Name Index

To

A Memoir of the Life and Ministry of Ann Freeman:

written by herself and an account of her death by her husband Henry Freeman

by

Ann Mason Freeman

Exeter, New Hampshire: N. Towle, (1831), pp. xii, 14-216.

Prepared by Michael Steer

The Bible Christian movement was a reaction to an environment of poverty and religious hypocrisy in a remote and rural area of North Devonshire at a time of strong religious revivalism across the south west of England. Although the movement was founded in Devonshire, it was conceived in Cornwall and there was a significant following there. In the 92 years of its existence, its influence spread far beyond its roots in the rural community of Shebbear. While the movement was strongest in Devonshire, Cornwall and in parts of Somerset and Dorset, there were circuits across England and Wales. Missionaries went to Australia, Bermuda, Canada, China, New Zealand and the United States. Ann Freeman (1797-1826) was born at Horathorne in North Lew, as the fourth child of William Mason, a farmer. Despite initial opposition from her family, she joined the Arminian Bible Christians (Bryanites) and became a class leader. She visited London in 1823 and there met Henry Freeman, a fellow-Bryanite. Her book provides vivid insights into the emotional fervour and intensity of conviction that characterised early Methodist preachers in Devon. Henry Freeman and Anne Mason were married after leaving the Bible Christians to eventually become Quakers. The author, from page 113 presents a series of letters from Ann Freeman to relatives and friends. This rare and much sought-after book was produced digitally by Google from a copy in the New York Public Library collection and can be downloaded from HathiTrust. Google has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. These books, on which copyright has expired, are available for free educational and research use, both as individual books and as full collections to aid researchers.