Memoir of Ann H. Judson by Ann Hasseltine Judson

Ann was affected by the sermons she heard but put off by the heavy emphasis on hell and by the idea that God would choose who was destined there.

But serious thoughts on the subject were soon brushed off by the attraction of a life of “gaiety and mirth.” īy the spring of 1806 a revival swept through the Academy. Ann remembered learning from her mother a list of sins to avoid if she wanted to escape the torments of hell. Like most families in the town, the Hasseltines attended the local Congregational Church. Rufus Anderson, who became a renowned strategist of missions, remembered how, during his studies at the same college, Ann used to playfully chase him “about the Academy grounds with a stick.” A special dance hall her father built next to their house became the center of social life for the young people of Bradford.Īware of her intelligence, her parents enrolled Ann at Bradford Academy where she left a mark with her lively spirit. By her early teens, she was already popular and in demand for parties and other social events. The youngest of five children, she was lively, cheerful, and intelligent. But most of these accounts leave out much information about Ann’s own work as a missionary and educator.Īnn “Nancy” Hasseltine was born in Bradford, Massachusetts, December 22, 1789. This is just one of the memorable stories that were repeated in countless accounts during the nineteenth century, when she was held up as a role model for other missionary wives. She is particularly remembered as the sacrificial wife who hid her husband’s Bible translation inside a pillow and took it to the jail where he had been confined, bribing the jailers in order to get in. Ann Judson, one of the first two women to be sent as American foreign missionaries, is a familiar name for most Christians.

Memoir of Ann H. Judson by Ann Hasseltine Judson