Our Dear Departed Sr Alice Brown; was borne at Ashton
in Lancashire, on April ye 23d in ye year
1730
from a child She was never without Convictions, and as soon ye
Brethren came to Duckenfield, She was one ye
& first Children wich was
takes under yeBrns care, yetenderLongingof her heart is become truly acquaintd
with our Saviour, and to know
for her own individual; her Grace of Election in ye
Wounds of Jesus, was plainly felt and seen in all his Actions; She Us’d
often to go alone by her Self, in to the fields, and when she Could get in to a
privet place prostrated her self on ye ground, before our Saviour, beging him
for his Death and Bloods Sake, to bestow upon her, that happiness, and
full
pardon in his Wounds, which she felt, as belived was to be attain’d
to; even wile in this Body, in this sittuation She went on, till she had obtain’d
what her
heart wanted; of this blest course of Grace, which our Saviour
begun with her wile a Child; She Us’d afterwards to relate with
plesuer; and it always came from her with such a tender felling, that
Who ever heard her speak thereof Could
not but be Sencably back’d,
In yeYear 1744 She left her Parents, and lived with her three
Brothers and two Sisters, Who on account of their Mother, being
at
that time of a different way of thinking from them, had taken a
house them Selves; in order to follow their Course with ye Brethren
more to their own Satisfaction, she lived thus about half a year
and then she with her two Sister, and a few more, made ye begining
of a little Oeconomy, which lasted about a year and half, when on some
Ocations, it was
thought fit for that House-keeping to be broke up,
And such had it propos’d to them, to go to their homes again,
This proved a great grife, to our depated Sister, and She with her Christ
Sister Resolve’d not to go back to their parents, but to live together
till our Saviour Should see fit to make out some way for them, which
Accordingly happen’d, that very year, When Brother, and Sister
Hackenwelter came thither, Who Approved him
self as a faithful
Father in helping ye Sisters, as far as lay in his Power, and Capability
our Departed Sister; whome they Look’d upon as their own
Child in all
this time, our Saviour carried on his Worke of Gracein her heart, in a manner
not to be discribed, but which at ye same time was very Decernable to all
who knew her,
April ye 23d 1748She was Recived in to yeCongregation,
and on Augst ye
13th in ye same yearShe was made a partaker of ye
Corpess and blood of Jesus; in ye holy Sacrament,
Altho’ she was Naturaly of a
very still disposition, yet Concerning
her own heart, and ye Acquaintens with our Saviour She Cou’d say
enouf:
for, as soon as any one, begun in this subject, She never was Silent
but was always ready to relate, our Saviours works of Gracein her heart
Which from time to time, through his most Nearness, was carried on in her
further then any Human Eye could penatrate, and past (unclear)
so that when She
in a Childlike manner spoke something thereof it made
her fellow Sisters mealt in (unclear) Shame,
in the Same Year there was begun an Oconemy of Sisters at
Duckenfield, were She with ye rest of ye Sisters
Lived very happly
in ye year 50. She with ye reast of the Sisrs removed
to York-shire
And She same into yeOconemy in Lambs hill, were she lived as a
Chearfull, and Sinnerlike heart, thankfull, for her happy lot of grace
to be so closly, United with our Saviours Congregation, which She
pris’d very highly
When ye Hundred, was Setled here, She was one which was recived into
that Number
I ye Year 1753 She removed in to ye Choir-house with ye
rest
of ye Sisters, at which She rejoiced, very much, for ye Liveing in
a
Choir-house, was to her every waty matter, for her Choir was very dear
to her, and one can with trueth, Give her ye testimony, that She was
a true Virgin, who went on in an uninterrupted Convers with ye
Man of Smart, being tenderlyattached to his Marterd figur,
She enjoid, in her Choir, all Choir Graces, And when ye
Dear Mother, and Dicipl was here, at that
Never to be forgotten
blessed Choier, Lord-supper; She was also one of that Number
for this Long time past, She has talkd
very much of going home
And said She, I can’t not help beliveing that my time would not
be long in this World,
on her last birth-day She got a particular
intimation from our Saviour, Consorneing thiss, since which
time, She has often
told ye Sister you will see, I shall go home before
my next birth-day, for I have beg’d our Saviour to take me
home thiss year and I also belive he surely will, She has for
some time past, Complaind very much of a pain in her head
which never Left her, but continued to grow worse, and tis
Strenthend her
belive, that she should soon be with our Saviour
On July ye 22d She enterd ye Sick room, when yedisorder in
her head, began to grow very Voilen,
ye 25th She began to Sing, have no mind for Eating or for drinking
Food, which must Corrupt again &c
And many such like Versses,
which showd planly the Longingof her
heart to be at home; altho her pains which she felt, was very great
yet when She recoverd,
her Self a little, She was so brisk and Chearfull
and would talk with ye Sisters in Such on agreable manner, that
it was a pleasuer, to be with her her disorder lying so much in her
head, we thought it proper to keep her still as possable, it was there
for
desired that ye Sister would go but of Little in to ye
Sick-room, which when She percived, made her very much
dissatisfied, and She desired that ye Sisters might not
be kept
from comeing to see her, becose it made the time much
pleasent’er to her when ye Sisters was with
her.
She desired that She might once more be brought into her Liveing
Room, which was done, this pleasd her very much, She desired we would
Sing her some Verses, for going home, which was done under such a
sencable felling, of ye Nearness of our Saviour, and with an inward
loningof our hearts, to be at home with him; which made our Eyes over flow
with tears, we
could scarcely perswade her to let us take her in to
ye Sick-room again, but being affraid She would spend her self to
and we
beg’d her Now to take her Leave, then She desired us to
concluded, with that Vers, Love, who death for me endured, &c.
in a few days after, She desired to see her Class, once more together
When ye Sisters had made yeLove-feast ready they brought her
into ye Room, at which She was so lively
and Chearfull, that She
did not seem like a Sick-person; so that we Could have almost
belive, She might rely recover again; we
put it to her, if She Still
realy thought of Leveing us; She said, She could not tell, but her
Choice, wou’d be to go home, but when I consider it rightly, what
A time that will be, when I come to our Saviour, the favour seems
to great; we then Askd her, if She did go home whome She
would
fetch ye first She then Namd a Sister, we then Ask’d why her in
perticuler? She said becose I belive
She will be ye first of this company
And then we will fetch all ye rest, one after a nother; I have often told
you that when I come to our Saviour, I will not forget one in this house,
this She took leve of her Class, and went again in
to ye Sick-room
She continued for some time, better then ever we had seen, her since
in ye Sick-room, so
that She her Self, began to believe, She might
mend again, but in a short time, her pain returnd rather worse
then ever,
On ye 8 of Augst She got a fainting fit, we
us’d mens to bring her
to her Self again, when She Opend her Eyes and saw ye Sisters, She
Smild, and said, Ay! are you come to Lay me out, why did you not
let me go, if you had let me a Lone, and had not disturbed
I shou’d
have gon quit softly away
On ye 15th She sent for Sister mary, as she wanted to Settel some matters with, Consorneing
her Burial
On ye 13th of AugustShe for ye last time pertook of ye Corpess
And Blood of her Eternal
Briedroom in ye holy Sacrament
with a longing and thirsty Soul, after which She was quit still
for some time,
On ye 15th She Sent for Sister Marydesireing to Speak with
her, She then told her Some little matters, consorneing her Burial
it seemd as if She thought of going soon, but we percived
No alteration in her; for the several day She has not
been able
to take any thing to Signiss; but as we saw no ferther alterration
in her; we little thought of her dissolution, being so nigh as it
rely was,
for She was unobservedly hasten to give her Bridegroom
soon ye meeting, She Lay all that Night following Still and seem’d
to sleep,
till in yeMorning at about 4 a clock on Augst ye 16th 1757
According to her own wordes, before any one was Aware, she fell
Softly Asleep in ye Armes of her
Eternal Bridegroom, with yeBessing
of her Choir, under those words, ye Soul of Christ ye Scar by &c.
After haveing Lived spent in this dying Life
27 years and four Months
