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Publisher
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Moravian Lives Project
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Type
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Text
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Format
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image/jpeg
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Description
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Written in English, this document is a biographical memoir of Martha Naylor (1698–1761). The narrative recounts her birth in Tong, her upbringing within the Church of England, her service in a gentleman’s household, her marriage to James Naylor in 1719, and her life as a wife and mother. The memoir emphasizes her quiet and gentle disposition, religious devotion, concern for salvation, moral guidance of her children, and love of religious reading, reflecting common themes in Moravian memorial literature.
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Identifier
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Ful/3/44
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Language
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English
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Extent
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8 pages
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Rights Holder
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Fulneck Moravian Archives, Fulneck, England
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transcript of
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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
Page 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
Page 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
Page 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 &
Page 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
Page 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.
Page 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
Page 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.
