Susanna Wesley
Susanna Wesley (1669-1742)
You can hear an audio recording of this post on episode 10 of the Methodical Methodist Podcast!
“The Mother of Methodism!” Susanna Wesley played a crucial role in the life and upbringing of her children – specifically – John and Charles Wesley who are considered to be the founders of the Methodist Movement. Susanna is both a matriarch and a saint. In the words of Eliza Clarke, “Although she never preached a sermon or published a book or founded a church, (she) is known as the Mother of Methodism. Why? Because two of her sons, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, as children consciously or unconsciously, applied the example and teachings and circumstances of their home life.” There is no doubt that without Susanna Wesley, there would be no Methodist Church.
Susanna Annesley Wesley was born on January 20, 1669 to Dr Samuel Annesley and Mary White Annesley. She was the 25th of 25 total children. Her father was a prominent Nonconformist –minister in London, England. Nonconformist just meant that he did not fall in line with the established Church of England. He was of the Puritan persuasion.
At the young age of 13 years old, Susanna made a pros and cons list of whether to be a Puritan or a member of the Church of England. Ultimately, she made the decision to leave her father’s church and became a member of the Church of England instead – and I think this shows how she was a very smart and independent woman. She was allowed to jump in debates at the dinner table with her father and his associates. And as a teenager, this really sharpened her skills in debate and opened her up to different ways of thinking.
Unlike most women, Susanna could read and write. In fact, she was very well-educated, which was rare at her time. She was methodical in her studies; although - unfortunately - she was not able to attend a university because they did not admit women during this time. Despite this, she became knowledgeable at philosophy, logic, anatomy, French, Greek, and Latin. And Susanna really became a theologian in her own right. She wrote extensive commentaries on the Apostle’s Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments.
Susanna married her husband, Samuel Wesley on November 11, 1688. Samuel was 26 years old and Susanna was 19; and they were married for 46 years. They had first met when she was 12 years old and he was 19 years old. He was in college, and Samuel had come to visit Susanna’s father. And Susanna and Samuel bonded over their interest in the Church of England. Both of them had grown up with Puritan parents, and they saw the tides changing. After Samuel finished seminary, the couple were married. Of their 46 years of marriage, they spent 39 of those years in Epworth, England where Samuel served as rector at a church called Saint Andrew’s.
The Wesley couple had 19 children total in the span of 20 years! The boys were, Samuel Junior, John, and Charles. The girls were Emilia, Susanna, Mary, Mehetabel, Anne, Martha, and Kezia. Nine of these children died as infants. Four of the children who died were twins. And a maid accidentally smothered one child – which is just horrible. And, at her death, only eight of her children were still alive. So, she is clearly a woman who dealt with a lot of trials and heartache in her life.
There is no doubt that Susanna Wesley was truly an incredible mother. She was in charge of the early education of her children, and she instituted an hour each week to spend with each of her children at home. She wrote this to her absent husband:
“I am a woman, but I am also the mistress of a large family. And though the superior charge of the souls contained in it lies upon you, yet in your long absence I cannot but look upon every soul you leave under my charge as a talent committed to me under a trust. I am not a man nor a minister, yet as a mother and a mistress I felt I ought to do more than I had yet done. I resolved to begin with my own children; in which I observe the following method: I take such a proportion of time as I can spare every night to discourse with each child apart. On Monday I talk with Molly, on Tuesday with Hetty, Wednesday with Nancy, Thursday with Jacky, Friday with Patty, Saturday with Charles.”
It is clear that Susanna taught her children lessons that they carried out throughout their entire lives. Susanna would spend six hours a day of home school. On the very first day they were required to learn the entire alphabet. Apparently, all of her children were able to do this, except for two of them. She equipped the older children to teach the younger children. On the fifth birthday, every child was taught to read. She made sure her daughters could read, before they could sew. She required her children to read out loud. And the children were encouraged to ask questions and engage in dialogue.
However, Susanna had strict rules by which she expected all of her children to live by, and I think these rules contributed to John’s methodical way of doing things. These household by-laws were important to how Susanna raised her children. "When they turned a year old were taught to fear the rod, and to cry softly.”
Her by-laws included some really important life lessons.
1. The first one is the benefit of honesty. She writes, “Whoever was charged with a fault, of which they were guilty, if they would ingenuously confess it, and promise to emend, should not be punished. This rule prevented a great deal of lying, and would have done more, if one in the family would have observed it.”
2. The second rule is about consistency. If one of her children was caught breaking the rules or disobeying her orders, and they needed to be punished, she was consistent in that. She wouldn’t punish one child and not the other. She was consistent in how she dealt with that.
3. The third rule has to do with how she offered a clean slate. If she punished a child, and they were remorseful, then she would not hold it over the child. She kind of followed the passage of Scripture – “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
4. The fourth rule is again about consistency. Just as she was consistent in how she disciplined her children, she was also consistent in offering praise and rewards for obedience when her children exhibited good behavior.
5. Susanna talks about her fifth rule as she writes, “If ever any child performed an act of obedience, or did any thing with an intention to please, though the performance was not well, yet the obedience and intention should be kindly accepted.”
6. The sixth rule talks about the importance of respecting others. Susanna taught her children to respect other people and their property. She saw that the lack of respect – specifically when it came to the property of others – was a common problem in the larger society.
7. Susanna’s seventh rule taught her children the importance of being true to one’s word. As she stated, “A gift once bestowed, and so the right passed away from the donor, be not resumed.” In other words, keep your word. Follow through with the promises that you make.
8. The eighth rule had to do with the importance of an education for her daughters. She said, “No girl should be taught to work until she can read very well.”
So, I think a lot of parents right now might appreciate Susanna – knowing that she was able to raise so many children practically by herself - who could educate and raise ten children all under the same roof. It really is remarkable.
Not only did Susanna teach her children important life skills, but she was also a crucial figure in her children’s spiritual lives. She inquired about the spiritual life of each of her children, she and taught them in a very methodical way. She would often ask her children the question, “How is it with your soul?” She really did care about the spiritual health of her kids.
In a letter she wrote on July 24, 1732, later on in her life, she reminisced about some of this spiritual education by saying, “The children of this family were taught, as soon as they could speak, the Lord’s prayer which they were made to say at rising and bed-time constantly.”
She was a very spiritual person, and this had a big influence on her kids. In fact, John Wesley famously said, “I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” So, that shows you not only how much John looked up to his mom, but also how brilliant she really was.
Apparently, Susanna would do this thing when she needed to pray. She would sit down in her kitchen and she would lift her apron up over her head. And if the kids saw mom with an apron on her head, that meant that they should leave her alone, because she was praying. I just love that. I think that really shows her dedication as a spiritual leader in her household.
It really is no doubt that Susanna really was the spiritual leader in the house. In fact, she was really the one who raised all of the children. Her husband Samuel was thrown into debtor’s prison twice because of his poor financial decisions, and that was obviously a big strain on Susanna. Samuel would leave for 6 to 8 months at a time. He was very rarely around. In addition to all these obstacles that Susanna had to deal with - on top of all of that their house in Epworth burned down. Not once, but twice.
In 1709, while the entire Wesley family was asleep, someone came and set their house on fire. (Samuel, was convinced it was someone in his own congregation who didn’t like him.) The house burned so quickly that the Wesley family barely made it out alive. But when they got out, they realized that little John was still inside the house. Samuel tried to go back in and get him, but it was too late. The house was already engulfed in these huge flames. So, Samuel starts praying and commends John’s life to God’s care.
But then, out of nowhere, one of the townspeople saw John standing next to the upstairs window. So, some of the men climbed on each other’s shoulders and they pulled John out of the house just before the roof collapsed.
John’s mother Susanna believed that God had saved her son for some special purpose. Susanna quoted Zechariah 3:2, by calling John a ‘brand plucked from the fire.’ And over time, John also believed that God had spared him for some great purpose as well.
One time, Samuel went away to London for a church conference and his temporary replacement wasn’t very effective and he didn’t care much for the people. So, people stopped attending church and began to attend a Bible Study that Susanna held at her home for her children. Within a month or two there were two hundred people expanding out into the yard who were coming to hear Susanna’s Bible study. And it really wasn’t a Bible Study… I mean, Susanna was holding church. She was basically preaching. And people stopped going to church altogether and just started going to Susanna’s house instead.
Samuel’s replacement got upset – as you can imagine - and he sent a letter to Samuel explaining the situation. Samuel wrote to Susanna and told her it was illegal for women to preach and she was to stop immediately.
She writes back and says, “As I am a woman, so I am also mistress of a large family. And though the superior charge of the soul contained in it, lies upon you; yet, in your absence, I cannot but look upon every soul you leave under my care, as a talent committed to me under a trust, by the great Lord of all the families, both of heaven and earth. And if I am unfaithful to him or you, in neglecting to improve these talents, how shall I answer unto him, when he shall command me to render an account of my stewardship?”
In other words, there were people who were needing some spiritual guidance – and if Samuel was going to tell her to stop – then he would have to answer to God if people fell away because of this. And of course, after that, Samuel never said another word about it. As you can see, this couple kind of had a rocky relationship.
In fact, at one point they had an argument about who the rightful king was. Samuel was an Orangeman and supported King William of Orange, as the rightful King of England. Susanna was a Jacobite and supported King James II as the rightful King. One day, after Samuel had prayed in family worship for Good king William, Susanna refrained from saying “amen!” to his prayer. Samuel became aware of the deafening silence. He left the house shouting “If we must have 2 kings, we must have 2 beds!” And there is a rumor that Susanna replied with a simple “Okay.” This upset Samuel so much that he stayed away from home for several months. But when he finally returned they were able to reconcile their differences, and 9 months later John Wesley was born.
After Samuel passed away, Susanna made the decision to move to London and become more involved in the Methodist movement that her sons had fostered. And she continued to guide and influence and encourage her sons during this time.
There was an occasion where John Wesley was gone and there was no one available to preach the sermon to the gathered congregation. They were waiting and waiting for John to arrive. Finally, one of Wesley’s lay helpers, Thomas Mawell, stepped up into the pulpit and simply share what was on his heart. It ended up being a very passionate and moving sermon!
John Wesley finally arrived, but the service was already over and everybody had already gone home. John heard that a layman had taken liberties to preach behind the pulpit! And John took offense to this, but then Susanna – who was present for service – warns John. She said that God might have been behind it. She spoke very highly of Thomas Mawell’s sermon, and John Wesley – like a good son – went along with his mother. And because of this, he began sending out lay ministers far and wide.
In addition, we even see examples of John allowing women to exhort or share a testimony – in other words… John allowed some women to preach. There is no doubt that this was because of the influence of his mother who he had once seen share the Gospel to 200 people from her kitchen in Epworth.
Susanna spent her last years of her life staying with her son John at the Foundry – which was a Methodist Meeting Place. One author describes this saying, “John was now able to provide for her and his apartment became her home for the rest of her life. While living with John, she was undoubtedly as well supplied with the necessities of life as at any time since she left her father’s home fifty years earlier.”
Susanna would attend John’s services there at the Meeting-house. On July 1742, John received a letter telling him that his mother was nearing death. John rode on horseback to London and found her “quote – on the borders of eternity. But she had no doubt or fear; nor any desire but ‘to depart and to be with Christ.’”
It is fitting that several of her children were by her side at her death, because she loved and cared for her children despite all the obstacles of her life. It is clear that John had a very close relationship with her, and that relationship was very important to him. John describes his mother’s last moments saying, “Her look was calm and serene, and her eyes fixed upward, while we commended her soul to God.”
Susanna Wesley died on July 23, 1742 at the age of 72. She was buried at Bunhill Fields in London. If there was a third founder of Methodism, I would venture to say it would be Susanna Wesley. She was an intelligent woman who influenced and cared for her children.
The Burial of Mrs. Susannah Wesley
As the biographer Eliza Clarke says, “We may all rejoice in the wealth of Christian song made available in the hymns composed by Charles, as well as in the masterly evangelistic career of John, culminating in the organizing of the Methodist Church. But although certain of these abilities were derived from their father, Samuel, it was especially from their mother, Susanna.”
