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.
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
THE SUPERNATURAL NOISES. 115<br />
"were, in fact,<br />
audible to some of the family throughout<br />
life, they must have applied to many occurrences, if<br />
indeed they were of the nature attributed to them by<br />
the hearers. The first account of the disturbances<br />
was written by Mrs. <strong>Wesley</strong> herself to her son Samuel,<br />
and it was at his request that his sisters and father<br />
also recorded what they had themselves experienced.<br />
Mrs. <strong>Wesley</strong>'s letter is very circumstantial :<br />
"<br />
SAM,<br />
January 12th, 1716-17.<br />
" This evening we were agreeably surprised with<br />
your pacquet, which brought the welcome news of<br />
your being alive, after we had been in the greatest<br />
panic imaginable, almost a month, thinking either you<br />
was dead, or one of your brothers, by some misfortune,<br />
(had) been killed.<br />
" The reason of our fears is as follows : On<br />
the<br />
1st of December our maid heard, at the door of the<br />
dining-room, several dismal groans, like a person in<br />
extremes at the point of death. We gave little heed<br />
to her relation, and endeavoured to laugh her out of<br />
her fears. Some nights (two or three) after, several<br />
of the family heard a strange knocking in divers<br />
places, usually three or four knocks at a time, and then<br />
staying a little. This continued every night for a fortnight<br />
sometimes it was in the<br />
; garret, but most commonly<br />
in the nursery or green chamber. We all heard<br />
it but your father ;<br />
and I was not willing he should<br />
be informed of it, lest he should fancy<br />
it was against<br />
his own death, which, indeed, we all apprehended.<br />
But when it<br />
began to be so troublesome, both night<br />
and day, that few or none of the family durst be alone,<br />
I resolved to tell him of it, being minded he should<br />
speak to it. At first he would not believe but some-<br />
8 *
Change language