Jemima Wilkinson never set out to be an evangelist. Not to mention launching a crusade that would upset the patriarchs who dominated 19th century American society. All that it took was for her to die and visit Heaven.
Born in 1752 to a Rhode Island Quaker farm family, her early childhood seemed uneventful enough. The Wilkinsons were part of the Cumberland colony that Roger Williams established for Quakers and other religious dissidents to escape the religious intolerance that had driven them out of England. By all accounts, Jemima was an attractive young woman who enjoyed fine clothes as well being an accomplished horse rider. Although she had little formal education (which was common for the women of her time), she read the Bible and was educated in Quaker history.
By the time she turned eighteen, a new religious sect known as the "New Light Baptists" began to flourish throughout New England. Founded by evangelical preacher, George Whitefield, the sect laid the foundation for what would be termed "The First Great Awakening" which advocated the role of the Bible and the Holy Spirit in fostering a feeling of spiritual guilt and personal redemption. Along with having a profound influence on American society (Benjamin Franklin was one of Whitefield's most enthusiastic supporters), the movement also had a strong personal influence on Jemima Wilkinson.
In August of 1776, Jemima joined a New Light Baptist group and dedicated herself to intensive Bible study. Her newfound devotion to religion came at a heavy price though. Not only was she expelled from the Quakers but her relationship with her family and friends was strained as well. Whether due to the emotional trauma of losing her standing among the Quakers or one of the typhus epidemics that occurred intermittently during that period, Jemima Wilkinson became seriously ill in October 1776.
The exact nature of the illness was never identified and how close to death she actually came seems to depend on which version of events you believe. Whether her illiness was emotional or physical, Jemima would later claim that she lay in a "deathlike trance" for days (a brother would later state that it had been only hours and that she had never even been in a trance). After her recovery, Jemima stated that she had actually died and that her soul had gone to Heaven where she visited with angels. While in Heaven, the Spirit of God possessed her body and enabled her return to life. The spirit, which she referred to as the "Publick Universal Friend", had chosen her to preach to a sin-filled world and to bring God's message to Earth. In the same way that Jesus Christ was the First Messenger of God, Jemima Wilkinson would be the Second Messenger of God. She also maintained that her frail female body had been replaced by a genderless spirit and that she had transcended her physical sex as a result. Whatever reservations her family members had over this revelation, they were obviously resolved fairly quickly since many of them became her first converts.
On October 13, 1776, Jemima Wilkinson preached her first sermon on the need for repentance and the strict moral code that she laid out for her followers. There was nothing new about her theology which was basically a mixture of Calvinist, Methodist, and Baptist doctrine. She also renounced her old name since the "Publick Universal Friend" was doing the real preaching and her body was just a vessel. Along with preaching sermons, she also engaged in faith healing and made numerous prophecies based on dreams and "visions". Showing an extremely canny knack for showmanship, she attended her meetings wearing a long, flowing black robe with a white cravat around her neck and had no problem impressing whoever saw her. Riding a white horse ahead of her followers (who always came behind her marching two-by-two) , she conducted numerous public gatherings throughout New England, very much in the Quaker style. Renouncng public baptisms, rituals, and religious sacraments, Jemima's meeting involved her and her followers waiting for the "Spirit of God" to inspire everyone present. While some followers made public statements of their faith, the rest simply sat as Jemima delivered her usual hour-long sermon.
Jemima Wilkinson's crusade took her across Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. While her message of total abstinence from sex deterred some would-be believers, her firm opposition to war and slavery attracted others (many of her followers were former slaves). As one of the first female evangelists and a strong supporter of womens' rights, she was far ahead of her time in many ways. After converting a prominent Rhode Island judge, William Potter, in 1778, she persuaded him to free many of his slaves. He also gave up a promising political career to join her movement. In return, Judge Potter built a large addition to his already spacious mansion for Jemima and her followers to live in. Since she had no property herself, Jemima was completely dependent on gifts from followers and admirers.
Sensing that the Millenium was drawing closer, Jemima predicted to her followers that Christ's Second Coming would occur in 1780. When New England's Dark Day occurred on May 19, 1780, Jemima Wilkinson took it as a sign that Christ's return was imminent. Since she had apparently predicted the event, Jemima attracted many new followers who hoped for salvation. By September 16 of that same year, she and her supporters composed a "Declaration of Faith" and launched what would become known as the "Society of Universal Friends". While Quakers initially welcomed her when she visited Philadephia, this quickly changed when some of her followers declared her to be "Christ in Female Form" as well as "The Messiah Returned" (Jemima never claimed this herself). This was enough to have rocks get thrown at her at some meetings and she quickly realized that she had worn out her welcome.
Rather than converting existing communities, Jemima Wilkinson decided to build a "New Jerusalem" in the wilderness where her followers could live in peace and made plans to form a new, utopian community. All that they would need was the right location.
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