Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal FriendAt 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. |
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User Review - DarthDeverell - LibraryThingIn his account of Jemima Wilkinson, who called herself the Public Universal Friend, Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr. worked to write a concise history that cut through much of the tall-tales and lore that ... Read full review
Jemima Wilkinson is the most underappreciated figure in all of modern continental American History. She was the first settler of the Finger Lakes region of New York in 1790, and she brought the Quaker legacy into New York. She founded Jerusalem, which is now Penn Yan, NY.
The Indigenous Iroquois Tribe saw her as Chieftain. She made peace during a time when the Tribe was sore from genocides during the American Revolutionary War.
Herbert Wisbey writes a powerful account, with scholarly verification which authenticates the fact that the Prophet of America was in fact a woman who left time either on 9th October 1776 (becoming the PUBLICK UNIVERSAL FRIEND), or 1st july 1819, depending on your perspective of life and death.
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Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend Herbert A. Wisbey Limited preview - 2018 |
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Bibliographic information
| Title | Pioneer Prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend |
| Author | Herbert A. Wisbey, Jr. |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint |
| Publisher | Cornell University Press, 2009 |
| ISBN | 0801475511, 9780801475511 |
| Length | 232 pages |
| Subjects | › › › Body, Mind & Spirit / Prophecy History / United States / State & Local / General History / United States / State & Local / Middle Atlantic (DC, DE, MD, NJ, NY, PA) |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |