Sarah Blackborow facts for kids

Sarah Blackborow was an English writer who lived in the 1650s and 1660s. She wrote religious books that greatly shaped the ideas of the Quakers, especially about social issues and the role of women in religion. Sarah was one of many important women leaders in the early days of the Quaker movement. She was also known for creating a plan to give help to prisoners in London.

About Sarah Blackborow's Life

We don't know much about Sarah Blackborow's personal life. Records show she was the wife of William Blackborow from a parish in the City of London. She came from a "well-off family in London." Sarah was also the person who organized the first Women's Meeting among the Quakers. She stayed in touch with James Nayler even after he had disagreements with George Fox, another Quaker leader. Sarah Blackborow, who was an educated woman, also started a system to collect and give help to people in London's jails.

Sarah Blackborow's Writings

Sarah Blackborow's importance comes mainly from four books she published in London. These writings helped shape ideas about social issues and religious beliefs.

• A Visit to the Spirit in Prison... (1658)
• Herein is held forth the Gift and Good-will of God to the World, and how it is tendered (1659)
• The Just and Equall Ballance Discovered (1660)
• The Oppressed Prisoners' Complaint (1662)

People have quoted and listed her writings for centuries. Today, her writing is described as "richly biblical and moving."

One of Sarah Blackborow's main beliefs was that God speaks directly to all people, both men and women. She wrote: "What I have seen and known, and heard and felt, that I declare unto you, and my witness is true." This means she believed her message came from God. She was one of several women who actively shared Quaker ideas during a time when this was very new in England. Many Quaker women wrote books. Sarah's focus on love in her writings was also special among Quaker writers of her time.

Sarah Blackborow studied the writings of St. Paul very deeply. She believed that religious leaders should not speak unless they felt God's direct guidance, or "Light." She used St. Paul's words to support her view that if people were not truly guided by God, they should remain silent.

Besides pushing for women to be allowed to preach and to be recognized for their religious inspiration, she also criticized the established church. In her book The Just..., she said that religious leaders were teaching people to ignore God's voice inside them. She believed that Christ himself had become the teacher, and his followers would listen to his voice, not to hired preachers who were strangers to that teaching. Other women, like Elizabeth Bathurst, made similar arguments later.

Another study notes that Sarah Blackborow wrote, "Christ the power was one in the male and in the female." This means she believed that God's power and spirit were the same in both men and women. She thought that this power brought forth the same message and worked through both males and females.

Who Was Sarah Blackborow?

Sarah Blackborow might be the same person as Sarah Blackberry. Sarah Blackberry was very involved in starting an early Women's Meeting for the Quakers. Short writings under the name Sarah Blackberry appear in books by James Nayler (1657) and Richard Hubberthorne (1663). There is also an account of Blackberry or Blackborow's connection with James Nayler, whose ideas were not accepted by most Quaker leaders. She even received an official warning in 1657.

More Information

• The Digital Quaker Library has the online text of A Visit to the Spirit in Prison. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
• Other Blackborow texts online are listed here: Retrieved 25 July 2016.