Maria Grace Saffery facts for kids

Maria Grace Saffery (born in 1773, died in 1858) was an English writer. She was known for her poems and hymns. She was also a Baptist, which is a type of Christian faith.

Early Life and First Poems

There is still a church in Brown Street in Salisbury although this building is more recent

Maria Grace Andrews was born in 1773 in a place called Westbury in Wiltshire, England. Her family background is not fully clear. She was baptized in late 1774.

When Maria was just fifteen, she started writing her first major work. This showed she had a great talent for writing. Her first poem was about Chait Singh. He was a ruler in India who had a disagreement with Warren Hastings, a British official. Maria was also influenced by Thomas Scott, who wrote comments about the Bible.

Family Life and Her School

Maria had a sister named Anne, who was also a writer. In 1799, Maria married John Saffery. He was a pastor at the Baptist church in Brown Street in Salisbury. Maria was his second wife.

They had six children together. Their oldest son, Philip John Saffery, became the pastor of the church after his father died in 1825. Maria also started a school for girls in Salisbury. In 1835, she moved to Bratton, also in Wiltshire. She spent the rest of her life there with her daughter. Maria Grace Saffery died on March 5, 1858. She was buried in the graveyard of the Baptist chapel in Bratton.

Her Published Works

Maria Grace Saffery wrote several books of poems and hymns. She also wrote a novel.

Poems

• Cheyt Sing. A Poem. By a Young Lady of Fifteen (1790)

Hymns

• Tis the Great Father we adore (1828)
• Poems on Sacred Subjects (1834)
• God of the sunlight hours, how sad (1834)
• There is a little lonely fold (1834)
• Fain, O my child, I'd have thee know (1844)

Novels

• The Noble Enthusiast (1792)

See Also

Here are some other English women who wrote hymns around the same time: