Frances E. Townsley
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Frances E. Townsley (September 13, 1850 – 1909) was an American Baptist minister and evangelical preacher, as well as a lecturer and a writer in prose and verse. She was the second-known woman to be ordained in the Baptist faith, and the first then-
Northern Baptist The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...
woman minister to be thus credentialed. After ordination, she endured criticism and resistance.


Early life and education

Frances ("Fannie") Eleanor Townsley was born in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
, September 13, 1850. Her father was Gad Townsley, a commission merchant, and a strong abolitionist who died during a
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic. Her mother Charlotte Davis Townsley, in early widowhood, would work till midnight and took in boarders to support the family; she also wrote unpublished prose and verse. During her early years, the child lived in
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts Shelburne Falls is an historic village in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The village is a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 1,731 at the 2010 census. It is part of the S ...
. The public-school education she received was excellent. Once, when asked where she was educated, she said: "Partly in a village academy, partly in Wheaton College, partly in the studies of individual pastors, mainly in the University of Sorrow." Townsley's "call to preach" was sudden, positive, and undoubted. She spoke her first piece when five years old, the
Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and ...
. She owed much of her training as a public speaker to her mother. Among the things committed to memory during the first ten years of her life were
Nathaniel Parker Willis Nathaniel Parker Willis (January 20, 1806 – January 20, 1867), also known as N. P. Willis,Baker, 3 was an American writer, poet and editor who worked with several notable American writers including Edgar Allan Poe and Henry Wadsworth Longfello ...
' ''Sacred Poems'', parts of
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...
's ''
Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...
'', Robert Pollok's '' The Course of Time'',
Richard Chenevix Trench Richard Chenevix Trench (9 September 1807 – 28 March 1886) was an Anglican archbishop and poet. Life He was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Richard Trench (1774–1860), barrister-at-law, and the Dublin writer Melesina Chenevix (1768â ...
's ''The Miracles and Parables of Christ'',
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
' "
Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is th ...
", as well as
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poetry and prophecy, and many patriotic selections. She became a professing Christian before she was eighteen years old, after turbulent struggles, mental and spiritual.


Career

After completing her education at Wheaton College, Townsley became a teacher. She became a preacher against her previous ideas of the woman's sphere. She was licensed by the
Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts Shelburne Falls is an historic village in the towns of Shelburne and Buckland in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The village is a census-designated place (CDP) with a population of 1,731 at the 2010 census. It is part of the S ...
, Baptist Church in 1874, after preaching for a year. After twelve years of work as an evangelist in
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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, and
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, she was ordained by a council of Baptist Churches in April 1885, in Fairfield, Nebraska. She was State evangelist for the Nebraska
Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far ...
, serving as an editor of the organization's ''
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''. While residing in
Ashland, Nebraska Ashland is a city in Saunders County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 3,262 at th2022 census History Ashland is located at the site of a low-water limestone ledge along the bottom of Salt Creek, an otherwise mud-bottomed stream th ...
, she served as pastor of the Immanuel Baptist Church. Removing to
Maywood, Illinois Maywood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded on April 6, 1869, and organized October 22, 1881. The population was 23,512 at the 2020 census. History There was limited European-Am ...
by the turn of the century, the Women's National Sabbath Alliance bestowed an award on one of Townsley's essays. From 1898 until 1902, she was in
Vassar, Michigan Vassar is a city in Tuscola County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Founded March 1, 1849. The population was 2,727 at the 2020 census and 2,697 in 2010 (an increase of about 1.1%). The city is located on the western edge of Vassar Township but is ...
where she served as pastor. Retiring because of poor health, she preached, taught, and led reform work until her death in 1909.


Selected works

* ''A Pilgrim Maid: The Self-told Story of Frances E. Townsley'', 1908 * ''The Sabbath Training of the Child for Eternity'', 190?


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsley, Frances Eleanor 1850 births 1909 deaths 19th-century American newspaper editors 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers American Baptist Churches USA ministers Religious leaders from Albany, New York American religious writers Woman's Christian Temperance Union people Wikipedia articles incorporating text from A Woman of the Century