Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend

By Herbert A. Wisbey Jr.

Book Overview

At the age of twenty-four, the Rhode Island Quaker Jemima Wilkinson (1752-1819) recovered from a bout of fever with the pronouncement that she had been directed by a vision to preach to a "dying and sinful world." Announcing that Jemima had died and that her body now housed a new spirit, the Publick Universal Friend, this remarkably charismatic--and notably scandal-plagued--woman gathered several hundred followers and settled to the west of Seneca Lake. Although the religious community she founded on a framework of abstinence and friendship did not long survive her, Wilkinson remains a figure of fascination and mystery to this day. Herbert A. Wisbey Jr.'s 1964 biography is the authoritative account of her life, times, and ideals.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0801475511
• ISBN13: 9780801475511
• Release Date: April 2009
• Publisher: Fall Creek Books
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher