Were they lovers? They were identified as female at birth and named Jemima Wilkinson. Many of the messages relied heavily on tenets of the Quaker faith but also drew from the religious traditions of mysticism. Shortly before her illness, Wilkinson became intrigued by the New Light Baptists, a religious movement that had enthralled her community with its passionate and radical sermons. [131][132] Juster calls the Friend a "spiritual transvestite", and says that followers considered the Friend's androgynous clothing congruent with the genderless spirit which they believed animated the preacher. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Dec 2021 - Dec 20211 month. [10], The Friend asked not to be referred to with gendered pronouns. Learn about the Founding Fathers religious views and then read about the Oregon women who took control of government during the Petticoat Revolution. The life of the Public Universal Friend and the Friend's church offer important insights about changes to religious life, gender, and society in Revolutionary America. Check them out here:. Jemima Wilkinson, 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.), American religious leader who founded an unorthodox Christian sect, the Universal Friends, many of whose adherents declared her a messiah. [12] Most papers focused more on the preacher's ambiguous gender than on theology,[65][66] which was broadly similar to the teachings of most Quakers;[67][68] one person who heard the Friend in 1788 said "from common report I expected to hear something out of the way in doctrine, which is not the case, in fact [I] heard nothing but what is common among preachers" in mainstream Quaker churches. As Wilkinson lay sick, New England experienced a burgeoning religious enthusiasm known as the First Great Awakening. The Public Universal Friend described themself as a genderless spirit sent by God to inhabit the resurrected body of a woman named Jemima Wilkinson. Nineteenth-century historians researched their life and tried to determine the truth. Many of these historians rejected the Friend as a true religious leader, and claimed that they led a religious hoax. The Public Universal Friend wasnt the only 18th-century American to embrace non-traditional religious beliefs. At this time there would have been expectations of marriage, Moyer said. [96] Separately, Thomas Hathaway and Benedict Robinson had purchased a site in 1789 along a creek which they named Brook Kedron that emptied into the Crooked Lake (Keuka Lake). In October 1776, Public Universal Friend became a preacher and set out to call for repentance, equality, and advocate that all people had free will. America in the run-up to the Revolutionary War wasn't just a period of dramatic political change, it was also a time of great religious and social instability, anxiety and experimentation. No one knows where shes buried for sure.. The figure has become local lore in the county, where some descendants of the Friends followers still live. At one point, someone asked if the Friend identified as either male or female, according to a letter that appeared in a Philadelphia newspaper, Moyer said. [22][21], From that time on, the person formerly known as Jemima Wilkinson refused to answer to that name any longer,[31][32] ignoring or chastising those who insisted on using it. The Public Universal Friend instead asserted that it was every persons right to speak their mind. The Public Universal Friend is an exploration of the development, culture, and tenants of the sect, so aside from the occasional repetition, the lack of a chronological order is appropriate. Experienced in data, IT systems and in social leadership, I am passionate about creating positive impact through technology. Judge William Potter and James Parker, two of the Friends earliest followers, balked at the idea of a completely communal society. [22][21] The fever broke after several days. In Philadelphia, the prophet caused a riot. 12, 18; Brekus (2000), p. 82; originally spelled. Wilkinson reportedly died in 1776 and said that his soul was reborn under the name "Publick Universal Friend." In December 2019, the Wikipedia entry for . Unidentified African American woman in uniform, 1861. In androgynous clothes, the Friend preached throughout the northeastern United States, attracting many followers who became the Society of Universal Friends.[5]. The Friend was drawn to the intensity of their meetings. [126][127] One widespread allegation which sparked much hostility was the accusation that the preacher claimed to be Jesus; the Friend and the Universal Friends repeatedly denied this accusation. But the Friends refusal to adhere to traditional gender roles made them an outsider with both men and women religious leaders. Becoming the Public Universal Friend kind of allows her to escape all that. The settlement led the Society of Universal Friends to become insulated, and prevented it from gaining new members. Engraving. [139][137] Scott Larson, disagreeing with narratives that place the Public Universal Friend into the gender binary as a woman, writes that the Friend can be understood as a chapter in trans history "before 'transgender'". [15][19] Amid these family disturbances and the broader ones of the American Revolutionary War, dissatisfied with the New Light Baptists and shunned by mainstream Quakers, Jemima Wilkinson faced much stress in 1776. In the 1790s, the Society formed the town of Jerusalem, New York, near Penn Yan. Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, mission specialist, carries her son Wilson Miles-Ochoa following the STS-96 crew return at Ellington Field. [128][129], Modern writers have often portrayed the Friend as a pioneer, an early figure in the history of women's rights (a view taken by Susan Juster and Catherine Brekus) or in transgender history (a view explored by Scott Larson and Rachel Hope Cleves). Let's connect and explore how we can collaborate to drive positive change! "The Public Universal Friend (November 29, 1752 - July 1, 1819) was an American preacher born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, to Quaker parents," the Wikipedia article reads at time of publication. Specifically, the Friend referenced the Bible verse Galatians 3:28: There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus., During sermons, the prophet also quoted Jeremiah 31:22: the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, a woman shall compass a man.. [14][10][5] Little else is reliably known about Wilkinson's childhood; some early accounts such as Hudson's describe Jemima Wilkinson as being fond of fine clothes and averse to labor, but there is no contemporaneous evidence of this and Wisbey considers it doubtful. [67][68] Calling for the abolition of slavery,[71][72][73] the Friend persuaded followers who held people in slavery to free them. And in the midst of it all there arose a self-proclaimed genderless prophet the Public Universal Friend. They were smeared as an "arrogant, assuming, and presumptuous woman," but the Friend persevered and founded a religious society that garnered hundreds of followers. 01 Jun 2023 04:42:21 2-5, 53; Moyer (2015), pp. She read from the works of Quakers, a religious group to which her family belonged, and she never married. Jeremiah Wilkinson was a cousin of Stephen Hopkins, the colony's longtime governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence. experienced a burgeoning religious enthusiasm. When asked directly about their gender, the Friend stated: I am that I am.. For this, the Friend endured hate. While non-binary identities have grown in visibility in recent years, some historians point to characters like the Public Universal Friend as evidence that gender-nonconforming people have always been a part of American society, long before the language existed to recognize them. They also didnt wear the traditional bonnetor head covering women were expected to wear. [c][79][80], The Friend preached sexual abstinence and disfavored marriage, but did not see celibacy as mandatory and accepted marriage, especially as preferable to breaking abstinence outside of wedlock. Teach this document in any lesson about the First Great Awakening. The Public Universal Friend was neither male nor female and refused all gendered pronouns. The Public Universal Friend traveled throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions and continued to preach, slowly building their own community of followers. I think weve just become a little more aware of the magnitude of what the Friend was doing, Noel said. In Revolution-era America, a young heaven-sent prophet, neither male nor female and wearing androgynous robes, sermonized about sin, repentance, and salvation, spoke out against slavery, encouraged sexual abstinence, and promoted the equality of the sexes before God. Wilkinson grew up in a Quaker family and early displayed a strong interest in religion. What drew people to the Universal Friend was not the message but the messenger, Moyer said. [7] The child was given the name Jemima after Jemima, one of the biblical Job's daughters. This outbreak was said to have been brought to the shores of Providence from the Continental navy ship Columbus, and the sickness earned the nickname Columbus fever, according to the Friends own account: A Memorandum of the introduction of that fatal Fever, calld in the Year 1776, The Columbus fever: Since calld the Typhus, or the malignant fever: - The Ship calld Columbus which sailed out of Providence in the State of Rhode Island, Being a Ship of war, on her return brought wither her Prisoners, This Awful, and allarming disease, Of which many of the inhabitants in providence died: And on the fourth of the 10th Month, it reached the house of Jeremia[ah] Wilkison, ten Miles from Providence.. Meet the Public Universal Friend. In 1790 the Friend arrived at the Friends Settlement, which then had a population of 260. [41][42], The Friend dressed in a manner perceived to be either androgynous or masculine,[43][44][45] in long, loose clerical robes which were most often black,[46] and wore a white or purple kerchief or cravat around the neck like men of the time. A few years later, in 1776, the Friend fell ill with a contagious and deadly fever that spread throughout their community. In 1788 some members of the sect, having scouted out the Genesee country of western New York, began a settlement near Seneca Lake. Wilkinson was drawn to this religion until her own great awakening in 1776. They were only eight years old when their mother died. But the person who spoke would no longer be known as Jemima Wilkinson. In his writing, Moyer uses female pronouns when describing Jemima Wilkinson, and male pronouns when describing the Friend. Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City. A gay first lady? English cave may have ties to king-turned-saint and Viking invasion, archaeologists say. By aggregating individual . Followers respected these wishes; they referred only to "the Public Universal Friend" or short forms such as "the Friend" or "P.U.F. [94][95] However, problems arose. The Friend's father never remarried and raised his children on his own. In the 1790s, members of the Society acquired land in Western New York where they formed the town of Jerusalem near Penn Yan, New York. [97][98] The town, which had been known as the Friend's Settlement, therefore came to be called The Gore.[99]. . When a man criticized this manner of dress, saying "the singularity of [your] appearance would excited many remarks" including "some indecent ones", the preacher replied "there is nothing indecent or improper in my dress or appearance; I am not accountable to mortals, I am that I am",[12][13][14] saying the same thing ("I am that I am") when someone asked if the Friend was male or female. [6] The Friend's theology was broadly similar to that of other Quakers, believing in free will, actively opposing slavery, and supporting sexual abstinence. But while the messenger was unique; the message was not. In The Public Universal Friend, Paul B. Moyer tells the story of Wilkinson and her remarkable church, the Society of Universal Friends. The Public Universal Friend viewed themselves as a holy spirit inhabiting a human body, and the message they spread was not so different from the tenets of the Quaker religion. Indeed, the Public Universal Friend espoused gender nonconformity before there was even a word to describe it. Ep 1: Queer Joy with Rachel Rothenberg. not to be referred to with gendered pronouns, A genderless prophet drew hundreds of followers long before the age of nonbinary pronouns, https://nonbinary.wiki/w/index.php?title=Public_Universal_Friend&oldid=33225, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0), establishing a Christian religious movement, the Society of Universal Friends, This page was last edited 13:54, 10 July 2022 by Nonbinary Wiki user. Packing for a 3 day trip is a form of torture. Still, it would be historically inaccurate to use they/them pronouns when referring to the figure, said Paul B. Moyer, who wrote a book about 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 Friends use. [14][10][5] The meetings attracted large audiences, including some who formed a congregation of "Universal Friends", making the Friend the first American to found a religious community. But this plan ultimately failed. They died on July 1, 1819. The preacher shunned the name completely, having friends hold realty in trust rather than see the name on deeds and titles. [74][75] Several members of the congregation of Universal Friends were black, and they acted as witnesses for manumission papers. [61] These followers included roughly equal numbers of women and men who were predominantly under 40. The Public Universal Friends gender presentation caused curiosity and anger, and it was a radical challenge to the status quo that the Friend was not willing to be bound by the customs of the community. [88][89], In October 1794, the Friend and several followers dined with Thomas Morris (son of financier Robert Morris) in Canandaigua at the invitation of Timothy Pickering, and accompanied him to talks with the Iroquois aimed at producing the Treaty of Canandaigua. Public Universal Friend, Women and the American Story. Yates County History CenterThe Public Universal Friend was the first non-binary preacher in American history. After a decade-plus solo career, PUF's 2021 debut PERENNIALS served as a coming out record for Friend, disclosing her gay trans womanhood by way of its release. As a child, the person was strong and athletic, loved animals, and was an adept rider and avid reader. Born Jemima Wilkinson in 1752 and reborn the Public Universal Friend in 1776. [55][56] According to Abner Brownell, the preacher predicted that the fulfillment of some prophecies of Revelation would begin around April 1780, 42 months after the Universal Friend began preaching, and interpreted New England's Dark Day in May 1780 as fulfillment of that prediction. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. "Reborn" in their place was the Public Universal Friend, neither male nor female. In 1796, Western New York represented an untamed wilderness to colonial Americans. The Friend also treated wounded soldiers on both sides of the Revolution. On the debut episode, I sit down with my friend Rachel Rothenberg and we talk about feeling queer joy, making friends as an adult, WASPs, and building inner worlds when we were kids. Holding worship meetings around Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania, this preacher attracted a fervent following and went on to found a new religious society. [121][122][123] These writers circulated myths of the Friend despotically bossing followers around or banishing them for years, making married followers divorce, taking their property, or even attempting and failing to raise the dead or walk on water; there is no contemporaneous evidence for these stories, and people who knew the Friend, including some who were never followers, said the rumors were false. no. The Friend passed away in 1819. Edward Hicks/National Gallery of ArtThe Public Universal Friend followed the Quaker ideal of a peaceable kingdom but shirked more passive Quaker ideas like censuring. Jarena Lee, 1849. Amid political innovation and social transformation, Revolutionary America was also fertile ground for religious upheaval, as self-proclaimed visionaries and prophets established . [50][51], The Friend began to travel and preach throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania accompanied by brother Stephen and sisters Deborah, Elizabeth, Marcy,[e] and Patience, all of whom were disowned by the Society of Friends. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Join our Discord server! The sect was born in 1776. Large crowds would come out to hear the Friends sermons. PENN YAN The Public Universal Friend and the Friend's followers were the first non-native group to permanently settle the area that is now Yates County. They were part of a larger religious movement that historians now call the First Great Awakening, a movement in which religious enthusiasm spiked and people came up with new ways of worshipping. The Public Universal Friend is an elegantly written and comprehensive history of an important and too little known figure in the spiritual landscape of early America. Nevertheless, Philadelphia papers printed an embellished version of the accusation and several follow-ups, with critics alleging the attack must have had the Friend's approval, and the story eventually morphing into one in which the Friend (who was in a different state at the time) strangled Wilson. While we don't know the role gender identity played in Sampson joining the military at a time when women had little economic or personal freedom, it's clear her actions transgressed accepted gender norms. The Public Universal Friend: The First US Nonbinary EmperorTigerstar 450K subscribers Subscribe 43K views 7 months ago Video Sponsored by Ridge Wallet. Their body was placed in a stone vault in the cellar of their house. They died on July 1, 1819. Prior to their transformation to a preacher, the Public Universal Friend was born as Jemima Wilkinson in 1752 to a Quaker family in Rhode Island. The Friend was the eighth child of twelve. 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. [120] The first view was taken by many writers in the 18th and 19th centuries, including David Hudson, whose hostile and inaccurate biography (written to influence a court case over the Society's land) was long influential. [102] Judge William Potter, Ontario County magistrate James Parker, and several disillusioned former followers led several attempts to arrest the Friend for blasphemy,[103] which some writers argue was motivated by disagreements over land ownership and power. [17][18][16], The Public Universal Friend rejected the ideas of predestination and election, held that anyone regardless of gender could gain access to God's light and that God spoke directly to individuals who had free will to choose how to act and believe, and believed in the possibility of universal salvation. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [84][45] The Friend entrusted Richards with holding the society's property in trust,[85] and sent her to preach in one part of the country when the Friend was in another. Women were sometimes even invited to preach. Gertrude Kasebier (photographer), Zitkala Sa, Sioux Indian and activist, c. 1898. So it made sense that the bulk of the Friends doctrine was a combination of Quaker and Baptist beliefs. They were the primary audiences of religious meetings and were sometimes invited to preach. [59], The Friend did not bring a Bible to worship meetings, which were initially held outdoors or in borrowed meeting houses,[60] but preached long sections of the scriptures from memory. The Friend survived, but they were transformed by the experience. The figure would be known simply as the Public Universal Friend.. [62] Most were from Quaker backgrounds, though mainstream Quakers discouraged and disciplined members for attending meetings with the Friend. We love to hear from our listeners! Even when a lawyer insisted that the person's Will should identify its subject as having been born under the birth name, the preacher refused to sign that name, only making an X which others witnessed, despite being able to read and write. State governments, airlines and school districts across the country have begun offering a gender option of X. Merriam-Webster officially adopted the use of the non-binary pronoun they, which it also declared the 2019 word of the year. [103] A third attempt was carefully planned by a posse of 30 men who surrounded the home after midnight, broke down the door with an ax, and intended to carry the preacher off in an oxcart. Still, the figure drew significant criticism, particularly in Philadelphia, where rioters threw sticks and bricks at the home where the Friend was lodging. A growing group of Americans today are identifying as genders other than male or female. But that does not make it any less sincere, he said. The Public Universal Friends awakening occurred against the backdrop of the, Invite students to read this life story along with the life story of, It can be difficult for todays students to understand why colonial communities were so concerned with gender identity. But the Friend was not deterred. Public Universal Friend, a band name inspired by a 1770s Rhode Island evangelist who rejected gender pronouns, released its debut album, "Perennials," in 2021. [69] The Friend's theology was so similar to that of the mainstream Quakers' that one of two published works associated with the preacher was a plagiarism of Isaac Penington's Works because, according to Abner Brownell, the Friend felt that the sentiments would have more resonance if republished in the name of the Universal Friend. The Public Universal Friend [a] (born Jemima Wilkinson; November 29, 1752 - July 1, 1819) was an American preacher born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, to Quaker parents. The Friend's theology was broadly similar to that of most Quakers. A history lesson for Trump: Transgender soldiers served in the Civil War. The Friend mandated that women should be expected to obey only God and not men and encouraged celibacy. Note: Out of respect for the subject of this profile, we use the pronouns they/them/their and their preferred name of the Public Universal Friend (the Friend) throughout the life story. Quick Facts Location: Jerusalem, NY Significance: residence of the Public Universal Friend, American preacher who defied binary gender norms Designation: National Register of Historic Places OPEN TO PUBLIC: No The Friend's Home was the residence of the Public Universal Friend, an American preacher. [84][86] Richards had a large part in planning and building the house in which she and the preacher lived in the town of Jerusalem,[87] and when she died in 1793, she left her child to the Friend's care. Wilkinson's message was a simple one: humankind stood on the brink of the Apocalypse, but salvation was available to all who accepted God's grace and the authority of his prophet: the Public Universal . The Universal Friends told the world they had left time, because they believed the Friend died in 1776. The Friend quoted scripture to justify being neither male nor female. A mob pelted the Friends residence with bricks. Most of these books refused to use the Friends chosen name, calling them Jemima Wilkinson. By the early 1780s, the Friend had attracted a community of followers who called themselves the Society of Universal Friends and they rode on horseback across the mid-Atlantic region preaching their mission. Cihak and Zima (photographer), Ida B. Wells-Barnett, ca. The Public Universal Friend[a] (born Jemima Wilkinson; November 29, 1752 July 1, 1819) was an American preacher born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, to Quaker parents. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. The Friend suffered declining health after the turn of the century and they died at 66 in 1819. Some attendees were supporters who sought religious salvation. [109] Close followers remained faithful,[112] but they too died over time; the congregation's numbers dwindled due to their inability to attract new converts amid a number of legal and religious disagreements. [64], Popular newspapers and pamphlets covered the Friend's sermons in detail by the mid-1780s,[65][66] with several Philadelphia newspapers being particularly critical; they fomented enough opposition that noisy crowds gathered outside each place the preacher stayed or spoke in 1788. Public Universal Friend (PUF) is an Indianapolis-based art rock band fronted by the queer goth americana matriarch you've been waiting for, Jody Galadriel Friend. The body of the woman, a 23-year-old former Quaker from Rhode Island, suddenly rose from the bed. A portrait of the Public Universal Friend (in black clerical robes and white cravat) from the biography written by David Hudson in 1821. [5] Free Quakers, disowned by the main Society of Friends for participating in the American War of Independence, were particularly sympathetic and opened meeting houses to the Universal Friends, appreciating that many of them had also sympathized with the Patriot cause, including members of the Friend's family. After a decade-plus solo career . Historians have struggled to decide which pronouns to use for the Public Universal Friend. The most committed members of the Society of Universal Friends were a group of unmarried women who took leading roles in their households and community. The Public Universal Friend resided in this home in the Township of Jerusalem, located just northwest of Penn Yan, NY, where they established their religious settlement. PERENNIALS out NOW Public Universal Friend But the prophets gender identity was not a central focus of Moyers research when he wrote the book in 2015, and it wasnt a topic often discussed by the Friend, he said. The Public. [70] The Universal Friends also used language similar to that of the Society of Friends, using thee and thou instead of singular you. The New-Light Baptists were an intensely religious group whose leaders made impassioned speeches and encouraged a radical approach to worshipping God. The Public Universal Friend instead asserted that it was every persons right to speak their mind. [d][23][24][25] The Friend further said that Wilkinson's soul had ascended to heaven and the body had been reanimated with a new spirit charged by God with preaching his word, that of the "Publick Universal Friend",[26][27][28] describing that name in the words of Isaiah 62:2 as "a new name which the mouth of the Lord hath named". But a core group of followers remained devoted until the Friends death, which was likely caused by an illness, in 1819, Noel said. [7] Early biographer David Hudson says that Amy was also a member of the Society for many years,[6]:9 while later biographer Herbert Wisbey finds no evidence of that, but quotes Moses Brown as saying the child was "born such" because of Jeremiah's affiliation. [7] Amy died when Jemima was 12 or 13 in 1764, shortly after giving birth to a twelfth child. Before the Friend came to be, Jemima Wilkinson had been removed from the Quaker church for attending Baptist revivals, Noel said. Just days after leaving the sickbed, the Public Universal Friend donned an unprecedented combo of feminine and masculine clothing and began to preach their mission. Nicols Enrquez de Vargas (artist), Portrait of Sor Juana Ins de la Cruz, ca. In the decades that followed, the Friend would draw hundreds of disciples, traversing New England by horseback while wearing male ministers clothing, according to letters from the time. [111] Obituaries appeared in papers throughout the eastern United States. The king and his husband: The gay history of British royals, Local news, weather, sports, events, restaurants and more, A genderless prophet drew hundreds of followers long before the age of nonbinary pronouns, Spencer Carbery never played in the NHL, but as a coach, he belongs, Facing a bunch of familiar faces, Nationals hold off Phillies, Stephen Strasburg is completely shut down from physical activity again. 13-14, Wisbey (2009), pp. The New Light Baptists also mandated that ordinary people like Wilkinson could communicate with God directly, which elevated ones personal connection with the divine. They were only eight years old when their mother died. NASA on The Commons, via flickr, Home / Settler Colonialism and the American Revolution, 1692-1783 / Settler Colonialism / Life Story: The Public Universal Friend. If you would like to read more on the topic, here's a list: Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and NPR One. [103][102] A doctor who had come with the posse stated that the Friend was in too poor a state of health to be moved, and they made a deal that the Friend would appear before an Ontario county court in June 1800, but not before Justice Parker. [104][102] An officer tried to seize the Friend while riding with Rachel Malin in the Gore, but the Friend, a skilled horse-rider, escaped. Major support for Women & the American Story provided by, Lead support for New-York Historicals teacher programs provided by, Settler Colonialism and the American Revolution, 1692-1783, Mother Esther Marie-Joseph Wheelwright de lEnfant. As a child, the person was strong and athletic, loved animals, and was an adept rider and avid reader. Oil on canvas. The prophets power was a usurpation of male religious authority. The Friends success as a prophet upended traditional gender hierarchies, threatening the norms that put men in charge. This was a movement that inspired colonists to find new ways of worship and presented an opportunity for women to have a stronger voice in church. In part because of this push back, the Friend decided to move to the uncharted wilderness of what is now Yates County, N.Y. They were smeared as an arrogant, assuming, and presumptuous woman, but the Friend persevered and founded a religious society that garnered hundreds of followers. Their story attracted a lot of attention. The Friend persuaded followers who owned people in slavery to free them, and the Society included black people. But one figure challenged those gender norms by rejecting gender completely. [124][125], Another story began at a 1787 meeting, after which Sarah Wilson said Abigail Dayton tried to strangle Wilson while she slept but choked her bedmate Anna Steyers by mistake. "[107][108] In accordance with the Friend's wishes, only a regular meeting and no funeral service was held afterwards. [22][21] The future preacher's family summoned a doctor from Attleboro, six miles away, and neighbors kept up a death-watch at night. At religious meetings, women made up the majority of the audience. [90][91], In the mid-1780s, the Universal Friends began to plan a town for themselves in western New York. Years later, it was removed and buried in an unmarked grave. In the 1790s, they went to the courts to accuse the Friend of blasphemy. And in the exhibit dedicated to the self-proclaimed prophet, visitors can see a copy of the religious leaders will. Wilkinson's message was a simple one: humankind stood on the brink of the Apocalypse, but salvation was available to all who accepted God's grace and the authority of his prophet: the Public Universal Friend. [100] To address the first of these issues, members of the Society of Universal Friends had secured some alternative sites. The prophet refused to fall into binary gender categories. "[11] The Friend wore clothes that contemporaries described as androgynous or masculine, chiefly black robes. They established the town of Jerusalem, where for a time they were able to practice their beliefs without opposition. Moyer, p. 12; Winiarski, p. 430; and Susan Juster, Lisa MacFarlane. Marquis de Chastellux, a French general sent to assist the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, observed the Friends followers were impressed with the belief that she is in her person the savior of the world revived.. In The Public Universal Friend , Paul B. Moyer tells the story of Wilkinson and her remarkable church, the Society of Universal Friends. [5][6] The person suffered a severe illness in 1776 (age 24), and reported having died and been reanimated by God (who proclaimed there was "Room, Room, Room, in the many Mansions of eternal glory for Thee and for everyone") as a genderless evangelist named the Public Universal Friend. They were identified as female at birth and named Jemima Wilkinson. The Public Universal Friend continued preaching until their death on July 1, 1819. They dressed in a combination of male and female clothing, including vests, neckties, and skirts. [7][8], The Friend refused to answer to the previous name any longer,[9] quoted Luke 23:3 ("thou sayest it") when visitors asked if it was the name of the person they were addressing, and ignored or chastised those who insisted on using it. [23][24] The Friend later reported that Jemima Wilkinson had died, receiving revelations from God through two archangels who proclaimed there was "Room, Room, Room, in the many Mansions of eternal glory for Thee and for everyone". Public Universal Friend (PUF) is an Indianapolis-based art rock band fronted by the queer goth americana matriarch you've been waiting for, Jody Galadriel Friend. [12][13] An avid reader,[c] Wilkinson could quote long passages of the Bible and prominent Quaker texts from memory. The Public Universal Friend was a genderless prophet first documented in 1776. Identifying as neither male nor female, the Friend presented as gender nonconforming and rejected gendered pronouns. This week, how the Public Universal Friend rocked society's norms and paved the way for others to reject religious and gender expectations for centuries to come. [15][16][17][18] Jemima Wilkinson's sister Patience was dismissed at the same time for having an illegitimate child; brothers Stephen and Jeptha had been dismissed by the pacifistic Society in May 1776 for training for military service. Many of the Universal Friends believed that the Friend was a savior like Jesus Christ, which led to tension with other religious groups. The transformation from Jemima to Public Universal Friend occurred on the morning of October 10, 1776, following a night of fevered dreams. Wilkinson was one child of 12 in a hardworking farming family. But the history center has seen an uptick in visits and questions about the Friends gender in recent years, and Noel said she has begun trying to shift away from using female pronouns for the Friend. In later years the Friends 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. [47][44] The preacher did not wear a hair-cap indoors, like women of the era,[48][44] and outdoors wore broad-brimmed, low-crowned beaver hats of a style worn by Quaker men. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Thomasine Hall, Women and the American Story. When they were in their early twenties, a religious group called the New-Light Baptists visited their town. [82] The portion of households headed by women in the Society's settlements (20%) was much higher than in surrounding areas. Product Details About the Author Table of Contents What People Are Saying Product Details About the Author Others simply wanted to see the so-called spiritual being who was neither male nor female. After several days on the brink of death, Wilkinson recovered and declared that she had died only to reanimate as a prophet of God. Many in the Friends own time described them as a woman. New-York Historical Society Library. The Universal Friends followers split along predictable lines. New York, New York, United States. The Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society's museums in Penn Yan exhibit the Friend's portrait, Bible, carriage, hat, saddle, and documents from the Society of Universal Friends. The Friend held dramatic sermons during which disciples would sometimes convulse. Why did the Universal Friends establish their own town in the 1790s? Her body had been reincarnated by God, she said, resurrected as a prophet sent to tell all of humanity that the apocalypse was near. In 1776, a 23-year-old Rhode Island woman named Jemima Wilkinson caught a near-fatal fever. Many of Wilkinsons own family members also left the Quaker faith to follow the Friend, which some scholars have argued points to the power of Jemimas transformation into the Friend. While the Friends followers often used he or him when referring to their religious leader, the evangelist avoided pronouns altogether, signing letters as simply Public Universal Friend or Friend, said Tricia L. Noel, executive director of the Yates County History Center in New York. With Pickering's permission and an interpreter, the Friend gave a speech to the US government officials and Iroquois chiefs about "the Importance of Peace & Love", which was liked by the Iroquois. The second issue, however, came to a head in the fall of 1799. The Society of Universal Friends found its power waning after the death of its leader, and the group had fully disbanded by the late 1860s. Followers respected these wishes, largely avoiding gender-specific pronouns even in private diaries, and referring only to "the Public Universal Friend" or short forms such as "the Friend" or "P.U.F. Kyle Long talks with Jody Friend of Public Universal Friend about the band's debut album "Perennials." The record served as a coming out for Jody, the group's vocalist and . For this, the Friend endured hate. Chien-shiung Wu (1912-1997), professor of physics at Columbia University, 1963. Moyer argues that the Friends genderless nature was primarily due to a religious calling. In 1784, the Friend began to publish advice for their followers, guidelines that they wanted their followers to live by. Critically, obeying the Friends word was also key to salvation. [134][140] Bronski cites the Friend as a rare instance of an early American publicly identifying as non-binary. Gertrude Kasebier, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. They wore mens robes with petticoats underneath and ties with skirts. Impact 100 NYC is a group of 100+ women united by a collaborative approach to charitable giving. The Publick Universal Friend. [39], T. Fleischmann's essay "Time Is the Thing the Body Moves Through" examines the Friend's narrative with an eye to the colonizing nature of evangelism in the US,[141] viewing it as "a way to think through the limitations of imagination as a white settler". They hoped the town would be a safe place to practice their faith and fulfill Gods will, away from the curiosity and critique of the general population. [33][43] Accounts of the Friend's "feminine-masculine tone of voice" varied;[45] some hearers described it as "clear and harmonious", or said the preacher spoke "with ease and facility", "clearly, though without elegance"; others described it as "grum and shrill", or like a "kind of croak, unearthly and sepulchral". [111][113], The Friend's Home and temporary burial chamber stands in the town of Jerusalem, and it is included on the National Register of Historic Places. But in general, the Friend did not spend a lot of time contemplating gender, Moyer said. 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. Furthermore, the lands were in the tract on which Phelps and Gorham defaulted which was resold to financier Robert Morris and then to the Pulteney Association, absentee British speculators. The Friends remaining followers waited to bury the body in case of a second resurrection, and then the Friend was buried in an unmarked grave on the grounds of the Jerusalem colony according to their wishes. Jemima was the victim of an illness that may have been typhus. For some, it offered a way to escape the confined of expected gender roles, and for others, it was a corrosive force. The Historic New Orleans Collection, acc. What influences shaped the Public Universal Friends childhood? Born Jemima Wilkinson, the Friend and their siblings were previously. [81] Most followers did marry, but the portion who did not was significantly above the national average of the time. [107][108], The Friend died on July 1, 1819; the congregation's death book records "25 minutes past 2 on the Clock, The Friend went from here. [38] When someone asked if the Friend was male or female, the preacher replied "I am that I am",[39][40] saying the same thing to a man who criticized the Friend's manner of dress. [57][118], The Friend and followers were pioneers of the area between Seneca and Keuka lakes. September 30, 2021. Public Universal Friend, born Jemima Wilkinson, was an American preacher known for their activism and unorthodox beliefs compared to other Quakers, including rejecting gender-specific pronouns. [103] The officer and an assistant later tried to arrest the preacher at home in Jerusalem, but the women of the house drove the men off and tore their clothes. They traveled throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions and continued to preach, slowly building their own community of followers, who became known as the Universal Friends. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. The Friends increasing influence led to their inclusion in contemporary works documenting religious movements in the revolutionary era: There are also a few in Rhode-Island who adhere to Jemima Wilkinson, who was born in Cumberland. The Public Universal Friend died on 1 July 1819 in Jerusalem. Many modern writers have portrayed the Friend as a pioneering figure in the history of women's rights (like Juster), sometimes even while acknowledging that the Friend defied the idea of gender as binary and as essential or innate (like Catherine Brekus and Catherine Wessinger),[19] or else in transgender history (like Scott Larson and Rachel Hope Cleves). As Paul Moyers explained in his 2015 book The Public Universal Friend, the apostates who led the revolt against the prophet were all men, and their methods mark the gendered nature of the rebellion.. The Friends father never remarried and raised his children on his own. These 9-Pound, Bird-Eating Crabs 'Talk' To Each Other During Sex, Meet Lady Deborah Moody, The 'Dangerous Woman' Who Founded Gravesend, Brooklyn, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Wilkinson grew up in a Quaker family and early displayed a . [143], Portrait from David Hudson's 1821 biography, Beliefs, preaching, and the Society of Universal Friends, Settlement of the Gore and Jerusalem, and legal issues. Whereas Wilkinson was discreetly vague about the exact nature of the Friends 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. [97][98] The community lacked a solid title to enough land for all its members, and some left. While the Public Universal Friend may seem like a unique story, people have lived outside of the gender binary throughout American history. Archives and historical societies such as the Women and the American Story project from the New-York Historical Society; the Archives of Sexuality and Gender through the Gale database, and the LGBT History Records in the National Archives collections have dedicated themselves to exploring these hidden parts of United States history, as a full accounting of this time period is incomplete without them. She gave herself a small education through books. In the 1790s, the Friend and the Universal Friends established the town of Jerusalem in New York. [133][135] Catherine Wessinger, Brekus, and others state that the Friend defied the idea of gender as binary and as natural and essential or innate,[136][137][138] though Brekus and Juster argue that the Friend nonetheless reinforced views of male superiority by "dressing like a man" and repeatedly insisting on not being a woman. The Public Universal Friend was born in Rhode Island on November 29, 1752. Joyce Appleby, Eileen Chang, Neva Goodwin. This pioneering Howard dean lived with another woman in the 1930s. The wealthy men broke from the Society, leaving behind the poor men, the celibate women, and the ailing people. . The Society of Universal Friends ceased to exist by the 1860s. [92] By late 1788, vanguard members of the Society had established a settlement in the Genesee River area; by March 1790, it was ready enough that the rest of the Universal Friends set out to join it,[92][93] making it the largest non-Native community in western New York. Despite the open criticism, the Friends following continued to gather members and made a plan to establish a settlement in Western New York. Jemima Wilkinson, 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.), American religious leader who founded an unorthodox Christian sect, the Universal Friends, many of whose adherents declared her a messiah. With the prophet went the Society. Jemima Wilkinson was living in Cumberland, Rhode Island in 1776 and she contracted typhus, which was introduced into the area by . They were a staunch abolitionist and called for the rights of women. What made the Friend different from other preachers of the era? When members of the Wilkinson family joined in the war effort anyway, many of them were expelled from their Quaker sect. 1985.212. It is said by those who are intimately acquainted with them, that they assert, that in October 1776, they were taken sick and actually died, and their soul went to Heaven, where it still continues. Is part of this transformation based on some sort of psychological desire for her to escape this role of being a wife and a mother that shes on the verge of entering into?, Perhaps, Moyer speculates. Represented the Israeli Air Force in a delegation to the USA. [101] The new town which the Universal Friends began there came to be called Jerusalem. 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. All too often, Moyer points out how possession of a female body interfered with work of God's Messenger in the . Almost immediately after their rebirth, the Friend began to preach publicly about their spiritual awakening. The Friend tried to quell the property dispute but to no avail. However, Jemimas life was that of a typical Quaker colonist, with no indication of the iconic figure they would become. Identifying as neither male nor female, the Friend presented as gender nonconforming and rejected gendered pronouns. [126][127] Steyers denied anything had happened, and others present attributed Wilson's fears to a nightmare. I am always seeking new challenges and opportunities to make a difference. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. The last page of the Public Universal Friend's will. The Society of Universal Friends disappeared by the 1860s. But disputes within the Society threatened to destroy the utopian community. In November 1784 a pamphlet entitled The Universal Friends Advice to Those of the Same Religious Society was published, describing the religious teachings and practices of the Friends sect. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jemima-Wilkinson. Growing up, the Friend attended the local Quaker meeting. G. Schouten/Wikimedia CommonsPrior to the Friends awakening, Quaker women had already taken leadership roles in their communities. . To help clarify the stakes of gender identity in the English colonies, pair this life story with. They told their family that they had died and the Spirit of God had brought them back to life as a new person who was neither male nor female. Further reading about the Public Universal Friend can often be found under the birth name of Jemima Wilkinson. Like many Quakers, the Friend opposed slavery, encouraged celibacy (but did not mandate it) and elevated women to leadership positions. [7] Jeremiah attended traditional worship with the Society of Friends (the Quakers) at the Smithfield Meeting House. 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. Edward T. James, Janet Wilson James, Paul S. Boyer, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, tract on which Phelps and Gorham defaulted, Yates County Genealogical and Historical Society, A genderless prophet drew hundreds of followers long before the age of nonbinary pronouns, Saints, Sinners and Reformers: The Burned-Over District Re-Visited, Yates County Genealogical & Historical Society Sesquicentennial Celebration 18602010, Jemima Wilkinson, Elusive Messiah by Robert Boucheron, "T Fleischmann Explores the Murky Relationships That Make Us Who We Are", "Jemima Wilkinson: Celibacy and the Communal Life, The Re-Incarnation of the Divine in Female Form, 17581819", "Incorporation Papers for Universal Friends", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Public_Universal_Friend&oldid=1153419890, This page was last edited on 6 May 2023, at 06:50. One ex-follower testified that the Friend said her word should be a law., Interestingly, those who were most vocal about defaming the Friend were men. [74][75] The Friend preached humility[76] and hospitality towards everyone;[77] kept religious meetings open to the public, and housed and fed visitors, including those who came only out of curiosity[77] and indigenous people, with whom the preacher generally had a cordial relationship. Many rejected the Public Universal Friend. They were born under another, more conventional name and assigned a gender at birth. [15][16] Followers considered the Friend's androgynous clothing consistent with the evangelist's genderless spirit, and Susan Juster and other writers speculate that, for followers, the Friend embodied Paul's statement in Galatians 3:28 that "there is neither male nor female" in Christ. The Public Universal Friend was born in Rhode Island on November 29, 1752. 1890. One hundred years earlier, an intersex person was born in England as Thomas Hall but was raised as Thomasine Hall. Few new followers moved there, and many chose to leave the community because of disputes over land ownership and religious beliefs. According to the Friend, Jemimas soul had passed into heaven, and God had reanimated their body with the spirit of the Friend sent to spread the Quaker gospel. By 1782 his preaching had extended as far as Philadelphia, where The Universal Friends Advice to Those of the Same Religious Society, largely a compilation of biblical quotations for use in meetings, was published in 1784. | Learn more about Ella Ben Moshe's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn Sarah, together with her infant daughter, took up residence with the Friend, adopted a similarly androgynous hairstyle, dress, and mannerisms (as did a few other close female friends), and came to be called Sarah Friend. Smithsonian Institute Archives Image # SIA 2010-1509. Cookies help us deliver our services. Yes, weve already had one, and here are her love letters. [c][36] Hudson says that when visitors asked if it was the name of the person they were addressing, the Friend simply quoted Luke 23:3 ("thou sayest it"). As women became more emboldened by this Great Awakening, many of them also saw the Friends mission as an opportunity for them to exert their independence. After suffering a severe illness in 1776, the Friend claimed to have died and been reanimated as a genderless evangelist named the Public Universal Friend, and afterward shunned . This new person was called the Public Universal Friend and lived only to serve God. Fascination with the Friend continued long after their death. [8] Jemima's great-grandfather, Lawrence Wilkinson, was an officer in the army of Charles I who had emigrated from England around 1650[9] and was active in colonial government. The charismatic figure managed to convince wealthy, powerful families across New England to give up lucrative careers and follow the group, known as the Society of Universal Friends, Noel said. This article was published more than3 years ago. [62] The preacher also held that women should "obey God rather than men",[80] and the most committed followers included roughly four dozen unmarried women known as the Faithful Sisterhood who took on leading roles of the sort which were often reserved to men. June 7, 1999. [83], Around 1785, the Friend met Sarah and Abraham Richards. They encouraged the Universal Friends to honor Gods teachings, treat others as they wished to be treated, and pursue a righteous and peaceful life. The New York Public Library is a 501(c)(3) | EIN 13-1887440, Who Was the Public Universal Friend? After a life-threatening struggle with Columbus fever, Jemima took on a new identity. [103][105] When the Friend appeared before the court, it ruled that no indictable offense had been committed, and invited the preacher to give a sermon to those in attendance. By using our services, you agree to our use of cookies. [103][105][106], The Public Universal Friend's health had been declining since the turn of the century; by 1816 the preacher had begun to suffer from a painful edema, but continued to receive visitors and give sermons. But theres no question that the Friend encouraged more women than ever before to truly have their voices heard. [10], In the mid-1770s, Jemima Wilkinson began attending meetings in Cumberland with New Light Baptists who had formed as part of the Great Awakening and emphasized individual enlightenment,[15] and stopped attending meetings of the Society of Friends being disciplined for that in February 1776 and disowned by the Smithfield Meeting in August. 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