Sister Mercy Sutcliffe was born at Claylor in the parish of Bradford aug 31 1715, but haveing left no account of Her course thro’ this time the following can only be noticed.
The first knowledg of Her was when she came to live
with Mrs Holms at Smithhouse in the year
at which place the Brn frequently held there meetings
& as it was unavoidable, she then heard
cou’d not but here that all soo
lost sinners was
were the objects of redeeming Love placed
Herself
she turned as such before
a sinner to our savr prayd Him to have mercy on Her
poor soul; it was percived that she grew friendly and
bore with patience the many difficulties. The numerous negative
great concourse
of people to such a House, mark occasion,
she grew familiar with the Sisters & came to live in the
oeconomie with them at Clackheaton in the year 1746
& was received into the congregation June 2 1747
admitted to the Holy communion July 21 1748, removed
with the first Sisters into the Choirhouse here at Fulneck 1752
in which place Here, she has deported Herself as an
industrous Happy Handmaid of the Lords. are who
she
had the Grace to be amongst the company of intersess
& novice dicipless of Her choir she was faithful in every
little matter committed to Her care & helpful to such
who wanted her every one whence her council & advice was wanting
tho’ Her words & admonitions was
were keen & sharp & wou’d
have wounded deep had they not been mortified by the Sinnery feeling
not the Sinners
at hand The consciousness
sense of Her own great poverty
& falen state made her little and she often owned her poverty with many tender
Tears of Love smart. & the Comfortable resource
of
the happy connection she had with the wounded person of
Her dearest Bridegroom, made us very desirous
of haveing Her life course for which she was
an extensive acct of her Life, and she
often Spoke too
was often desired By Her Labourers to write it down,
And She as often said my all & everything thats
valuable unto me, comes from the Humanity of
my bloody recconciler, who has deliver’d me from
the power & condemnation of Sin & death has called me
to have
to live a life of Happyness amongst His dear people in this
time & to rest hereafter Eternaly here after in His arms for
which
all this no words of mine is able to Express the
gratitude & praise thus due to my beloved Saviour.
about 2 years ago she was seized in the night with
something of a paralytic disorder in her bowels,
followed by a violent Hysterical cough which settled in
Last upon Her lungs to the weakning of weakening Her whole
constitution & a gradual decay has been percived
ensued; which
that render’d Her for several months past unable
to do the least work, & tho’ the decline has been of
a Consumptive kind yet it has not been attended with much
pain or any obstruction of any sort but in Her breath,
so that
thy home of her living in the sickroom has been a real Sabbath to Her
& a remarkable blessd feeling Has accompanied Her
the
Hearts conversation with her and she has been to the Satisfaction of the Labourers
all about Her, she haveing daily before Her Eyes
the Happy prospect & Expectation of Entering into Her Eternal
rest which came to pass May 3d 1768 she enjoyed to the last as Serenity & happy pleasure
of mind so
& sensable of the great & happy change to
which shold now was about to take Place she fell asleep with the blessing
of Her Choir which was imparted, thus close Her mortal Life
may the 3 1768 in the 55th year of her age