Born: 1757, Pudsey
Died: 1772, Fulneck
Learn more about the life of Richard Fenton
The Course of Life, of the great Boy Richd Fenton
who departed Dec. 29
1772.
Richd Fenton, Son of our Br Richd Fenton was born
the 16th of May 1757 at Pudsey, in the Parish of Cal-
verly. As a Child he went to the
Brns School at
Lane –
End where he learn’d till
he was 12 Years old. In June
1769 he was bound Apprentice to Br John Spicer
to learn the Glover’s Business & came at the
same
time to live in the Choir House, where he
went on in a
still & quiet Course to the
Satisfaction of his Brn
In the following Year he
began to be sickly, & as all
endeavours for his recovery proved ineffectual, he
grew
weaker & weaker from time to time & as his
Parents
lived near, it was propos’d to him to go and live with
them,
whereby he might enjoy more of their Parental Care &
Nursing; but he declin’d it. However as he grew more
helpless, he, in
the beginning of last July, agreed to go
& be with his Parents, where he has enjoyed a happy
&
sabbatical time waiting with Patience and Resig
– nation when it would please our Saviour to take him
into his eternal Joy & Security. He was now & then
visited by
the Brn to whom he declared
that altho’
he was resigned to our Savr yet he knew that it would
be better for him to be with Christ, than
to recover
his Health, & live here still longer. He had an Im-
pression of our Saviour’s love towards him, which
made
him look & pray to our Saviour with Confidence.
When he was visited by
Brn whom he was
accquainted with,
he desired that they might sign sing some Verses
with him,
& several Times he mentioned in particular that
the following should be
sung: I am a poor Sinner, yes
’tis true I am &c. He came here to the
Meetings as long
as he was able to walk, or ride, which always seem’d
to be
a refreshment to him, & when he was no more able
to come to the
meetings, he was very Sorry for it, especially
when
he thought that he should not have the pleasure
to attend the meetings on
Christmas Eve, on which
account he propos’d
that a couple of Brn should
carry
him to the Hall in a Sedan; But on the 19th of Decr
in the Night, he had such a gracious visit of our
Savr that he became quite satisfied, with his not
being able to come to the meetings on Christmas Eve,
for when
he got up in the Morning & dressed himself
he began to speak to his
Mother about it & told her there
had happened an alteration with him
last Night
when she asked what way, he told her that our Savr
had been very near to him & he had kept a band
with him
about every thing, & our Savr had forgiven him all &
would take him soon to himself. He also said: “I gave
myself quite anew to
our Saviour, & he accepted me as
his own Child, Believing his time would be short, he
desired that his
Srs in the Choir
House might be
sent for, to tell them how happy our
Saviour had
made him, & that
he would soon take him to himself
to be happy & to live with him
forever. Since this
time he grew weaker so
fast, that one could see the
time of his Departure came on very
quickly. Some
Days before his going home, his Master came to
see him, &
when he was going to leave him, he reached
his hand to his Master &
thanked him for all the
love & favours he had shewn to him, telling him:
he very likely might never see him any more in this
World, & so it came
to pass, for on Decr 29th, 1772
in the Morning his Soul took its Flight, to that
God, who had created & redeemed him & made him
so happy by his precious Nearness, in the 16th
Year of his Age.
