We remember Abigail Adams as the wife of the second President of the United States, John Adams, and mother of the sixth President of the United States, John Quincy Adams. Abigail Adams is a wonderful example of a courageous woman who lived in colonial America. We sometimes think that women in her station had an easy life. Surely, she must have been pampered and privileged. Actually, she had a difficult life before becoming First Lady. During the struggle of the colonists against Britain, she managed her family farm and ran the family business while her husband was away serving his country.

Abigail was the daughter of a Congregationalist minister, Rev. William Smith. She was educated at home and she learned quickly and she loved to read. That she was very intelligent can be seen in her writings. She and her husband, John Adams, had an affectionate marriage. She was a devoted wife and mother and put her duty above all things.

They had four children, three sons and a daughter. Because John was away for long periods of time, sometimes months or years, Abigail managed the family farm, the business, and the education of their children. However, she still found time to correspond with her husband and with many family members and friends. She loved writing and wrote nearly every day. She also tended to the needs of the poor in her area, feeding them and sewing for them. With what little time she had left over, she managed to educate herself with the help of books.

When it became obvious to all Americans that the British were not going to be reasonable or fair to the colonists she gladly gave her husband up to the cause of freedom. It was a great sacrifice for her. She loved him dearly and he was really needed at the farm. Like many of the other wives who lived during the War for Independence, she took on the responsibilities of the family business herself as her contribution to the war effort. Many of our foremothers rose to the occasion by sacrificing their comforts in order to provide financing and supplies for the soldiers. They also sacrificed their own loved ones; husbands, fathers, and sons were killed. Many families lost their property. Some, like Annis Boudinot Stockton, had their homes looted and then burned down. Annis was left destitute and hungry. This was not uncommon.

Abigail’s farm was not lost, but the war came within a short distance of it. She could go up on a nearby hill and watch the battle. This must have been terribly frightening, but she trusted in God to take care of her and the family. And she was full of feelings of patriotism. One night after witnessing a fearful battle and listening to the tremendous noise from the bombardment, she wrote to John in a letter, “The cannonade is from our army and the sight is one of the grandest in nature. ‘Tis now an incessant roar. Tonight we shall realize more terrible scenes still.” She was full of pride for America when the colonists won the battles. She told her husband that she longed to be away from the sound of the battle and be with him, but she knew where her duty was.

Often during the war disease would spread. Once Abigail nearly lost her son but managed to nurse him to health. She was so ill herself that she could barely move around, but almost everyone else in the neighborhood was ill, too, so she could not depend on anyone else to do it. Around this time, her mother died, and this added to her loneliness and her weariness. Her husband could not come home to console her, but she bravely wrote to tell him that she understood that he was needed by their country, and that he must continue to serve.

She was fiercely loyal to the American cause. After reading the King of England’s proclamation against the colonists she wrote to her husband, “This intelligence will make a plain path for you, though a dangerous one. I could not join today in the petition of our worthy pastor for a reconciliation between our no longer parent state but tyrant state and these Colonies. Let us separate; they are unworthy to be our brethren. Let us renounce them; and instead of supplications, as formerly, for their prosperity, let us beseech the Almighty to blast their counsels and bring to naught all their devices.”  Let the reader understand, these are very brave words. There were British enemies all around them. There were also Tories, who would have gladly gotten into the good graces of the British by turning in “traitors” like Abigail Adams. Don’t forget, because Americans won the war, we think of the Patriots as heroes. History has judged them to have been the ones who were in the right. But in the early part of the war, the outcome was not so sure. The Tories, colonists who supported the British, often had the upper hand and the colonists who were in favor of independence were seen as the traitors. There was a very real threat to Abigail’s home and family. She showed incredible courage to take a stand with her husband as she did.

We have heard a lot about our Forefathers. We owe them a debt of gratitude for the freedom we have today. But we also owe a debt of gratitude to our Foremothers. Women of courage supported the war effort in many amazing ways. It is a shame that in our time, they have been forgotten. But back in their own day, great men were appreciative of their efforts. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush, said, “The women of America have at last become principals in the glorious American controversy. Their opinions alone and their transcendent influence in society and families must lead us on to success and victory.” Abigail Adams shines as proof of his words.

The stories on this Blog are about courage. The characteristics of courage that Katherine displayed were: willingness to trust God no matter what He brought into her life and wholehearted obedience. She depended on Him, and then when she believed that she knew what His will was she followed Him, trusting in His provision.

Katherine’s mother died when she was very young. Her family sent her to a Benedictine convent at the age of five or six. She remained in cloisters for about twenty years. All of the evidence shows that she accepted her lot in life, and more than that, she tackled the situations that she found herself in with all of her energy. Her willingness to put out the effort to succeed wherever she was would prepare her to be an excellent wife for the esteemed husband that God was preparing her for.

Katherine had been placed in the convent as a young girl to receive an education. Around age ten, she moved from the Benedictine cloister to a Cistercian convent in Nimbschen. When she was 16, she took the veil of a nun after one year as a novice.

We are not sure if she felt a strong calling to the religious life or if she was there because her father and stepmother wished it. As I mentioned before, many noble women were placed in a convent by their parents for a set period of time. Some might leave the convent if they could get a good marriage. Others might go home to help with family affairs. Many remained indefinitely. It was a good life. Their noble families sent endowments to the convents to pay their way and they basically lived a life of comparative ease. They did not do physical work. They had servants for that.

Katherine’s family was not well off, but she was accepted in the Cistercian convent anyway. She had two aunts at the convent in Nimbschen already. Her maternal aunt may have been the abbess, and her paternal aunt another nun. There seems to have been some indication that she stayed at the convent because her stepmother was not eager to have her back.

Katherine did well at the convent. She learned excellent habits from her daily routine as a nun. She acquired considerable skills in reading and studying. She learned Latin, which enabled her to understand the theological writings of the scholars of that day. Besides studying, Scripture recitation, praying, and singing she held some kind of an office in the convent along with the other sisters. We are not sure what that office was, but she learned how to do all of the tasks necessary to run the cloister efficiently. All of these abilities would later enable her to manage her household as the wife of a busy and famous minister whose time was much in demand.

Knowing Latin enabled her to read the writings of Martin Luther. These writings were already widespread by the early 1520’s. Besides the theological differences that Luther had with the Roman Catholic Church, he questioned the monastic life. His writings caused quite a stir in many convents. One of his converts was Katherine. Once she became convinced that Luther was right, she made the brave decision to leave the convent. She was convinced that his arguments were Scripturally correct, and she could no longer remain there, even though convent life was a secure life. She wanted to follow God no matter what it might cost her.

There were 11 other sisters who also wanted to leave because of their new convictions.  They needed some help. Lone women just didn’t walk out of a convent. Where would they go? Who would protect them on the road?

Martin Luther himself thought of a plan to help them escape. On Easter Saturday night, April 4, 1523, Katherine and the 11 other nuns escaped from the convent with the help of Leonard Koppe, a city councilor and merchant, who smuggled them out in a fish wagon. Koppe was also taking a risk because it was against the law to “abduct” nuns. He could face the death penalty.

These women were very brave. They had security in the cloisters. They had a comfortable life. They had an honorable career. As “brides” of Christ, they would always be cared for by the church. Now, these 12 women did not really know what would happen to them. The church would no longer support them. Some could go back to their families, if their families would have them, but since they converted to Protestantism, they were often disowned by their families.

They could not get a career where they could use all of their learning. That was forbidden to women at that time. So those who had no family were forced to marry quickly or try and get a job of some sort and live with a family or friends for protection. There was no such thing as a “working woman” then. Eleven of the women who escaped were married quickly. Husbands were found for them.

At first, no husband was found for Katherine, and she didn’t seem eager to obtain one.
Katherine’s father was dead by this time. It did not seem that returning to her family was an option. So, in the beginning of her new life away from the security of the convent, she stayed with a friend in Wittenberg. Here her duties included managing her friend’s household. She met a young man while in Wittenberg and fell in love. He wanted to marry her, but his family forbade it. Katherine was not acceptable because of her poverty. The family was not happy to get an ex-nun for a daughter-in-law either. So, her young man married a younger, and richer, woman.

Eventually, Luther, who had not been in a hurry to marry either, approached Katherine.

To be continued…..

Anne was an English poet and Reformer who was persecuted as a heretic. She is the only woman on record to have been tortured in the Tower of London before being burnt at the stake.

Born at Stallingboroug in 1521, the daughter of a nobleman, she was forced by her father, Sir William Askew to marry when she was just fifteen.

Her marriage did not go well, not least because of her strong Reformed beliefs. Her husband turned her out of the house. She then went to London. Henry VIII was on the throne at this time. There was much strife between Reformers and Catholics. While many people think that Henry was a Protestant because he broke with the Pope, his own beliefs remained very much Catholic. The main difference was that he made himself the head of the Church in England and forced everybody to take an oath of allegiance to him. He also used the antagonisms between the Reformers and the Catholics to achieve his political goals. While they were fighting amongst themselves, he maintained much power.

In London, Anne proclaimed Christ wherever she went and distributed Reformed books. These books had been banned and so she was arrested. That was the pretext, but there was also another reason why she was arrested. It seems that as a noblewoman she had access to the royal court. Apparently she knew some of the royal women, including the Queen who was known to be sympathetic to the Reformed cause. Henry VIII was near death. The Catholics and Reformers were wrangling over positions of power and each wanted control of the throne. Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, Thomas Wriothesley and Richard Roth were two high ranking Catholics who saw their chance to get evidence against Queen Katherine Parr and put her out of favor with Henry VIII. They decided to do something never done before – torture a woman, and not just any woman, but a noble woman.

Sir Anthony Kingston, the Constable of the Tower of London, was ordered to torture Anne in an attempt to force her to name other Reformers, especially those of a high rank, and so Anne was put on the rack. However, Kingston refused to carry on torturing her on the grounds that it was not the custom to torture women, and especially one from a noble family, thus he could no longer partake in such an abominable act. Kingston ran away from the Tower and sought a meeting with King Henry VIII at his earliest convenience to explain his position. Henry VIII listened, but did not say that there should be an end to the torture. Sir Anthony refused to do it anymore, so now it was left to Henry VIII’s Lord Chancellor, Thomas Wriothesley, and Richard Roth, to take over.

According to Anne’s own account – and that of jailors within the Tower – she was tortured only once.  She was taken from her cell to the lower room of the White Tower to where the torture chamber was situated, at about ten in the morning. She was shown the rack and asked if she would name those who believed as she did. Although she never said so, she must have realized that the intention of her interrogators was to implicate Katherine Parr, the Queen Consort.  (The Sixth and last wife of Henry VIII.) She bravely refused to implicate the queen or any of the other women.

She was asked to remove all her clothing except her shift, which she did. Anne then climbed onto the rack and lay quite still as she was spread-eagled and her wrists and ankles were fastened. Again, she was asked for names, but she would say nothing. The wheel of the rack was turned, pulling Anne along the device and lifting her so that she was held taut about 5 inches above its bed and slowly stretched. In her own account written from prison, Anne said that she fainted with the pain and that she was then lowered and revived. This procedure was repeated twice more before the Lieutenant of the Tower stopped it, and went to complain to the King.

Left on their own Wriothesley and Rich may have been worried: they had put a noble woman to torture with no result. They were unable to persuade the professional torturers to carry on, so they set to work themselves. The rack was worked by a wheel at the head, and in the first stage this was turned and held taught by hand. For more reluctant prisoners, a ratchet could be applied which stopped the rack going slack between turns. Wriothesley and Rich put the ratchet on, and went to work stretching Anne. Apart from the pain of stretching muscles and cracking joints, the rack also constricted the wrists and ankles, causing blood to flow from the fingernails. Anne’s cries could be heard in the garden next to the White Tower where the Lieutenant’s wife and daughter were walking. So piteous were the cries that they turned indoors and shut the windows. In spite of this terrible treatment, Anne gave no names and her ordeal was ended when the Lieutenant returned and ordered her to be returned to her cell to await her execution.

Here she wrote a first-person account of her arrest and torture, and put forth all of her beliefs. This was published as the “Examinations” by Protestant Bishop John Bale, and later in John Foxe’s Acts and Monuments of 1563, which proclaims her as a Protestant martyr.

Anne Askew was carried to her execution in a chair, as she could not walk after her torture. She was dragged from the chair to the stake which had a small seat attached to it, which she sat astride. Those who witnessed her execution (including Lady Jane Grey) were very impressed by her bravery, and many witnesses reported that throughout the long execution she did not scream until the flames reached her chest whereas the three men burned with her cried out from the first touch of the fire. Undoubtedly Anne was very brave but she may also have been so badly damaged on the rack that she had lost the feeling in her legs and perhaps even below the waist. She was burned at the stake at Smithfield, London, aged 25, on July 16, 1546. Her testimony at the stake, and also the published writings of her torture and burning inspired many who came after her. She had given her all for her Lord, Jesus Christ.

She died only a few months before Henry VIII died. Henry’s only son, Edward, succeeded him to the throne.

What an unlikely wife a runaway nun would make. How incredible then, that God would choose such an unusual woman to be the helpmeet for the man who would be the founder of the Great Reformation. How great is God to fashion and prepare such a remarkable woman to be the spouse, partner, and sustainer of  one of the most famous religious men of all times.

Katherine von Bora Luther lived her new life in Christ to the fullest, setting an example of the godly woman for all wives and mothers.

How did this all come about and why was she so well-suited for her famous husband, Martin Luther?

Let us begin by looking at the culture in which she grew up.

In the early 16^th century women had few options outside of marriage or living as a spinster with a rich relative. Many chose to follow a religious or monastic life instead.

For some time the institutional church had degenerated into mere ritualism. There was a reaction to this dead formalism and so there were many monasteries founded in Europe. Men and women sought spiritual depth and closeness to God. They wanted to live the Gospel commands in their every day life, and so they formed societies where they could obey Christ as they believed.

In these monasteries, or cloisters, monks and nuns prayed day and night for the souls of the people in their communities. They were also expected to live a virtuous life, committed to poverty, chastity, and obedience. Some stayed in their cloisters and provided for themselves only. Many did charitable work outside of the monasteries and convents. These would mostly take care of the poor, finding food, medicine, and clothing for them.

As these monasteries, and later the convents, grew in popularity, they also gained the approval of the church. They had support from the church and from wealthy patrons. Often a rich person would leave money, or land, or both in exchange for the promise that the nuns or monks would pray for their souls daily while they continued to live and perpetually after their deaths.

In Katherine’s time the convents were often the place of education for women. Wealthy people would send their daughters there to learn the arts, music, drama, languages, and other subjects. These women were being educated before being married into an influential family. Other girls, who were the second or third born in a wealthy family, and had not the expectation of a large dowry, might stay on in the convent as a place of protection. Some girls of a lower rank in societal circles who could not get a good “match” might also choose to stay in the convent as a vocation. Their wealthy families were expected to pay their way. Many took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and became nuns.

The highest-ranking nun was called an “abbess”. She had a lot of power and ruled pretty much independently. The convents were overseen by the church,  but as long as things went along smoothly they were left alone. Many convents were democratic and nuns were voted into the various positions of leadership that were available according as each was gifted and willing.

Katherine was first sent to a Benedictine convent at the age of five or six. She remained in cloisters for about twenty years. Her experiences would prepare her to be an excellent wife for her esteemed husband.

To Be Continued . . . . .

“All you have to do is swear an oath to the king!” shouted the soldiers. “You will surely die as your friend did if you don’t.”  Margaret had watched as her seventy year-old friend, Margaret MacLachlan had been drowned when she refused to say that King Charles II was the head of the church. “Only Christ is the Head of the church,” she had proclaimed. The soldiers held the elderly Margaret under the water until she died, hoping that the young Margaret would be frightened into taking the oath.

“Lord, give the king repentance, forgiveness, and salvation, if it be Thy holy will,” prayed eighteen year-old Margaret Wilson.

The bystanders cried out to the king’s soldiers to release Margaret. “She has prayed for the king. Please let her go!”

“That is not the prayer we want to hear. She must swear an oath to the king. Let the dog go to hell!” shouted the soldiers furiously.

“No, I cannot make a sinful oath. I am one of Christ’s children. Please let me go,” she answered.

In response, a soldier pushed her down into the water. He held her there until she drowned. She died for her love of Christ. She could not forsake her conscience by disobeying God’s Word.

Margaret Wilson and her elderly friend Margaret MacLachlan lived in Scotland during the time period that came to be known as the “killing times.”

The year was 1685. Charles II was king in England. Since the time of Henry VIII, the monarchs considered themselves to be the head of the church. During this time, the king not only controlled the church in England, but he also tried to control the church in Scotland.

Groups of faithful believers, called Covenanters, defied the king. They had been ordered to worship God only in the way that the king of England permitted. They tried to honor God by worshiping Him only as commanded in the Bible. When they met to worship God in a way that would not violate their consciences, the king closed their churches. Still trying to obey God, they began to meet in fields. These meetings would often be broken up by English soldiers who would ride down on them on horses and put the Covenanters to death. That is how this period in history became known as the “killing times.”

Many brave men and women died rather than violate their consciences. They had drawn a line in the sand. Their line was faithfulness to the Word of God. It would be many years before the Scots would attain religious freedom. 

But the story of the two women from Solway would encourage believers to stay the course and not give up.