Mary Fletcher
c. 1740/1741 - 1813
Mary Evans Thorne was the first female class leader in colonial American Methodism. She joined the church around 1770 in Philadelphia and within two years "had three classes and two Methodist bands meeting weekly under her tutelage" while supporting herself by teaching and taking in sewing. When the British took over the Methodist chapel, she held meetings in her home.
St George's Methodist Church, where Mary Thorne was a class leader- Hathi Trust- from The History of Methodism, vol 1 by John Fletcher Hurst
She married British sea captain Samuel Parker in 1778 and sailed with him to England. The couple lived in London and later Yorkshire where he served as church steward and she continued to be a class leader. He suffered a number of financial setbacks, including the loss of ships, and they were impoverished by 1798. He died sometime after 1813 and she returned to Philadelphia.
more about Mary Thorne*
Evans joined the Baptists in North Carolina when she was 23 and married James Thorne, but he died in 1762. After his death, she relocated with her mother to Philadelphia. New to the city, she sought a place of worship found a Methodist service conducted by Joseph Pilmoor, which was more to her liking than the Baptist faith. Around the age of 30, she joined the Methodist church, against the wishes of her mother. Her mother and her husband returned to North Carolina cutting off all contact with Thorne. Within 2 years of her conversion, according to a letter from Thorne, she had three classes and two Methodist bands meeting weekly under her tutelage. She was the first woman class-leader of Philadelphia, having been appointed to lead a class of women by Pilmore and she may have been the first woman in the American Colonies to hold the position.
Another letter, dated 7 February 1770 from Richard Boardman, confirmed that she had two classes in her charge. Class leaders in this era were spiritual laity, who were accountable for the pastoral needs of their class members. Thorne supported herself by teaching and taking in sewing and visited hospitals tending to and praying for the sick and dying. Her devotion continued even after the British took over the Methodist Chapel, as she then held services in her home at the early part of the Revolutionary War.
Around this same time, she met Captain Samuel Parker, a ship captain from England, who was entrusted with taking some of the injured soldiers back to Britain. They were married on 12 February 1778 at St. Paul's Church and she returned with him to England, leaving from the Delaware Bay on 17 March 1778 and arriving in Cork on 15 April 1778. Her husband served as a steward in London and she served as a class leader and later when they were living in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, they held the same positions. After they moved to Newby, near Scarborough, her husband's ship was lost and the couple became impoverished. According to letters from Thomas Rankin, their distress occurred by 1798. Parker died in England after 1813 and later, she and Parker's son moved to Philadelphia.
* from Wikipedia
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