to put you<br />
on a more worthy performance of your own.<br />
" SUSANNA WESLEY."
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