The Women Behind The 1689: Mrs. Gifford

Like many signers of the London Baptist Confession of 1689, Andrew Gifford had a wife. Her name, dates of birth and death, and other basic facts have at the present eluded me, but by looking at her husband’s life we can glance at a sliver of hers. Andrew was born in 1642, baptized in 1659 and began preaching in 1661. He also worked as a cooper (barrel maker and repairer), which would have produced a steady and comfortable living in a seaport. A son, Emanuel, was born in 1673, the sixth of nine children.

When Andrew was not welcome in churches due to the Act of Uniformity, he would preach in woods, fields, and homes. In 1677 he was ordained a pastor at the Pithay church in Bristol by the laying on hands of Daniel Dyk and Nehemiah Coxe. He was imprisoned four times, and an anecdote found in Joseph Ivemy’s History of the English Baptists concerning his fourth imprisonment in 1680 mentions Mrs. Gifford:

Providence seemed to give him intimation of his danger the night before his apprehension, which was so far from intimidating him, that it was a greater encouragement. His wife dreamed that he arose to go out to preach according to his appointment; but upon opening the door, the very first step he took was up to his knees in snow: that thereupon she dissuaded him, but in vain; that he was seized by two particular men, whose names she mentioned, and brought to the Sun Tavern, that then was without Lawford’s Gate, and there confined in a dining room, being placed behind a particular table in it; and one of them, by main force, held him down by leaning on his right shoulder and the other on his left. It made such an impression that she awakened with the fright, and told him of it, and did all she could to dissuade him. But he told her, she talked like one of the foolish women; that nothing should hinder him from his Master’s business. They arose, and upon opening the door to the yard, they found there had fallen a great snow since they went to bed, with a severe frost, that had driven up to the house, so that the first step indeed was up to his knees. Upon this she repeated her importunity, but to no purpose, and the result was that he was taken according to her dream, and every particular circumstance of it was the next day exactly fulfilled.

How much verity is found in this anecdote is uncertain.

Imprisonment did not seem to deter Gifford or cause him any fear. He and his two sons, Emanuel and Samuel, were involved in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685 and were nearly caught when it failed. Yet providentially they escaped. As L.G. Champion states in his book Farthing Rushlight, “Andrew Gifford was a man of physical and spiritual vitality.” (p.2)

Andrew Gifford was known as “the apostle of the West”and ministered until his death in 1721. His son Emanuel followed in his footsteps and became a pastor. His grandson, also named Andrew, became a famous preacher as well. Not much may be known of Mrs. Gifford, but we can see that, surrounded by such men, her life must not have been boring.

Sources:

Barry, Jonathan and Morgan, Kenneth, ed. Reformation and Revival in 18th Century Bristol. Bristol Record Society, 1994.

Champion, L.G. Farthing Rushlight: The Story of Andrew Gifford 1700-1784. London: Carey Kingsgate Press Limited, 1961.

Crews, Ed. “Making Circles”, Colonial Williamsburg Journal, Autumn 2003.

Harrison, Frank. Mott. “John Bunyan and Andrew Gifford“, Baptist Quarterly. http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bq/10-3_139.pdf (shows picture of Andrew Gifford between pages 140 & 141!)

Ivimey, Joseph. History of the English Baptists. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish02ivim

The Women Behind the 1689: Susanna Skidmore Partridge Keach

Susanna Skidmore was born sometime in the 1600s in Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, England. Her father, Henry Skidmore, was a tallow chandler (candlestick maker) like his father before him. According to Emily Cockayne in the book Hubbub: Filth, Noise and Stench in England 1660-1770, the trade of tallow chandler was “notoriously dirty and unpleasant.”  Tallow was the inedible rendered fat of beef or mutton, and candles made of such were inexpensive and of equal cheap quality.

When she was grown, Susanna married Samuel Partridge, also of Rickmansworth. The marriage was short-lived. Samuel died nine months after the wedding. There were no children.

At some point Susanna made her way to London. Whether this was with her husband or after is unknown. It is also unknown when she became acquainted with Particular Baptists. It is known, though, that Benjamin Keach was in London by 1668, and that his dear wife Jane passed away in 1670. What Susanna and Benjamin’s romance entailed (if anything) will have to be for now imagined, but the widow and the widower were providentially brought together.

In 1672, Susanna and Benjamin were married. By this time Keach had become a Calvinist and was acquainted with Particular Baptists. Hanserd Knollys, a friend of Benjamin’s, officiated the wedding. His wife Anne had died the year before, but one wonders if she knew Susanna and how much interaction they had with each other.

Later that year, Benjamin and the church he pastored set up at Horsleydown, London, which grew into a large congregation. He was a major influence and voice for Particular Baptists. Together Susanna and Benjamin had five daughters: Elizabeth, Susanna, two named Rachel, and Rebekah. Elizabeth married Thomas Stinton in 1690. Susanna the daughter married Benjamin Stinton (Thomas’ brother) in 1699. Rebekah married Thomas Crosby, a Baptist historian.

Susanna and Benjamin Keach were married thirty-two years until Benjamin’s death in 1704. Son-in-law Benjamin Stinton became the next pastor at Horsleydown, and Susanna lived with her daughter Rebekah and son-in-law Thomas Crosby. Thankfully Crosby saw fit to put some description of her in his History of English Calvinistic Baptists:

She was a woman of extraordinary piety, who had a good report of all; a most tender mother, and grandmother, and if the exceeded due bounds in any thing, it was in her love and tenderness towards her children and grandchildren. She lived with me many years, and during the time I was acquainted with her, which was near the last twenty years of her life, I must say, That she walked before God in truth, and with a perfect heart, and did that which was good in his sight. She lived in peace, without spot and blameless. Her eyes were turned away from beholding vanity, and her hands were stretched out, according to her ability, to the poor and needy. Her cloathing was humility, and her ornaments, a meek and quiet spirit. Her conversation was upright, as became the gospel, without covetousness, honest, holy, and heavenly. She, according to God’s promise, looked for new heavens, and a new earth, to things not seen, and to things that are eternal. Her confidence was not in the flesh; her rejoicing was in Christ, and Christ was her all. In her dying moments, so much chearfulness, and readiness to depart appeared, as made a reverend minister present, wish, that some Atheist, or Deist were by, to see the comfort she enjoyed, and the quiet resignation of her self to the will of God; and such was her desire to depart, that she desired him to pray; but not for the continuance of her life.

Susanna died in February 1727.

“George Mosson Tulpenvase 1912” by Mosson, George

Sources:

Cockayne, Emily. Hubbub: Filth, Noise and Stench in England 1660-1770

Crosby, Thomas. History of the English Baptists Vol.4

Haykin, Michael. The Reflections of a Puritan Theologian on Regeneration and Conversion.

Hicks, Tom. The Evangelical Convictions of Benjamin Keach.

Ried, Adam A. http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/bq/10-2_067.pdf

Skidmore, Warren. http://www.skidmoregenealogy.com/images/OccPap_no._27_20080202.pdf

The Women Behind the 1689: Jane Grove Keach

Jane Grove was born in 1639 in Winslow, England. In 1660, she married Benjamin Keach, who was one year younger. Keach had become convinced of the Baptist position while in his teens and around the time of his marriage to Jane was the pastor of the Baptist church in Winslow. This church was a General Baptist church, and Benjamin Keach at this time held to General Baptist theology. It is unclear what Jane’s thoughts were on the subject of Calvinism, but since she willingly married a Baptist, we can at least conclude that she was no paedobaptist sympathizer.

Whether General Baptist or Particular Baptist, both were illegal in England at that time, and Benjamin Keach had his share of persecution. In 1644, Keach was arrested for preaching. Also that year he was convicted for writing a children’s book, A New and Easie Primer, that was said to promote heresy. He was pilloried and his books were burned in front of him. While he was in the stocks, Jane visited and encouraged him, and Benjamin was able to preach to passers-by during this confinement.

The persecution intensified to the point that in 1668 the Keach family made the decision to move to London. During the journey, highwaymen set upon the coach in which the family was riding and stole all the passengers’ money. Benjamin was penniless when they arrived in the city. Yet the family along with the other passengers of the coach sued the county and was eventually able to restore the monies they had lost.

Jane bore Benjamin five children. Three of those survived to adulthood, two daughters and a son. One daughter, Hannah, later in life became a Quaker. The son, Elias, planted Baptist churches in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jane did not see these children grow up, however. After ten years of marriage, Jane died in 1670 at the age of thirty-one. Benjamin wrote a poem in memoriam entitled A Pillar Set Up. Howard Malcom, in his memoir of Benjamin Keach, describes Keach’s recollections of Jane:

…she was a very tender and loving wife, and had been his companion in sufferings ten years….The extraordinary affection which he bare to her memory, was manifested by his writing a poem on the occasion of her death, which he entitled, A Pillar set up, assigning as his reason, the example of Jacob, And Rachel died and was buried, and Jacob set up a pillar on her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day. In this he gave her a very high character, commending her zeal for the truth, sincerity in religion, uncommon love to the saints, and her great contentment in whatsoever condition of life God was pleased to place her. He particularly mentions how great an help and comfort she was to him in his suffering for the cause of Christ, visiting him while in prison, and taking all possible care of him, and encouraging him to go on, counting it an honor done them both, in that they were called to suffer for the sake of Christ. She was of a heavenly conversation: her discourse was savory, and for the most part, about spiritual things, seeking the good of those she talked with; and in this she was so successful, that many have acknowledged that they were indebted to her conversation for their conversion to God.

What a wonderful piece of writing for Reformed Baptist history! What a touching and (dare I say) romantic gesture to write a poem for the wife of your youth! But at this point I must admit my lack of scholarly credentials, for my search for this poem came up empty. Benjamin Keach is one of the more famous and prolific Particular Baptists, and many of his works are easily found online. Yet this poem is not one of them. According to this thesis paper by James Barry Vaughn, it was LOST!!!!!!!!! Surely with the Reformed Baptist renaissance underway, there is someone who can unearth a copy of this work. Until then, we can be thankful that we have this glimpse into the life of another Baptist (whether Particular or no) sister in Christ.

“It belongs in a museum!”

The Women Behind the 1689: Mrs. Adams

Richard Adams, signer of the 2nd London Baptist Confession, had a wife. She came from Montsorrel, England. What her name was I do not know, but the marriage took place sometime after 1662. In Montsorrel, Mr. Adams served as a teacher, but also held religious meetings in his house that became well attended. Due to these meetings he was fined harshly by a judge who was extremely antagonistic against Dissenters.  In 1688 Adams was pastor of the Shad Thames church in Southwark, and represented this church at the Baptist Assembly in 1689. However, the Shad Thames church was made up of  General Baptists, and did not desire to be a Particular Baptist church. Thus by 1690 Adams had moved on to be ordained a co-pastor to William Kiffin at Devonshire-square in London. (Kiffin’s wives are chronicled here and here.) While Hanna Kiffin died in 1682, Mrs. Adams might have known Sarah Kiffin.

Richard and Mrs. Adams had at least one son. Sadly, this knowledge also comes with the discovery of strife at Devonshire-square: 

“[Mark Key was made assistant to Adams in 1706.] Meantime Adams had had his own troubles. Richard Adams junior had been expelled in July 1702 for joining Mr. Payn’s congregation; there had been friction in May 1704 about the revival of the London Association, when he did not actually sign the minutes; money ran short on July; men were leaving the church; and one visitor from Hooknorton insisted on preaching, although the church refused to call him to the ministry. Twice in 1705 was Sister Adams censured by the church, he naturally not signing the minutes; and a third time in 1707. In 1706 the trouble about the Association stirred up again, and two meetings in April and May were repudiated by a large meeting, when Adams and Key had rallied 19 members. So low had the great church fallen.” *

What would cause a pastor’s wife to be the subject of three censures?

Shortly after this time, Adams began to seek out a pastorate at a country church. Mrs. Adams did not seem to want to stay in London. It is from some letters concerning these inquiries into pastorates that we learn of Mrs. Adams’ death in 1709:

“About the time I received your first [of letters from Baptists in Whitechurch] it pleased the great disposer of all things to remove my dear and loving wife from me by death, which hath made a great alteration in the scene of my affairs, she was a good companion both in a temporal and spiritual account. I would have gone with her into any part of England where I might have had a prospect of serving Christ & his Interest she had a great desire to live in the country where she might enjoy the benefit of a good air, but now she is gone where there will be no complaint for the want of these outward comforts.”

Richard remained as pastor at Devonshire-square for about twenty years, and died around 1718.

 

Sources:

Richard Adams, A Disciple of John Tombes

History of the English Baptists

*Seeking A Change

 

The Women Behind The 1689: Sarah Kiffin

Up to this point in the series, the women we have studied appeared to have been godly, humble women who were praised mightily by their husbands. This time, however, the history takes an unfortunate turn. In reading Michael Haykin’s Kiffin, Knollys and Keach: Rediscovering our English Baptist Heritage I came across this paragraph about Sarah Kiffin, William Kiffin’s wife after his first wife Hanna had died:

Kiffin’s second wife, Sarah, however, was cut of a different cloth. On March 2, 1698, she was charged with a number of misdeeds by Devonshire Square Church. Upon examination, she was found guilty of, among other things, defrauding her husband of two hundred pound and making false accusations about him. When she refused to appear before the congregation, Sarah was suspended from communion on April 24, 1698. -Haykin (p.52)

This is the only mention of Sarah Kiffin that I could find with my limited time and resources. It appears that Haykin learned this bit about Sarah from a thesis paper by Murdina D. Macdonald entitled “London Calvinistic Baptists 1689-1727: tensions within a Dissenting community under Toleration”. This paper has been cited in a number of other books, and seems like it would be a fascinating read, but a copy of this paper was not accessible to me. (According to WorldCat, The closest microfilm copy was 384 miles away.) This means as well that I do not know if MacDonald’s paper contains more information about Sarah. If anyone in academia is able to find out, please let me know.

Sadly we are left with many questions. How did Sarah and William Kiffin meet? When did they marry? What brought about these “misdeeds”? Did she have anything to say for herself? Why she refuse to appear before the congregation? How much longer was she married to William? Did she ever repent?

Perhaps you have been in a church where you have been spared from these types of controversies. There are many, though, who can attest to similar events occurring today. May this account of Sarah Kiffin serve as a reminder to “not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:27)

Today if you hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked me. -Hebrews 3:15

“Puritan Maiden” by George Henry Boughton
(Photo by Irina – CC-2.0)

The Women Behind The 1689: Hanna Kiffin

Hanna Kiffin was born around 1615. Kiffin is not her maiden name; that name I was unable to discover. Hanna took the surname Kiffin when she married William Kiffin around 1640. Their marriage receives a passing mention in Kiffin’s memoirs:

…I joined myself to an Independent congregation, with a resolution, as soon as it pleased God to open a way, to go to New England; being now arrived at the age of 22 years. But the providence of God prevented me, and soon after it pleased God to provide for me a suitable yoke-fellow, who was one with me in judgement, and joined to the same congregation.

This church that Hanna belonged to was the Jacob-Lathrop-Jessey church that we have learned about before.

Hanna appears to be a stalwart companion of her husband, from the little I was able to gather from Kiffin’s autobiography. Once when William was arrested, his fellow prisoner in the chamber below him sought to rile up some men to kill him. These men happened to enter Kiffin’s room while Hanna was visiting. William offered them some tobacco and drink, and was able to dissuade them from this plot. This fellow prisoner still attempted to harm William by accusing him of “preaching treasonous words against the king”. Hanna and some friends went to the judge to persuade him to take bail, but he refused. Kiffin was released shortly afterwards, however.

William Kiffin – Hanna’s Husband

William then fell ill. It appeared to relatives that he was not going to make it, so they took his money, claiming they would have to care for the children when he was gone. The physicians consulted also did not hope for a recovery. Hanna heard of a certain Dr. Trigg from a friend, and persuaded this doctor to take the case. Kiffin was able to recover, and the doctor refused to take payment. This relieved William, as the relatives did not give back the money they had taken after his recovery.

Money does seem to have been scarce for a while. By 1643 William Kiffin was a merchant and a leader in the Devonshire Square church. He had made some profit in selling goods in Holland, but he desired to spend time studying God’s Word, so he chose to not continue going to Holland.  Hanna “also diligently employed herself to get what she could, that we might eat our own bread, and not be burdensome to any.” By 1645, however, the financial situation was not looking good, so Kiffin formed a business deal with a fellow member of the congregation: this member would bring the goods to Holland for Kiffin. The Lord blessed this endeavor immensely, and left Kiffin the financial freedom to study and to give generously.

Together Hanna and William had at least three children. Their oldest son William died in 1669 when he was around 20 years old. Kiffin writes that this was heartbreaking for them. Hanna would have also witnessed the death of Priscilla, who died in 1679 at the age of 24. Their second eldest son was sent to Italy to improve his constitution . While there, he entered into a heated argument over theological matters with, and was subsequently poisoned by, a Roman Catholic priest. While Hanna did not live to see it, William watched his two grandsons, aged 19 and 22, be executed for treason.

Hanna passed away on October 6, 1682. She was 67. William Kiffin relates:

It pleased the Lord to take to Himself, my dear and faithful wife, with whom I had lived nearly forty-two years; whose tenderness to me, and faithfulness to God, were such as cannot, by me, be expressed, as she constantly sympathised with me in all my afflictions. I can truly say, I never heard her utter the least discontent under all the various providences that attended either me or her; she eyed the hand of God in all our sorrows, so as constantly to encourage me in the ways of God: her death was the greatest sorrow to me that ever I met with in the world.

A Fair Puritan
by E. Percy Moran

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Resources

Kiffin, William, with notes by William Orne. Remarkable Passages in the Life of William Kiffin

 

The Women Behind the 1689: Anne Knollys

After learning a brief history of the times surrounding the 2nd London Baptist Confession of Faith (or the “1689”), I thought it would be interesting to see what could be learned, if anything, about the female relations of the signers of that document. While not an exhaustive study, hopefully these vignettes will give us a glimpse into the lives of the early Particular Baptist women. This time we will look at:

Anne Cheney Knollys

Anne Cheney was born in 1608. She married Hanserd Knollys, a man ten years her senior, in 1631 at around 23 years of age.  In 1636 Hanserd left the Anglican church due to conscience’s sake.  After a warrant was put out for his arrest, the family fled to America about 1638. After a tumultuous voyage they arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, nearly destitute and grieving the loss of their child who died during the trip. Rather than finding  a respite from their troubles, they were not considered welcome due to reports of Hanserd’s “antinomianism”.  Some men, however, invited the Knollys to travel north to what is now Dover, New Hampshire, where Hanserd was made pastor of the church in that town.

America does not seem to have been a peaceful place for Anne and Hanserd. While in New Hampshire, conflict arose between Hanserd and another minister, Thomas Larkham, who had arrived in New Hampshire in 1640. Larkham had wealth and influence, and had very lax standards for membership. This produced much division within the congregation, and Larkham at one point had Knollys removed from the pulpit. Many congregants then removed Larkham and restored Knollys as pastor. Larkham had armed men march up from nearby Portsmouth, conducted a trial which found Knollys guilty, fined him, and ordered him to leave. During his time reports circulated that Knollys was also censured for having a”filthy dalliance” with some young females living in his house. Records indicate that this was a false report as other ministers spoke of Knollys with respect. There is also a record that Hanserd had filed suit with a claim of slander. It was never prosecuted, as the Knollys did not stay in the colonies.

Hanserd Knollys
(Anne’s husband)

 The Knollys family (Hanserd, a pregnant Anne, and a 3 year-old child) left New Hampshire in 1641 and traveled back to England at the request of Hanserd’s father.  While poor, they had provisions provided for them through Christian friends. It was at this time that Knollys joined with the Jacob/Lathrop/Jessey church and solidified his views on baptism. He remained a member there for six months more, though, so that Anne could be fully convicted of credobaptism before moving on.* He pastored as a a Particular Baptist, yet his church was unable to support him fully, so he was a teacher as well. In 1660, after Hanserd was imprisoned in Newgate Prison for 18 weeks, he fled to Holland and then Germany, and Anne went as well with two of their children. They returned to England shortly afterward, residing there until Anne died in 1671.

What Anne’s thoughts were concerning her life I do not know. She is mentioned fondly by her husband, who described her as:

a holy, discreet woman, and a meet help for me in the ways of her household, and also in the way of holiness; who was my companion in all my Sufferings, Travels, and Hardships that we endured for the Gospel.

This is what is written on her gravestone:

Here lyeth the body of Mrs. Anne Knollys,

daughter of John Cheney, esq., and wife

of Hanserd Knollys (Minister of the Gospel),

by whom he had issue of 7 sons and 3 daughters;

who died April 30, 1671, and in the 63^rd

year of her age.

My only wife, that in her life

Lived forty years with me,

Lyes now in rest, for ever blest

with immortality.

My dear is gone – left me alone

For Christ to do and dye,

Who dyed for me, and dyed to be

My Saviour-God Most High.

*Bustin, Dennis. Paradox and Perseverance, Paternoster Press, 2006. p.303.

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Resources used:

http://baptisthistoryhomepage.com/knollys.hanserd.html

Brook, Benjamin. The Lives of the Puritans, Vol. 3

Brown, John Newton. Memoir of Hanserd Knollys, 1837.

Bustin, Dennis. Paradox and Perseverance. Paternoster, 2006.

Howson, Barry H. Erroneous and Schismatical Opinions, Brill, 2001.

Pastoor, Charles and Johnson, Galen K. The A to Z of the Puritans. Scarecrow Press, 2007.

Renihan, James M. Edification And Beauty. Paternoster, 2008.

Resource I Wish I Had Access To:

Knollys’ autobiography entitled: Life and Death of that Old Disciple of Jesus Christ, and Eminent Minister of the Gospel, Hanserd Knollys, who died in the 93^rd year of his age written with his own hand to the year 1672, and continued in general, in an epistle by Mr. William Kiffin.