In this post I will begin to take a break from Evangelical women in 1800. Instead I will begin to share some stories of Evangelical women born in 1600, whose stories I recently disovered, the first one being a story of a woman named Rachel Speght. She lived from 1597 - ca 1661.
Rachel was born in London, England. Her father, James Speght, was an ordained doctor of divinity from Christ's College in Cambridge. He was the rector of two London churches, St Mary Magdalen, Milk Street and St Clement, Eastcheap.The identity of her mother is unknown, but she seems to have been a profound influence on her.
Rachel was brought up in the heart of London's clerical and mercantile commnity. She married at age 24, in 1621, to a Calvinist minster named William Proctor and lived with her husband in Upminster, Essex until 1627, then in London at St. Giles, Cripplegate until 1634. After 1634, she lived in Stradishall, Suffolk.
Rachel wrote and published a number of works. In her writings she used Scripture to emphasize women's traditional virtues and to establish them as men's equals. She was careful not to confuse this spiritual equality with social or political equality. Her writings reveal that she was unusally well educated in rhetoric, logic, classical and Christian texts and Latin, and that she had a thorough knowledge of Christian scripture.
Her husband died in 1661, and it is likely that his wife predeceased him, as she is not mentioned in his will.
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