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Title
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Anna Shoesmith (1752-1772)
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Creator
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Shoesmith, Anna, 1752-1772
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Publisher
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Moravian Lives Project
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Date
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1772
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Type
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Text
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Format
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image/jpg
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Description
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This memoir recounts the life of Anna Shoesmith (1752–1772), a young Moravian woman from Fulneck who struggled throughout her youth with carelessness, unstable behavior, and worldly friendships despite being raised within the Moravian community. Although she longed to live among the Sisters and experienced periods of deep spiritual feeling and repentance, she repeatedly drifted into spiritual indifference before eventually finding comfort and forgiveness through Christ. After being received into the congregation and later the Single Sisters Choir, her health declined from consumption, and during her final illness she became more humble, devout, and focused on eternal life. The memoir portrays her death at age 20 as peaceful and spiritually hopeful, emphasizing her longing to be united with Christ.
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Subject
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Shoesmith, Anna, 1752-1772
Moravians--Biography
Women--Biography
Autobiographies
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Identifier
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Ful/SS/74
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Place
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Fulneck, England
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Language
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eng
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Extent
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3 pages
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Rights Holder
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Fulneck Moravian Archives, Fulneck, UK
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transcript of
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The Course of Life of the Single Sister Anna Shoesmith
I was born Northern Green in the parish of Halifax Augst 13 1752 and Baptz by Brn in the year 1758 I removed with my parents to Fulneck, I of uncommon Light turn of mind caused much dissatisfaction to my dear parents dureing the course of years spent wth them and also deprived my self of many priviledges amongest the Children which might aprove’d about blessing to my own Heart and a comfort & joy to those about me; but my bad conduct soon overcame me Especial if my parents forebore there reprove my trouble was presumably at an End. Thus I spent my time.
March 1764 when I was took into the Great Girls Choir from which time I begd my parents to get me leave to live in the choirhouse they told me many circumstances of my unfitness & desired me to intreat our Savr for Grace & solidness of Heart to get more deeply Ground in the knowledg of My self and want of Him. this made a real impression for a Time upon me & caused me to turn to our Savr to beg him in my prayers to allow & prepare my heart to be more to his mind in all my ways, and on overhearing my parent saying to Each other that I had leave to live in the choirhouse the rejoiced me very much & made me turn with Earnestness of Heart to our dr Savr to preserve and keep me to the End of all my Days & in a fortnight Time I had the Grace to remove into the choirhouse & continued for some time chereful & happy but this injoyment lasted not long, for I became dry & indifferent to every thing that was Good and orderly for a Child of God one in my Situation & great uneaseyness of Heart was My daily course Esspecialy on seeing first one & then another of my room companions made partakers of the congregation. My perplexations increased & my hearts distress was quite unbearable but this Lasted not long for I took my own means & method to make of bearable by thinking lightly & indiffrent over every thing that was a blessing to a Child of God, yet amidst all this
unhappy condition my Gracious Savr kept his hand upon me and drew me as with Cords of Love so that I cou’d no longer withhold my heart from his love & mercy & felt Liberty to out my woes & wants with a Thousand Tears, conf found him whom My soul so much wanted in this & meltedness of Heart my Savr blest & comfortd me as his pardond one & I became his poor needy & dependant Creature, & by the first opertunity I pourd out my heart into my Labourer who begd me to keep close to to our Savr as his & often keep band with him over all my wants & I might be sure of having a Happy course during all future years. July 17th 1768 I had the Grace to be receivd into the congregation, which rejoicd me very much but my body and Light turn of mind deprived me of making the best use of the solid council & advice given by the Sisters to me & cou’d rather be drawn to follow those of my own turn of mind then otherwise be perswaded to seek for Solidness & stability of heart, this fare her own dictating in The Year 1772 our happily departed Sister was received into the Single Sisters Choir this made a change for some little Time & she was moved into a Sisters Room but it was presently perceptible that Her course & companions therein was of an unprofitable & painful Consequence yet nothing could preswade Her from it beleaving all friendship suffering herself to be thus insnar’d Soul of its maker nurture from affection to She & deprived her Heart of the only schooling of the H Spirit & in this infatuation of pretended friendship she spent Her Latter years & a weakly habbit of body brought on a perceptible decline of Strengths so that in the beginning of the year 72 she was obliged to remove into the sick room where a more real sence of her Hearts situation became more Her object of concern and our dr Savr in Mercie vouchsafeth her many gracious visits & she has his needy one turnd to him with Heart & soul inamourd with His Mercies she Earnestly
sought for Grace as a needy Sinner & bore her weakly Tabernacle with Great patience its apointed Times on the first of July she injoyed the Holy communion in the Sickroom with a melted & Sinnerlike dispossion she was a little better she also participated with the congregation on the 11th of the same month with a Thankful & comforted Heart & Thus continued in a happy Expectation of her souls bridegroom fetching Her to His arms & bosom. the Consumation of all her desires was blessedly compleatd Early on the morning of the 3d of August & in the 20 years of her age.
