Jarena Lee was born on February the 11th 1783, in Cape May, New Jersey. She was born into freedom, but Cape May was entangled by just enough commerce and culture, with Maryland’s Eastern Shore and Virginia’s northern borders, that she probably was exposed at an early age, to the inhumanities that characterized southern enslavement. At the age of seven, Lee was separated from her parents and sent to live as a servant maid for a Caucasian family sixty miles away from her home. The names and occupations of her parents are unknown, but what is about them is that they were entirely ignorant of the knowledge of God and because of that had not instructed her in any way regarding the matter of God or religion. Lee’s lack of the knowledge of God caused her great confusion throughout her spiritual journey. Jarena Lee experienced the conviction of her sinful state at different levels and on a several different occasions. She had an ongoing struggle with the guilt of her sinful nature and it took a long time for her to understand her true salvation in Christ. Guilt overwhelmed her so much so, that on more than one occasion, she thought to end her life in order to free her from her guilt. Eventually true salvation was revealed to her and she was baptized. Several years later after her baptism, Mrs. Lee received her call to preach. She shared with her Pastor, Reverend Allen, her call, but he told her that the Methodist church “did not call for women preachers”. Lee did not receive ordination as a preacher at that time, so she chose to operate in ministry as an exhorter without a license. In 1818 Lee solicited Richard Allen’s permission to hold prayer meetings in her home, he granted her request. In her mid-thirties, Lee bega... ... middle of paper ... ...an inspire us to overcome in every situation; to pursue our callings relentlessly, knowing that he that hath begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of our Lord Christ Jesus! Bibliography Andrew, William L., ed. Sisters of the Spirit; Three Black Women’s Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century, Bloomington, IN: University Press 1986. Carney-Smith, Jessie., ed. Notable Black American Women. Detroit, MI: Gale Research Inc. 1992. Kurtzman-Lovecraft. American National Biography. New York, NY. Oxford University Press 1999. Lee, Jarena. The Life and Religious Experiences of Jarena Lee. Philadelphia, PA: The Author 1836. Lee, Jarena. Religious Experience and Journal of Mrs. Jarena Lee. Philadelphia, PA: The Author 1849. McMickle, Marvin A. An Encyclopedia of African American Christian Heritage. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press 2002.
Shoemaker, Nancy. “ Native-American Women in History.” OAH Magazine of History , Vol. 9, No. 4, Native Americans (Summer, 1995), pp. 10-14. 17 Nov. 2013
MacLean, Maggie. "History of American Women." History of American Women. 5 Jan. 2009. Maggie MacLean. 12 Dec. 2013 .
Anne Hutchinson's efforts, according to some viewpoints, may have been a failure, but they revealed in unmistakable manner the emotional starvation of Puritan womanhood. Women, saddened by their hardships, depressed by their religion, denied an open love for beauty...flocked with eagerness to hear this feminine radical...a very little listening seems to have convinced them that this woman understood the female heart far better than did John Cotton of any other male pastor of the settlements. (C. Holliday, pps. 45-46.)
Rubin, Louis D., Jr. "Flannery O'Connor and the Bible Belt." The Added Dimension: The Art and Mind of Flannery O'Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Lewis A. Lawson. New York: Fordham UP, 1966. 49-71.
Alva Milton Kerr, St. Joseph Herald, “Trean; or The Mormon’s Daughter,” 11 Feb 1888 (reprinted from New York Times, ©1857), 4.
Seaver, James E. A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison. ed. June Namias. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the University, 1992.
Butler, Mary G. “Sojourner Truth A Life and Legacy of Faith.” Sojourner Truth Institute of
Clinton, Catherine. The Other Civil War, American Women in the Nineteenth Century: Hill and Wang, New York 1986
…in 1682 [Rowlandson] published a narrative of her captivity which became America's first best seller. At that time it was highly unusual for a woman to be a published author. Hers is a story of the triumph of faith over adversity. It provides a first hand description of Indian life during this conflict [, King Phillip’s War]. (n.p.)
Gundersen, Joan R.. To Be Useful to the World: Women in Revolutionary America, 1740-1790. Rev. ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
Wheeler, Robyn. “Making classical history”. American Visions (March 1993) pp.44 Wright, Marian. Black Americans, New York: Gale Research Inc, 1994.
Spencer, J. M. (1996). The Black Church and the Harlem Renaissance. African American Review, Vol.30 No.3, 453-460.
Female African-American's were kept from experiencing any form of higher learning; they were confined to common household chores- duties that were befitting of a maid. The majorities were sent to perform field duties. It is clearly shown in the autobiography of Sojourner Truth, written by Nell Painter, that Sojourner (a.k.a.) Isabella Braumfree was forced to do this type of work throughout her adult life. Meanwhile her life began to take shape in spite of the continuous restriction of her emotional growth. This was directly related to her mother's beliefs about God and the magnitude of His power in relation to suffering and distressing si...
Anne Hutchinson, of Massachusetts Bay, was a woman of Euro-American society in the early 17th century. Born in the late 16th century, Hutchinson was baptized into the Puritan church. She was self taught and learned also by reading the books within her father’s library. Her family was middle class and members of the church. Her father was a reverend. She married William Hutchinson a magistrate in the colony. Hutchinson like many other women played a role in child beari...
Vives, Juan Luis, and Charles Fantazzi. The education of a Christian woman a sixteenth-century manual. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. Print.