Elizabeth Ashbridge

Elizabeth Ashbridge (1713–1755) was an 18th-century New England Quaker minister and autobiographer born in Cheshire, England.

Biography

Early life

Elizabeth Ashbridge, born Elizabeth Sampson, was born in 1773 to Thomas, a ship surgeon, and Mary Sampson of Middlewich in Cheshire, England. Elizabeth's mother was a devout member of the Church of England, and raised her daughter and Thomas’ two children from a previous marriage in adherence to her faith. Few details are known about Elizabeth's family or her early life, however, her autobiography sheds light on some aspects of her life. In her autobiography, which details her life from the time she was first married until the death of her second husband, Ashbridge reveals that when she was 14 years old, in 1727, she eloped without parental consent, only to become a widow after five months of marriage. Unwelcome at her parents' home, Ashbridge was sent to Dublin, Ireland; there, she resided first in Dublin with a relative of her mother and member of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. Upon finding life in accordance with his strict religious beliefs “gloomy,” Ashbridge moved to Ireland’s west coast, where she stayed with relatives of the Catholic faith.

Voyage to the U.S. and life in New England

In 1732 Ashbridge sailed to New York as an indentured servant, owned first by a woman in the slave trade and later by the ship's captain. After completing three of the four years of servitude required to pay her passage to the colonies, she bought her freedom with money she earned performing odd jobs and sewing. With her new-found freedom she considered a career on the stage, even going so far as to befriend members of local playhouses and study scripts in her spare time; instead, she married a school teacher with the surname Sullivan.

The nature of Sullivan's profession led the couple to travel widely throughout New England in search of schools in need of a schoolmaster. They settled briefly in Westerly, Rhode Island, where Ashbridge half-heartedly joined the Baptist church. After a failed attempt to travel to England, they moved to Boston in 1735, then back to Rhode Island later that year, where Ashbridge once again joined the Church of England. While visiting relatives in Pennsylvania, Ashbridge was taken with the Quaker faith, and became convinced, much to the disapproval of her husband. The couple stayed some time in Delaware, then moved on to Mount Holly, New Jersey, home of the influential Quaker John Woolman. Both Ashbridge and her husband taught school there. Ashbridge’s religious beliefs caused much turmoil in her marriage, and, in a drunken stupor, Sullivan enlisted himself as a soldier and left for Cuba in 1740. Claiming the Quaker’s right to pacifism, he was beaten brutally for his refusal to serve and died in a hospital near London in 1741. Ashbridge’s autobiography ends with Sullivan’s death.

Later Years and Death

In a note, (which is included in the published version of her autobiography) written by her third husband Aaron Ashbridge, a Quaker, it is revealed that Ashbridge remarried in 1746. After her marriage to Aaron, Ashbridge became a Quaker minister. In 1773, Ashbridge left for Ireland for a "religious visit", with the consent of her husband, where she would stay until her death in 1755. Her finals days are recorded in an excerpt from a testimony of the National-Meeting of Ireland, concerning Elizabeth Ashbridge, which is included in the published copy of her autobiography.

Religion

Spiritual Autobiography

Sometime between the death of her second husband in 1741 and her marriage to Aaron Ashbridge in 1746, Elizabeth Ashbridge recorded the story of her life with focus on her religious experiences and conversion to the Society of Friends. Titled Some Account of the Fore Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge, her spiritual and historical narrative is the source of the majority of present-day knowledge regarding Ashbridge’s early life and religious beliefs. Few records exist regarding Ashbridge’s life in colonial America prior to her activism in the Society of Friends. Even the original manuscript of her Account is not accounted for; most later editions are based on the first edition, published in 1774.

Chronologically, Ashbridge’s narrative begins with her childhood in England and her subsequent moves to Ireland and America, and ends with the death of her second husband. While dates and names are included in her narrative, much of it is dedicated to her religious experience and her acceptance of the “true” faith. The autobiography traces her childhood in the Church of England, her early experiences with Quaker and Catholic relatives, her brief foray into the Baptist church, and ends with her acceptance of and into the Society of Friends. Such documentation of spiritual and religious journeys were not uncommon among those of the faith at the time. John Woolman’s spiritual autobiography was very popular both within the Quaker church and throughout New England. Ashbridge's narrative was first published posthumously in 1774 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Traveling ministry

On May 7, 1746, Elizabeth married Aaron Ashbridge, a well-known member of the Quaker community in Chester County, Pennsylvania. After becoming an authoritative speaker at the Goshen, Pennsylvania Quaker meetings, she appeared with other prominent Quakers such as John Woolman, Jane Fenn Hoskens, and Anthony Benezet at the General Spring Meeting of ministers and elders in Philadelphia in 1752. The signature on the roster, signed March 16, is the only surviving sample of Ashbridge’s handwriting. In 1753 she became a recorded minister of the church and, with the consent of her husband, traveled through England and Ireland speaking at meeting houses testifying to her spiritual journey.

In Cork, Ireland, Ashbridge fell sick with an unknown illness, attributing her poor health to "bodily hardship in traveling" and "spiritual exercise in mind". After several weeks she proceeded to Waterford, where she again fell ill. She spent three months indisposed at the home of fellow Quaker John Hutchinson. She then continued to Carlow County, where she lodged at the home of Robert Lecky and died on May 16, 1755. She was buried three days later at the Ballybrumhill burial ground near Fennagh, County Carlow, Ireland.

Some Account of the Early Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge: Who Died, in the Truth's Service, at the House of Robert Lecky, in the County of Carlow, Ireland, the 16th of 5th Month, 1755

Indentured Servitude

As part of her journey to America, Elizabeth Ashbridge was eventually placed in a cruel household where she lived as an indentured servant. Since she was about to make her first transatlantic passage, Ashbridge was unaware of the dangers involved with an ocean voyage. One of those dangers was the threat of being taken as an indentured servant. Initially, Ashbridge thought a woman she was to accompany to America would be a kind “Gentlewoman” companion; however, before Ashbridge realized that her companion had malicious motives, she was kidnapped and kept aboard a ship for three weeks.

Following her captivity, Ashbridge was still determined to travel to America, and she returned to the ship. Shortly after, Ashbridge learned that some Irish servants had planned a mutiny. In spite of her informing the ship’s captain of the planned attack on the crew, Ashbridge was forced into servitude: “The captain caused an indenture to be made, and threatened me with a gaol, if I refused to sign it.” It is obvious that Ashbridge lacked the travel funds to make her way across the Atlantic, and the captain too advantage of her misfortune.

Once in America, Ashbridge lived with a hypocritical master who outwardly demonstrated his religious practices; however, he was tyrannical and abusive toward his servant. In one instance, her master requests the service of the “town whipper” to discipline Ashbridge. Although his treatment is cruel, Ashbridge notes, in a moment of confident desperation, “Then, fixing my eyes upon this barbarous man, I said, ‘Sir, . . . if you think that I deserve such punishment, do it yourself.” Her courage to utter such a statement under the threat of whipping is inspiring. After three years of living under indentured servitude, Ashbridge was able to purchase her freedom by buying out the remaining terms of her contract. Her experience with living in such difficult circumstances prompted her to question her belief in God: “I became hardened and was ready to conclude that there was no God.” While some may argue that such a crisis of faith might discredit Ashbridge’s religious authority, Roxanne Harde examines criticism that suggests that Ashbridge’s denying of the master’s religious beliefs is an example of how this strong Quaker minister exercises Agency and finds her own religious voice. What is more, Ashbridge, having known what that her poor financial situation likely contributed to her having to sign a contract of indenture, became more financially empowered as a result of her experience in the master's home. To survive, Ashbridge would sew and she explains that “when I had Served near three years, I bought off the remainder of my Time & then took to my needle, by which I could maintain my Self handsomely."

Rebellion and Reconciliation with Patriarchy

At the beginning of Some Account of the Early Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge, Ashbridge remarks that her father was absent from the Ashbridge household while she growing up. As a surgeon, Mr. Ashbridge “made many long voyages” and left young Elizabeth with her mother. As Ashbridge ages, her mother becomes a “pattern of virtue” for her to follow.

Around the age of twelve, Ashbridge begins to feel conflicting emotions towards religion: she disregards religion, but also has an intense desire to be loved by the Lord. These emotions indicate that Ashbridge correlated “the Lord” with her absent father. She wants to be loved by these paternal figures and is angered that she does not feel such love.

At the age of fourteen, Ashbridge rejects patriarchy by abruptly leaving her father’s house and entering into an improper marriage. After the death of her husband five months later, her father refuses to accept her back into his household. Her mother sends her to Dublin until she can re-gain her father’s affections. In this account, Ashbridge portrays her mother as a welcoming figure, and her father as a repulsive force.

While away from her mother, Ashbridge becomes acquainted with a Catholic widow. She begins to associate this woman as her motherly role model and even begins to adhere to the Catholic faith. She reaches the point of conversion, but speaking with the Catholic priest drives her away from the religion. At this point in her spiritual journey, Ashbridge cannot adhere to a religion in which she feels directly influenced by the patriarchal system.

Ashbridge’s tendency to seek motherly figures is also shown when she naively trusts the “gentlewoman” who promises her passage to Pennsylvania. After realizing that this woman has betrayed her, Ashbridge refers to her as a “vile creature." At this point in the autobiography, Ashbridge begins to portray women in all of their complexities.

Once in America, Ashbridge remarries a man that she does not truly love. Though she never states the exact reason for the marriage, Ashbridge implies that there was some sort of superficial or physical connection that brought the two together. In her marriage, she feels, once again, the repression of patriarchal rule. In a second blatant rebellion of patriarchy, Ashbridge steps outside of her marriage to pursue her spiritual convictions.

In the Quaker religion, Ashbridge finds a sense of community, rather than a patriarchal hierarchy. The Quaker religion welcomed female speakers who were considered spiritually equal to their male counterparts. In this community, Ashbridge finds an escape from male-dominated society. As she continues to attend Quaker meetings, she ceases to associate the Lord with an absent male figure. In her final conversion experience, Ashbridge notes that a woman brings the invitation of salvation to her, as she states: “…there stood a grave woman, holding in her right hand a lamp burning…[she] said, ‘I am sent to tell thee that, if thou wilt return to the Lord thy God, who created thee, he will have mercy on thee…’” In later meetings, Ashbridge encounters William Hammons, a Quaker leader. He becomes the first male figure that Ashbridge notably holds in esteem. Ashbridge seems able to accept any person who comes on the ground of equality established within the Quaker community. Quakerism serves to heal Ashbridge of her antagonistic relationship with patriarchal society.

Notability

Although Ashbridge is not the first writer of a spiritual autobiography or the first female Quaker minister, Ashbridge is still a notable figure in early American literature and history. Her “Account,” according to some critics, an interesting example of feminist literature and unique female voice. The Quaker's belief that men and women are equally responsible for sharing their spiritual stories was somewhat unique among the faiths present in New England in the eighteenth century. In this way, the Quaker community challenged the dominant culture: in fact, for a time Rhode Island was the sole state in which anti-Quaker legislation did not exist. Ashbridge’s text reveals a great deal about Quaker spirituality and community, while also providing insight into Ashbridge’s life as an early American woman and writer. Although few scholars have written about Ashbridge, her work is an important piece of American literature and history, especially for those interested in women, religion, and Quakerism.

Works cited

• Ashbridge, Elizabeth. Some Account of the Early Part of the Life of Elizabeth Ashbridge: Who Died, in the Truth's Service, at the House of Robert Lecky, in the County of Carlow, Ireland, the 16th of 5th Month, 1755. Philadelphia: B and T Kite, 1807.The Internet Archive. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.
• Gildersleeve, D. Britton. "'I Had a Religious Mother': Maternal Ancestry, Female Spaces, and Spiritual Synthesis in Elizabeth Ashbridge's 'Account.' Early American Literature 36.3 (2001): 371-394. JSTOR. 1 Oct. 2014.
• Harde, Roxanne. "I Consoled my Heart: Conversion Rhetoric and Female Subjectivity in the Personal Narratives of Elizabeth Ashbridge and Abigail Bailey." Legacy 21.2 (2004): 156-71. Project Muse. Web. 1 Oct. 2014.
• Levenduski, Cristine. Peculiar Power: A Quaker Woman Preacher in Eighteenth-Century America. Washington, D.C: Smithsonian Institution, 1996. ISBN 1-56098-670-0.
• Shea, Daniel B., ed. Introduction. Journeys in New Worlds: Early American Women's Narratives. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin, 1990. ISBN 0-299-12584-X.
• Madden, Etta M. "Quaker Elizabeth Ashbridge as the Spectacle & Discourse of the Company: Metaphor, Synecdoche, and Synthesis". Early American Literature: Vol. 34. Ed. David S. Shields. University of North Carolina Press, 1999. 171-189.

External links

• Ashbridge, Elizabeth (1713–1755), ODNB article by Etta M. Madden, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004