- Also called (from October 1776):
- Publick Universal Friend
- Born:
- November 29, 1752, Cumberland, Rhode Island [U.S.]
- Died:
- July 1, 1819, near present-day Penn Yan, New York, U.S. (aged 66)
- Founder:
- Universal Friends
Jemima Wilkinson
-
Who was Jemima Wilkinson?
Jemima Wilkinson (1752–1819) was an American religious leader who founded the Universal Friends, an unorthodox Christian sect. Some followers considered her a messiah.
Raised in a Quaker family, she was later dismissed from her Friends meeting. After a severe fever in 1776, Wilkinson claimed she had died, received a vision, and returned as a spirit to preach. Taking the name Publick Universal Friend, she traveled and preached throughout southern New England, attracting followers with her commanding presence.
By 1782, her preaching reached Philadelphia. In 1788, followers settled in western New York, and in 1790, Wilkinson arrived at the "Friend’s Settlement." Conflicts over land ownership and accusations of misconduct plagued the settlement, and the sect dissolved soon after her death.
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What religious movement did Jemima Wilkinson start?
Jemima Wilkinson, an American religious leader, started the Universal Friends, an unorthodox Christian sect, many of whose members considered her a messiah. After recovering from a fever in 1776, Wilkinson claimed she had died, received a vision, and returned as a spirit to preach. Taking the name Publick Universal Friend, Wilkinson traveled and preached throughout southern New England, attracting followers through her personality and commanding presence. By 1782, her preaching extended to Philadelphia. Some members settled in western New York in 1788, and in 1790, Wilkinson arrived at the "Friend’s Settlement," which had a population of 260. Conflicts and tales of strange practices plagued the settlement, and the sect disintegrated a few years after her death in 1819.
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What was unique about Jemima Wilkinson's beliefs or teachings?
Jemima Wilkinson, born in 1752, was an American religious leader who founded the Universal Friends, an unorthodox Christian sect. After a severe fever in 1776, Wilkinson claimed to have died, received a vision, and returned as a gender-neutral spirit named Publick Universal Friend to preach repentance.
The Friend's teachings, while somewhat conventional, combined with a commanding personality, attracted followers, including influential figures who abandoned their careers to join the sect. Although Wilkinson was discreet, many followers proclaimed the Friend to be a messiah, which stirred animosity from orthodox churches. In 1788, the Universal Friends established a settlement in western New York, but conflicts and accusations of misconduct led to the sect's disintegration after the Friend's death in 1819.
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How did Jemima Wilkinson's followers view her?
Jemima Wilkinson's followers, known as Universal Friends, held diverse views regarding her role. While Wilkinson remained discreetly vague about her mission and relation to divinity, many followers openly proclaimed her as a messiah. This belief stirred animosity from orthodox churches. Her followers built meetinghouses and included influential individuals like Judge William Potter, who freed his slaves and abandoned his career to support her. Some scholars suggest that Wilkinson's transformation into the Publick Universal Friend influenced her family members to leave the Quaker faith and follow her.
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What was the public reaction to Jemima Wilkinson during her lifetime?
Jemima Wilkinson, who later became known as the Publick Universal Friend, founded the Universal Friends, attracting followers through a message of repentance and a commanding presence. Many followers, including some influential figures, left their faiths to join the sect. Some followers proclaimed Wilkinson to be a messiah, which stirred animosity from orthodox churches. Tales of dictatorial rule and sexual misconduct circulated among hostile observers. Despite the controversies, the Universal Friends established settlements and meetinghouses in New England and extended preaching to Philadelphia.
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How did Jemima Wilkinson's movement influence American religious history?
Jemima Wilkinson, born in 1752, founded the Universal Friends, an unorthodox Christian sect whose members considered her a messiah. After recovering from a fever in 1776, Wilkinson claimed to have died, received a vision, and returned as a spirit named Publick Universal Friend to preach repentance.
Though Wilkinson was discreet about the Friend's mission, many followers proclaimed the Friend a messiah, which stirred animosity from orthodox churches. The Universal Friends established meetinghouses and a settlement in western New York. The sect disintegrated a few years after the Friend's death in 1819.
Wilkinson's movement, though short-lived, reflects the religious fervor and unorthodox religious expressions of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in America. During this time, other groups like the Society of Friends (Quakers) saw separations and schisms, often as a sign of religious vitality.
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Jemima Wilkinson (born November 29, 1752, Cumberland, Rhode Island [U.S.]—died July 1, 1819, near present-day Penn Yan, New York, U.S.) was an American religious leader who founded an unorthodox Christian sect, the Universal Friends, many of whose adherents declared her a messiah.
Wilkinson grew up in a Quaker family and early displayed a strong interest in religion. Her attendance at meetings of a New Light Baptist congregation in the aftermath of George Whitefield’s final revival tour of New England led to her dismissal from her Friends meeting in August 1776. Two months later she fell ill of a fever from which she emerged with the conviction, conveyed to her in a vision, that she had died and had been sent back as a spirit to preach to a “lost and guilty, gossiping, dying World.” She took the name Publick Universal Friend and thereafter answered to no other. The Publick Universal Friend was said to be neither male nor female, but both Wilkinson and the followers of the Friend used male pronouns to refer to him. Indeed, the single published work by the Friend was signed, “your friend and brother,” and the Friend and various female followers commonly adopted more masculine dress.
The Friend began to travel and preach throughout southern New England, and by the power of his personality and his commanding figure, more than through the rather conventional message of repentance, soon attracted a following. Many of Wilkinson’s own family members also left the Quaker faith to follow the Friend, which some scholars have argued points to the power of Jemima’s transformation into the Friend. The followers also included a number of influential persons, one of whom, Judge William Potter of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, freed his slaves, abandoned his political career, and built a large addition to his mansion for the Friend’s use. Meetinghouses were built by his followers, known collectively as Universal Friends, in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and in New Milford, Connecticut. By 1782 his preaching had extended as far as Philadelphia, where The Universal Friend’s Advice to Those of the Same Religious Society, largely a compilation of biblical quotations for use in meetings, was published in 1784.
Whereas Wilkinson was discreetly vague about the exact nature of the Friend’s mission and his relation to divinity, many of the followers openly proclaimed the Friend to be a messiah, a practice that roused considerable animosity against the Universal Friends and their leader by orthodox churches. In 1788 some members of the sect, having scouted out the Genesee country of western New York, began a settlement near Seneca Lake. In 1790 the Friend arrived at the “Friend’s Settlement,” which then had a population of 260. In 1794 the Friend moved a few miles west, to the vicinity of Crooked (now Keuka) Lake where, with a small band of the most devoted followers, the Jerusalem township was established. In later years the Friend’s Settlement was disturbed by conflicts over ownership of the land, and outside the settlement numerous tales of dictatorial rule, harsh punishments, sexual misconduct, and other strange practices circulated widely among hostile observers.
The sect disintegrated a few years after the Friend “left time” again in 1819.