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Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons: Mrs. Ann H. Judson- Mrs. Sarah B. Judson- Mrs. Emi
Compared with the true independence the noble energy the almost superhuman intrepidity of the Mrs. Judsons how weak and despicable seem the struggles of many misguided women in our day who seek to gain a reluctant acknowledgment of equality with the other sex by a noisy assertion of their rights and in some instances by an imitation of their attire! ' (Excerpt from Preface)
274 pages, Paperback
First published October 13, 2005
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July 16, 2025
A few months ago, I read and benefited from "Adoniram Judson, His Life and Labors." He was the first missionary to Burma, back in the 1800s. One of the things that was of particular interest to me was his three wives. The first two died while in Burma and seemed to be sickly much of their lives there. The third, much younger, wife, outlived Judson. I found Judson interesting, but I was curious about his wives.
So, I was happy to find Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons, free in kindle version on Amazon. First wife Ann, early in her Christian life, “became sensible that if unusual advantages for acquiring knowledge had fallen to her lot, she was the more bound to use her talents and acquirements for the benefit of others less favored than herself. Actuated by such motives, she opened a small school in her native place, and subsequently taught in several neighboring villages.” I like bits like this that encourage us to think of the gifts God has given us, and ponder ways he has used them in our lives, and ways we might continue doing that.
Like each of the three wives, Ann had a strong faith in God, even when circumstances in Burma looked pretty bleak from a human perspective. “If God has anything for us to do here, he will doubtless open a door for our entrance, if not he will send us to some other places.” Great attitude. When her dear (and basically only) friend in Burma died, she wrote: “But be still, my heart, and know that God has done it. Just and true are thy ways, oh thou King of saints!” She later shares, “I have, indeed, no society at all except that of Mr. Judson, yet I feel happy in thinking that I gave up this source of pleasure, as well as most others, for the sake of the poor heathen.” On this occasion, as well as many others, Ann seemed almost too good to be real.
On a less spiritual topic, it was interesting that she wrote about the Burmese custom of blackening their teeth. When asked why they did it, they replied, “Should we have white teeth like a dog or a monkey?” Interesting cultural bit, which makes me think of various things we do that we consider normal, yet might seem very strange to someone from another culture.
She writes of the Burmese belief in reincarnation, and how they would do good works because of their belief that these would lead to their next life being better, perhaps as a person rather than as an insect. “If you do them a favor, they suppose you do it to obtain merit for yourself.” I confess I’ve wondered about this same motive when I’m treated kindly by practitioners of some works-based religions.
Ann faced hardship as well in motherhood. Her first child was stillborn, the second lived just eight months. “But God has taught us by afflictions, what we would not learn by mercies–that our hearts are his exclusive property, and whatever rival intrudes, he will tear it away.” This type of thinking, while admirable in some ways, seems very harsh to me. At age 36, Ann dies from an unnamed affliction (although her health never seemed good). A third child, a daughter, dies 6 months later.
Next wife, Sarah, had “a fondness for intellectual exercises which were early developed in her character.” I could relate to her desire to learn and improve herself: “My mother cannot spare me to attend school this winter, but I have begun to pursue my studies at home.” I still remember my surprise as, throughout life, I have realized that the vast majority of people aren’t this way. Sarah was married to another missionary to Burma, and knew of Mr. Judson since there weren’t many US missionaries there. After her husband died, she and Mr. Judson got to know each other better and married. “It was not the superiority of her personal charms, though these were by no means small, but it was her intrinsic excellence, heightened by her modest, unobtrusive spirit, that endeared her to my heart,” he wrote of Sarah. I love that.
Sarah and her first husband’s first child, a daughter, died at age two. Sarah’s reaction is almost too much: “The darling girl was her mother’s joy and pride, and–as her Heavenly Father saw–her idol too! Terrible was the stroke that shattered that lovely idol, but it came–so father assured her–from a father’s hand.” I see that thinking here, but it really seems almost too cruel a way of thinking, at least to me. I can see accepting this as coming from God’s hand, but to feel he would take a child because a parent loved it too much just seems over the top. Again, this was 200 years ago in a totally different culture, so those factors may play in. As her first husband was dying and she was crying at his bedside, he asks her, “Are you not reconciled to the will of God, my love?” Oh my.
One of my favorite parts of the book was this quote from Sarah, where she seems a bit more “real”: “It requires the patience of a Job and the wisdom of a Solomon to get on with this people; much as I love them, and good as I think they are.”
Sarah sends her surviving son with her first husband to America for education when he was quite young, assuming (correctly) that she would never see him again. “My reason and judgment tell me that the good of my child requires that he should be sent to America; and this of itself would support me in some little degree; but when I view it was a sacrifice, made for the sake of Jesus, it becomes a delightful privilege.” Sigh. I admire her way of thinking, but wow.
Sarah is on a boat (which seemed to be recommended a lot back then to improve cases of fragile health) when she dies at 41.
Mr. Judson reluctantly visits America after years in Burma. While there, he makes the acquaintance of Emily Chubbuck, who is a writer and is 29 to Judson’s 58. They marry, and he asks her to write a biography of his second wife. This could be a dicey proposition, but to Emily’s credit, she does it. While a lovely lady, she seemed a bit less “all in” with her religious practices, although not a whole lot, given that she was willing to drop her writing career to head over to Burma with Judson. She continued writing many letters, and I liked this glimpse of “real” Dr. Judson that she wrote of: “Like all persons of his ardent temperament, he was subject to strong attachments and aversions, which he sometimes had difficulty in bringing under the controlling influence of divine grace.”
Throughout the book, I felt the wives were written of quite hagiographically. Nobody, not even missionaries who give up almost everything in the service of the Lord, is perfect, and I don’t feel like it’s helpful to write them as if they are. The fact that this book was written 200 years ago no doubt played a large part in the presentation. And the writing about third wife Emily became so convoluted and “over written,” I would say, as to make it a bit of a chore to wade through. For instance: “Yet even her glorified spirit may feel a new thrill of pleasure in beholding, from its serene sphere, the love that prompted them, and sought in the choice of her last resting-place to give even to the unconscious dead one more proof of affection.” Whew! What a sentence!
I’d hoped, in reading this, to gain more insights into the women’s thoughts, their interactions with their children, etc. I didn’t get a whole lot of that here, but I understand that not a lot of material for that may exist. Indeed, no painting or image of second wife Sarah even exists (which Judson later mentions regret for).
I think I got a better feel for the entire Judson/Burma venture from the book about him I read, referenced in the first paragraph, although this book was still useful as an example of several ladies who were following Jesus with everything in them.
So, I was happy to find Lives of the Three Mrs. Judsons, free in kindle version on Amazon. First wife Ann, early in her Christian life, “became sensible that if unusual advantages for acquiring knowledge had fallen to her lot, she was the more bound to use her talents and acquirements for the benefit of others less favored than herself. Actuated by such motives, she opened a small school in her native place, and subsequently taught in several neighboring villages.” I like bits like this that encourage us to think of the gifts God has given us, and ponder ways he has used them in our lives, and ways we might continue doing that.
Like each of the three wives, Ann had a strong faith in God, even when circumstances in Burma looked pretty bleak from a human perspective. “If God has anything for us to do here, he will doubtless open a door for our entrance, if not he will send us to some other places.” Great attitude. When her dear (and basically only) friend in Burma died, she wrote: “But be still, my heart, and know that God has done it. Just and true are thy ways, oh thou King of saints!” She later shares, “I have, indeed, no society at all except that of Mr. Judson, yet I feel happy in thinking that I gave up this source of pleasure, as well as most others, for the sake of the poor heathen.” On this occasion, as well as many others, Ann seemed almost too good to be real.
On a less spiritual topic, it was interesting that she wrote about the Burmese custom of blackening their teeth. When asked why they did it, they replied, “Should we have white teeth like a dog or a monkey?” Interesting cultural bit, which makes me think of various things we do that we consider normal, yet might seem very strange to someone from another culture.
She writes of the Burmese belief in reincarnation, and how they would do good works because of their belief that these would lead to their next life being better, perhaps as a person rather than as an insect. “If you do them a favor, they suppose you do it to obtain merit for yourself.” I confess I’ve wondered about this same motive when I’m treated kindly by practitioners of some works-based religions.
Ann faced hardship as well in motherhood. Her first child was stillborn, the second lived just eight months. “But God has taught us by afflictions, what we would not learn by mercies–that our hearts are his exclusive property, and whatever rival intrudes, he will tear it away.” This type of thinking, while admirable in some ways, seems very harsh to me. At age 36, Ann dies from an unnamed affliction (although her health never seemed good). A third child, a daughter, dies 6 months later.
Next wife, Sarah, had “a fondness for intellectual exercises which were early developed in her character.” I could relate to her desire to learn and improve herself: “My mother cannot spare me to attend school this winter, but I have begun to pursue my studies at home.” I still remember my surprise as, throughout life, I have realized that the vast majority of people aren’t this way. Sarah was married to another missionary to Burma, and knew of Mr. Judson since there weren’t many US missionaries there. After her husband died, she and Mr. Judson got to know each other better and married. “It was not the superiority of her personal charms, though these were by no means small, but it was her intrinsic excellence, heightened by her modest, unobtrusive spirit, that endeared her to my heart,” he wrote of Sarah. I love that.
Sarah and her first husband’s first child, a daughter, died at age two. Sarah’s reaction is almost too much: “The darling girl was her mother’s joy and pride, and–as her Heavenly Father saw–her idol too! Terrible was the stroke that shattered that lovely idol, but it came–so father assured her–from a father’s hand.” I see that thinking here, but it really seems almost too cruel a way of thinking, at least to me. I can see accepting this as coming from God’s hand, but to feel he would take a child because a parent loved it too much just seems over the top. Again, this was 200 years ago in a totally different culture, so those factors may play in. As her first husband was dying and she was crying at his bedside, he asks her, “Are you not reconciled to the will of God, my love?” Oh my.
One of my favorite parts of the book was this quote from Sarah, where she seems a bit more “real”: “It requires the patience of a Job and the wisdom of a Solomon to get on with this people; much as I love them, and good as I think they are.”
Sarah sends her surviving son with her first husband to America for education when he was quite young, assuming (correctly) that she would never see him again. “My reason and judgment tell me that the good of my child requires that he should be sent to America; and this of itself would support me in some little degree; but when I view it was a sacrifice, made for the sake of Jesus, it becomes a delightful privilege.” Sigh. I admire her way of thinking, but wow.
Sarah is on a boat (which seemed to be recommended a lot back then to improve cases of fragile health) when she dies at 41.
Mr. Judson reluctantly visits America after years in Burma. While there, he makes the acquaintance of Emily Chubbuck, who is a writer and is 29 to Judson’s 58. They marry, and he asks her to write a biography of his second wife. This could be a dicey proposition, but to Emily’s credit, she does it. While a lovely lady, she seemed a bit less “all in” with her religious practices, although not a whole lot, given that she was willing to drop her writing career to head over to Burma with Judson. She continued writing many letters, and I liked this glimpse of “real” Dr. Judson that she wrote of: “Like all persons of his ardent temperament, he was subject to strong attachments and aversions, which he sometimes had difficulty in bringing under the controlling influence of divine grace.”
Throughout the book, I felt the wives were written of quite hagiographically. Nobody, not even missionaries who give up almost everything in the service of the Lord, is perfect, and I don’t feel like it’s helpful to write them as if they are. The fact that this book was written 200 years ago no doubt played a large part in the presentation. And the writing about third wife Emily became so convoluted and “over written,” I would say, as to make it a bit of a chore to wade through. For instance: “Yet even her glorified spirit may feel a new thrill of pleasure in beholding, from its serene sphere, the love that prompted them, and sought in the choice of her last resting-place to give even to the unconscious dead one more proof of affection.” Whew! What a sentence!
I’d hoped, in reading this, to gain more insights into the women’s thoughts, their interactions with their children, etc. I didn’t get a whole lot of that here, but I understand that not a lot of material for that may exist. Indeed, no painting or image of second wife Sarah even exists (which Judson later mentions regret for).
I think I got a better feel for the entire Judson/Burma venture from the book about him I read, referenced in the first paragraph, although this book was still useful as an example of several ladies who were following Jesus with everything in them.
August 3, 2011
I read the preface skipped to the back to know the author, but then I went back and read it all. First I read areas of interest to me. His death and how his 3rd wife dealt with it was amazing. I share in their spirit, but I know not of their sufferings. You really need to read this but understand the language is 200 years old and not the easiest for readers too young, but worth any struggle for meaning! You may think this is no book for a man, but you best see yourself through the eyes of your wife and family.
May 20, 2017
Fascinating! The third Mrs. Judson, Emily, was from Madison County and taught at a female seminary in Utica. Being a missionary overseas was a very hard life in the 19th century.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews