The Complete Writings

529 Pages·1997·33.49 MB·English

by  Susanna Wesley

Susanna Wesley
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Susanna Wesley
The Complete Writings
Edited by
CHARLES WALLACE JR.
New York Oxford ^ Oxford University Press 1997
Oxford University Press
Oxford New York
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Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Pubhcation Data
Wesley, Susanna Anncslcy, 1670-1742.
[Works. 5996]
Susanna Wesley : the complete writings / edited by Charles Wallace, Jr.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references
ISBN 0-19-507437-8
I. Wallace, Charles. II. Title.
BX849S.M55A2 1996
287'.092--dc20 95.8821
b
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To
Miriam Shroyer Wallace
(1921-1985)
and
Charles I. Wallace Sr.,
not Susanna and Samuel (thank goodness!),
but extraordinary parents in the Wesleyan tradition
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Prefcace
Given the keen interest in recovering women's voices in the history of both
church and society, the time is ripe for a careful presentation of the work of
Susanna Wesley. Though much of her literary output has appeared in print since her
death, a good deal of it has suffered at the hands of Victorian editors or has only
been published in obscure and now defunct denominational journals. The entire
corpus has heretofore never been gathered in one place.
I offer this edition in the hope that her own voice may be heard more fully than
before, thus providing material for a careful reassessment of a remarkable woman.
She deserves to be regarded not just as the mother of the founders of Methodism
but also as a fascinating figure in her own right, a woman enmeshed in and yet
pushing against many of the patriarchal constraints of early eighteenth-century
church and society. In addition, her story will supplement those of other women
and give a more balanced and complete picture of religion, literature, and society
in the early eighteenth century.
Thirteen years is a long time to be occupied with an editing project, even if the
subject matter is the nearly lifelong output of a prolific individual. Along the way
many debts have been accrued and many changes have taken place.
In the first category, I am happy first to name Frank Baker, doyen of Wesley
scholars and my graduate school mentor. His presentation on Susanna Wesley at the
pioneering Women in New Worlds Conference in 1980 helped focus United Meth-
odist historical work on the recovery of women's experience and, in particular,
prodded me to investigate a "complete works" of Susanna. Typically, his support
included not only advice and counsel but also access to his collection of rare Meth-
odistica. Other scholars in the field have also aided and abetted me in various ways:
John Newton and John Vickers in England; Bob Burtner, Doug Chandler, Dale John-
son, Fred Maser, Russ Richey, and Ken Rowe in the United States; Joanne Brown and
the late Elizabeth Hart (whose scholarship and enthusiasm I miss greatly) in Canada.
In addition to those sharing my specialized, interests, I am grateful for the support
of colleagues at Western Maryland College (Ira Zepp and Bob Hartman), Wesley
viii Preface
Theological Seminary (particularly the late Clarence Goen), and especially at Willa-
mette University (Jim Hand, Dave McCreery, Doug McGaughey and Lane
McGaughy). Peter Williams and Charles Hambrick-Stowe, distinguished scholars in
American religious history and good friends, have contributed in both these capaci-
ties.
The librarians and staffs of the two major depositories of Susanna Wesley manu-
scripts deserve special thanks: the Methodist Archives at the John Rylands University
Library, Manchester, and the library at Wesley College, Bristol. Thanks also go to
Hartley-Victoria College, Manchester, which provided hospitality and accommoda-
tions for the week I spent working in the Methodist Archives. I am grateful to the
other owners of manuscripts: Wesley's Chapel, London; the Methodist Historical
Society, Baltimore; the Melbourne Public Library; and Peter Conlan of Bromley, Kent.
Two major research libraries were indispensable in the detective work connected
with tracing many of Susanna Wesley's intellectual sources: the British Library and
the Henry E. Huntington Library. Willamette University provided funds from the
National Endowment for the Humanities to subsidize a trip to the latter. When
research forays were not possible, the Mark O. Hatfield Library at Willamette was a
ready source of interlibrary loans and computer search expertise. Willamette presi-
dent Jerry Hudson and three successive deans of the College of Liberal Arts, Jerry
Berberet, Julie Ann Carson, and Lawrence Cress, also provided support, both moral
and financial, in the course of the project.
I am happy to list the string of conscientious work-study student assistants at
Willamette who have entered text, proofread, and helped with the annotation: Ra-
chel Hill, Meg Dupuis, John Watson, and Julie Weddle. Leslie Bandfield, Carolyn
Kilday and Betty Smith lent their word-processing expertise. My administrative assis-
tant, Holli Davenport, kept the Chaplain's Office functioning when I was distracted
with Susanna. Ed Arabas provided the two expertly drawn maps.
I note with pleasure that Susanna Wesley is receiving her academic due in this
edition, however indirectly, from the university that educated her father, husband,
and sons but had no place for her (or any other women) in her own day. Special
thanks for their complicity, therefore, go to the helpful and patient editors at Oxford
University Press, Cynthia Read, Cynthia Carver, Paula Wald, and Peter Ohlin.
Feminist scholarship has reinforced the historian's proclivity to examine the con-
text of any intellectual work. My greatest debts in this project are to the women in
my life, all of whom participate in what a Methodist Jungian might call the Susanna
"archetype" (though I hasten to add that that may be more my projection than their
objectively viewed character traits). In naming them, I am aware of the mystery of
change that is as central to our lives as it is to the history we study. Still alive when
I began the project were Edna Laird Wallace and Helen Rex Shroyer, my grand-
mother and step-grandmother, and Miriam Shroyer Wallace, my mother. They are
gone, but they live on as examples of strong women. Four others of a similar
persuasion have, wittingly or not, marked this project over its long duration. I grate-
fully acknowledge Betsy Sargent, quondam uxor and continuing friend; Dee-dee Wal-
ters, gifted priest and affectionate companion; and my daughters, Hannah and Molly
Wallace, wonderful uppity women of the rising generation.
Norman Maclean concludes his profoundly "male" book, A River Runs through it,
Preface ix
with the phrase, "I am haunted by waters." Many men in the church and the acad-
emy (myself included) would have to admit that we are "haunted by women"—and
will continue to be, until we give real women, not idealized or demonized projec-
tions, their due. For that reason, as well as for the enrichment of the historical
record and for simple justice, I have undertaken this project.