PRICE REDUCED!!!
JEWELS FROM MY CASKET by Anna J. Winslow.
Anna (Frazer) Winslow was born near Thorntown, Boone County, Indiana, on 5th day of 2nd month, 1848, and moved at the age of six to Henry County, Iowa. This was an interesting, transitional time in the history of the American branch of the Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Friends Church or the Quakers. Anna’s family were Quakers and both her parents’ generation and her own became intimately involved as during the 19th Century much of American Quakerism was profoundly changed from its traditional roots.
Seeking new land, Josiah and Anna Winslow with their three sons (two daughters were born later) moved in covered wagons with other Quakers in 1873 from southeast Iowa to Osborne County in North Central Kansas. The new community they settled and monthly meeting they established was Mount Ayr, located in Mount Ayr Township seven miles south of what is now called the city of Alton, Kansas. Mount Ayr was Anna’s home base as she began her public itinerant ministry, traveling untold miles in the following states: California; Indiana; Illinois; Iowa; Kansas; Missouri; Nebraska; North Carolina; Ohio; Oklahoma; and Oregon. Her husband, Josiah, usually stayed home where he farmed and took care of the family and whole-heartedly supported her long absences for ministry.
The first book in Ad Astra’s new Hall of Fame Series, Jewels From My Casket is a reprint of Anna Winslow’s 1910 autobiography. It serves as a travelogue and a religious confirmation of faith rolled into one as it documents her forty-plus career in spreading the Gospel across the United States. The book has also become a venerated and prized treasure for its historical detail, as in the process of Anna relating her story we get significant glimpses into the challenging, faith-testing experiences of Kansas frontier life.
Ad Astra Publishing is proud to honor the memory of this extraordinary woman with a new publication of this hard-to-find Christian literary classic.
“In the 7th month, 1878, we attended Pleasant Valley meeting, near Glen Elder, Mitchell County, Kansas, after which we went about fifteen miles to where Calvin True blood lived, near Springfield postoffice, where I had a few meetings. The Spirit of the Lord was with us and wonderfully blessed us. Some Free Methodists attended the meetings. At one meeting I felt that some one had labor to perform before I could preach. I told the congregation so. Immediately a Free Methodist bowed in prayer. When he was through praying I felt the liberty to speak. He afterwards told me he did not know until I spoke that he had liberty to pray in our meeting, as he was not acquainted with Friends’ ways of holding meeting. While at my stopping place a lady asked me if I spent all my time in traveling and preaching. This question was very humiliating to me, as this was almost my first trip away from home, and I felt so very weak. I held one meeting in the little town of Scottsville, five miles from Springfield. I felt it was more than I could bear, as I approached the school-house and found it crowded to its utmost capacity and the door full of people. I said in my heart: “Who is able for all this work?” As I walked through the aisle, I could hear them whispering on all sides, “There she comes,” “There she is,” “That’s her,” all eyes being centered on me. This made me feel as if f would sink through the floor. Their being unaccustomed to women preachers, made it a curiosity to them. The Lord upheld me by His grace and gave me ability to tell of His goodness. After meeting an elderly man made his way through the crowd and said, “Sister, I want to tell you this is the kind of a gospel I like to hear; just the plain, simple truth, without any polishing up by man.” This gave me courage in my weakness. I believe the Master knew I was in need of words of cheer, and thus put it into his heart to speak a kindly word. O how good, when we are tempted and tried, the Lord does not forsake us! We returned by Pleasant Valley, near Glen Elder, attended the regular meeting on First day, and appointed a meeting in the afternoon.”
“I had felt for about four years that I must go to North Carolina some time. I could not read a report from North Carolina without weeping. When Israel told me about her going, I felt impressed at once that I ought to go with her, but I could see no way, as she already had a companion to go with her, and I did not have the means and my little girls were small. It took a stretch of faith, but, praise God, the way was made. When God calls He does no half way work. One of my neighbors (Rachel Bales) came and offered to keep the least girl, Lida. I did not tell any one but my family about it for a while, but kept praying the Lord to hold Catherine till I could arrange to go. She said to me, at meeting two or three times: “Well, Anna, I don’t know why I can’t go to North Carolina. I have my things all packed and ready, have sat down three times to try to write to them to meet me, but can’t; something says to me, ‘Wait, wait.’ “I told her there was a reason. I thought she would find out later what it was. I wanted to be very sure that it was right for me to go with her. I asked the Lord to lay the burden as heavy on Josiah as He had upon me, and have him speak about it to me, and that would be double evidence. So one night about one o’clock he awoke me and said: “Thou wilt have to go and tell Catherine about thy desire to go with her, for I am so burdened about it I can’t stand it; I know it is right for thee to go.” – Excerpts from Jewels From My Casket.