Mother Ann
Alyssa La Guardia
Biographical Information
- She was born as Ann Lees in February 29, 1736, in Manchester, England.
- She was an unlettered daughter of a blacksmith; later her name was shortened to Ann Lee.
- She was religious, and at the age of 22 she joined a sect called the Shakers (Shaking Quakers).
- She was imprisoned due to religious persecution in England, and later immigrated to America in 1774, where she founded the first Quaker settlement.
- Lee was married, and had 8 children whom all died at birth which lead to her belief in celibacy.
The Shaker Movement
- The Shaker movement was also called the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance.
- It was a movement founded and lead by Ann Lee, whom they referred to as "Mother Ann."
- The Shaker movement began when Ann Lee was persecuted in England for her religious beliefs, which landed her in prison. During this time, she had a vision of the second coming of Christ, and also believed that she was the embodiment of Christ's second appearance in feminine form.
- Mother Ann sought to spread Shakerism throughout America.
- The Shaker movement was very successful, and is still around today, but only a few people still practice Shakerism.
Shaker Beliefs
Shakers lived by four tenets:
- They must live communally.
- They must be celibate.
- They must regularly confess their sins.
- They mus separate themselves from the outside world.
Since they believed in celibacy, rather than reproducing to spread Shaker beliefs, they tried to spread Shakerism by conversion.
Shakers also believed that everything had male and female forms; in their society, gender equality was important to them.
Top 25 U.S. Protestants: Mother Ann Lee (#25)