Please read part One HERE
In this post I will focus on Methodist Woman Ann Cutler. She lived from 1759 - 1794. Ann was born in the Lancashire parish of Thornley-with-Wheatley. Her parents and schooling are unknown but she became a hand loom weaver. She came to notice in 1785 when she converted from established Christianity to Methodism by William Bramwell.
Ann was with Hester Rogers, one of the first women preachers. Their devotion laid the foundation for friends Sarah Crosby and Mary Bosanquet Fletcher to later become Methodist preachers. Ann had met the Methodist leader John Wesley in 1790 and it was he who had agreed to women preachers.
Martha Thompson teamed up with Ann and the two evangelists would claim converts in Lancashire who had witnessed Martha's singing and Ann's praying. Martha was warned to stay clear of Ann because of her strength and enthusiasm which Martha's father feared would kill his daughter. Ann went to work with William Bramwell and they are credited with leading revivals in Derby, Lancashire, Cheshire and Lancashire in the years following John Wesley's death in 1791.
Her mentor, William Bramwell, had a respect for Ann. She was known as "Praying Nanny" because of her frequent, loud and at times public prayers. When Bramwell got into difficulty then he would benefit from Ann's prayer techniques. Ann never married and was keen to ensure there was no gossip. When she was returning late at night she would refuse a male escort in order to avoid any suspicion. She died in Macclesfield in 1794 at the age of 35.
Read Part Twelve HERE
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