ABSTRACT
Elizabeth Ashbridge (1713–1755) was motivated by her Quaker faith to write about her early years; the book is primarily an exercise in spiritual autobiography. Her work is distinct from others in this genre, however, for its many personal details. 7 The first pages of the book detail her birth in Cheshire to a ship’s surgeon and her good Christian upbringing. She eloped as a young teenager with a stocking weaver who died within five months, leaving her destitute and without her father’s protection. Her mother secretly sent her off to a Quaker relative in Dublin. Chafing under the restraints of the Quaker lifestyle, she went to another relative in the west of Ireland who allowed her great freedom. There, Ashbridge became acquainted with a Pennsylvanian woman who offered to accompany her to the colonies and lured her into signing a contract for indentured servitude. Upon reaching America, the captain of the ship re-wrote the contract and sold her to a cruel master. His false piety turned her more strongly against Christianity and she developed a love of dancing and singing.
