Martha Naylor (1698-1761)

Name:: Martha Naylor

First name:: Martha

Last name:: Naylor (birth)

Last name:: Clayton (married)

Birth date:: 1698-02-26
Birth place:: Songs
Death date:: 1761-05-10
Death place:: Unknown

Gender:: Female
ML ID:: mlper000642

Offices:

Servant in the society at Holbeck with her husband Joseph Clayton
Band servant of the communicant brothers and sisters at Holbeck with her husband Joseph Clayton

Memoir:

Archive: Fulneck Archives
Shelfmark: Ful/3/44

Martha Naylor was born on February 26, 1698, at Songs, and became a foundational member of the Moravian community in Yorkshire, serving in various leadership roles including house-mother, acoluth, and intercessor for the Married Choir. Her life was characterized by a quiet, industrious devotion that saw her manage both the spiritual needs of her bands and the practical demands of the congregation's farm and dairy. She met a protracted and painful illness with serene patience, passing away on May 10, 1761, at the age of sixty-three, with a firm assurance of her reconciliation with the Savior.

View Transcription of Memoir

1

Ful/3/44 Departed May 10th 1761 Our dear Srn. Martha Naylor was born in Songs Febr. 26th, 1698. Her parents were of the established Religion, ??? she was from her infancy a quiet & still disposition, she lived with her parents, ??? till she grew up, but then went & service with a Wwer. Gentleman, with whom she lived a year, when her father departed this life, she went to her Mother, and helped her in her Affairs as a dutifull daugh= ter, till she was married in Febr. 1719 to the prefent Wwer. our Brn. James Naylor, she was from the Beginning, a tender & submissive wife, & when she had children, she was a lovg. good & faithful Mother, but as she was concerned about her own salvation, & wanted to please god, so she would never allow her children to streak or do any thing Wch. she thought was not right, she took great delight in reading or in hearing them read in some good Book. & in general her peaceable & much disposition gained the Love and Affection of all her Neighbours 2 tho she had often emotions of Grace in her Heart before, yet who was first truly awaken’d at the time of the general awakening in this Country, and what she heard of our Savr. made a deep impression in her Heart, & she never lost it at any time. she was together with her Husband of the first who were rec’d into the Societies which the Brn. settled here, and as she lived at that time at Lane End, who had a constant opportunity of being in the Company of the Brn. & Srn. which was always a great joy to her. – she had the Grace to be embodied into the at that time little Congn. Here, by reception {Decr. 25th 1743 O.S. Janry. 5th 1744 N.S.} which she prized as an invaluable Grace & which she kept held precious to her last moment. it was not long before her Joy was still farther heighten’d by her being ad= mitted to the participation of the ???? & Blood of Jesus in the H. Communion wch ineffable bless’d she enjoyed the first time July 20/31 the same Yr. — this Gr. she has enjoyed uninterruptedly ever since that time. — in the Yr. 46 the Srs. began their House keepg. in one of the Houses at Lane End, & she & her Husband been took them to by the advice of the Brn. to board (wth. them) she acted herein for 2 Yr. as a faithfull House-Mother, & her Service herein remains unforgotten upon a new Regulation in the Brns. House 3 and the Beginning of Congn. House keepg. (in Gomersal) she & her Husband were called into the Service of the Family, in which she continued as a faithfull & meek Handmaid of Jesus, ready to serve each little one of our Lord, till that House keepg. broke up in the Yr. 53. — when she her Husbd. and also she according to her strength continued still in the Service of the Farm & Deary. — in the midst of the (hardest) Work she was patient & unwearied, inoffensive, & her quiet spirit wch. was innerlikely engaged wth. the Wounded Friend of her Heart was an edification to all around her. When the Comp. of (Priests) Intercessors was enlarged Novr. 3d 1759 during our dr. Johannes’s Visit here, she & her husband were added there unto, her hours of intercourse wth. her beloved and unseen Friend were very weighty to her, & she enjoyed in them a blessd. for her Heart, while she faithfully laid before the dr. divine Family whatever was in Heart concernd the Folk who priz’d Jesus Torments. on the 13th of Novr. in the same Yr., she & her Husband were accepted as Acoluths & she was really a helper in the House of our Lord. — In the Yr. 1760. a new Regulation was made in the md. Choir, when a No. of Brn. & Srs. were 4 appointed to band Servt. or Keeper in that Choir, she was also of that No. & had the Band of the Elder Md. Srn. in the Place Congn., & that of the Communi= cant md. Srn. whose Husbands are not participants of that Grace in the Pudsey Congn. in both these bands she approved as a motherly & anointed Srn. was exceeding beloved & respected by her Srn. & a peculiar Grace rested upon her Bands. in general she was tho' a still & quiet Soul, who thought little of herself, & made no great shew a much respected & beloved Srn. whose Grace & attachment to the Wounds of Jesus obtained the Love not only of her own Choir, but of every Brn. & Srn. who knew her & it was her highest pleasure to serve where ever she cd. she was also a Servt. in the Hall as long her Strength wd. permit. In the beginning of Febry she became sickly, & it appeared at first as if she was getting a cancerous Disorder, & the symptoms were such, that they immediately portended her Dissolution tho' it seem'd as if it wd. continue some time, she took it, as she did every circumstance as from our Savr., & tho' it was attended with acute pain yet she was unvariedly patient & 5 resigned to her dearest Lord. speakg once of her pain to Brn. & Srn. La Trobe, she said: "it is easy to be born, my Savr. suffered infinitely more. oh (added she) I remember a time, when I should have been glad to have lain down in a Ditch and to have died there in the greatest misery, if I could only have been sure that I should be saved, & gone to our Savr., I may now easily be contented since I have known him & that I shall go to him, & that above 20 Years with- out the least Doubt." she was visited frequently by the Srn. of all Choirs, and as she sat constantly up, not beg. able to lie on acct. of her Disorder she was ready to receive them. in speaking once with Srn. Held, who was her old acquaintance about the happiness of a simple wth. our dr. Savr. and the Congn. she said: "I have seen many who have ruined or hurt them= by their insimplicity & reasoning but I thank our Savr. who preserved frn. reasoning at all abt. the Congn. or my Brn. or Srn. amidst all those things which I have seen, but I have been kept to my point. her Husband soon gave her up to her eternal, tho' the thoughts of their separation was very painfull to him. she begged of him frequently to keep close to our dr. Savr. & the Brn. till he should follow her. she declared 6 to her Son, how happy she was in the midst of her Pain thro' our Savrs. precious Nearness, that she was quite overpower'd with His Love. upon his asking her, whe= ther she wanted anything, she answer'd No "I am entirely satisfied, I have him near me & that's enough." she recom= mended to him, to be as helpfull to his old Father as he could. & to others, she often express'd her Joy on acct. of her Sons happy lot. before that sometime before her sickness she laid every thing in order for the dressing her Corpse, & sent for the Srn. who makes the Grave Cloaths that she might lay every thing at hand that wd. be wantd., she also desir'd that her old band Srn. of the Place might bring her Corpse to the Hall, & prayed that the full Music might play before her Corpse at her enterment, & appointd. a little S. F. for them. when the Brn. & Srn. visited her she delighted to hear them sing of her beloved, & joined with them as often as she could. — before the Communi: she desir'd to enjoy it as soon as possi= ble for added: "I only wait for that." accordingly early on Sunday Brn. Schulze brought it to her, she recd. with her dr. Hus= band for the last time, & when it was over she said "I am much refreshed!" this she also told Br. La Trobe who visited her that Day, & said, it was inexpressi= ble. 7 ble, I have now nothing more to wait for. the next morng. being the 10th she awoke abt. 4 o'clock out of a sweet sleep & immediately desired to sayg. I come! I come! the Srn. who waited upon her; "call her James." He came directly, & then she said, I am now going to our Savr. fare thee well! & directly she wd. say no more, but it seemed as if her Soul wd. take quickly its flight, accordingly Brn. Schulze was sent to who called Brn. & Srn. La Trobe, there was soon a little Compy. abt. her who kept a Liturgy, but she was yet to wait a few hours longer, & seemed to revive again, so that she could speak, & was taken in the afternoon out of Bed. through these last hours of her Abode here she was frequently visited and Liturgies were — kept at her Bed Side. & there was in truth an ineffable feeling of the presence of her tormented Lover who waited for the hour to kiss her Soul into himself. directly after the Burial of the Corpse of the Srn. Grace Wilson, in whose Compy. she had some Weeks before she said she wd. go to our Savr. — Brn. Schulze thought I'll go see how Srn. Naylor does. as he came near the Door, her Son came out & beckoned him, he just came in 8 in time to keep the last Liturgy with her, and at singing those words which she had desired to be sung at her dismission: "Now go then, go dear Heart & hide, deep I say deep into the Side," her dr. Husband blessed her, & her precious fled im= mediately to her so much beloved, wounded and eternal Husband. thus she fell softly & happily asleep in the 65th Year of her Age, & in the 44th Yr. of her md. State in which she bore 3 Childn. 1 of wh. a Daughter returned soon to its Mother City, her Son is our dr. John Naylor, Choir Servt. in the Brn’s. House, & a Daughter who is married & is a Friend of the Brn. thus she has attained her highest wish, & her Memory is odouriferous in the Congn. below.