Editing Ann Lee

{{Short description|Founder of the Shakers (1736–1784)}}
{{For|other people with the same name|Ann Lee (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Mother Ann|the rock formation|Mother Ann (rock formation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = [[Mother#Religious|Mother]]
| name               = Ann Lee
| image              = Ann Lee.png<!---- There have been multiple attempts to add a photograph that is identified as Ann Lee, but photography wasn't invented yet. Please don't add a photograph to this article. See talkpage to discuss.----->
| caption            = Engraving {{circa}} 1871, believed by 19th-century Shakers to be a "[[psychometric]]" portrait of Ann Lee
| birth_name         = Ann Lees
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1736|2|29}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ann Lee  |url=https://www.nps.gov/people/ann-lee.htm |access-date=2024-04-22 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>
| birth_place        = [[Manchester]], England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1784|9|8|1736|1|29}}
| death_place        = [[Watervliet (town), New York|Watervliet, New York]], U.S.
| burial_place       = [[Watervliet Shaker Historic District|Watervliet Shaker Village]], [[Colonie, New York]]
| burial_coordinates = {{coord|42.73909|-73.81637|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| other_names        = Ann Elizabeth Lees<br>Ann Standerin
| spouse             = Abraham Standerin (separated {{circa|1775}})
| children           = 4 (all died in infancy)
| relatives          = William Lee (brother)<br>Nancy Lee (niece)
| parents            = John Lees, Ann<ref name="Francis2001">{{Cite book |last=Francis |first=Richard |url=http://archive.org/details/annwordstory00fran |title=Ann, the Word : the story of Ann Lee, female messiah, mother of the Shakers, the woman clothed with the sun |date=2001 |publisher=New York : Arcade Pub. : Distributed by Time Warner Trade Pub. |isbn=978-1-55970-562-2}}</ref>
| occupation         = {{hlist|Founder of the [[Shakers]]|preacher|singer|[[missionary]]}}
| years_active       = 1758–1784
| module             = {{Infobox religious biography |child=yes
| religion         = Christianity
| denomination     = [[Shakers|Shaker]]
}}
| signature          = Ann Lee sign.gif
}}

{{Shakers sidebar}}
'''Ann Lee''' (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as '''Mother Ann Lee''', was the founding leader of the [[Shakers]], later changed to United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing following her death. She was born during the [[First_Great_Awakening|Evangelical revival in England]] and greatly influenced religion of that time, especially in the Americas.

In 1774, after nearly two decades of participation in a religious movement that became the Shakers, Ann Lee and a small group of her followers emigrated from England to New York. After several years, they gathered at [[Niskayuna, New York|Niskayuna]], renting land from the [[Manor of Rensselaerswyck]], [[Albany County, New York|Albany County]], New York (the area now called [[Watervliet_Shaker_Historic_District|Colonie]]). They worshiped by ecstatic dancing or "shaking", which resulted in their being dubbed the Shakers. Ann Lee preached to the public and led the Shaker church at a time when few women were religious leaders.<ref>In addition to Ann Lee, only nine women preachers have been identified before 1800. Catherine A. Brekus, ''Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740–1845'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1998), 343–46.</ref> She was often referred to as, and considered, the female representation of God.

==Early history==
{{wide image|Manchester1746panoramic.jpg|1009px|Manchester at Ann Lee's time (1746) panorama |alt=Panorama of Manchester in 1746}}
Ann Lee was born in [[Manchester]], England, the second child of eight born to her parents. She was baptized privately at Manchester Collegiate Church (now [[Manchester Cathedral]]) on 1 June 1742,<ref>MS 12/1, Manchester Cathedral Archive</ref> at the age of 6. It has been claimed that her parents were members of a distinct branch of the [[Quakers]] and too poor to afford their children even the rudiments of education,<ref>{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Lee, Ann}}</ref> but this has been disputed because scholars have been unable to find her name in relevant records.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gee |first=Tim |date=2026 |title=Ann Lee Was Never a Quaker: Here's the Evidence |url=https://www.friendsjournal.org/ann-lee-was-never-a-quaker-heres-the-evidence/ |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Friends Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> Ann Lee received no formal education, and remained [[illiterate]] throughout her life. Ann Lee's father, John Lees, was a [[blacksmith]] during the day and a tailor at night.

It is probable that Ann Lee's original surname was Lees but was changed at some point to Lee. Little is known about her mother other than that she was very religious and pious. As often happened in those days, her mother's name was not even recorded.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Mother Anne Lee: Morning star of the shakers|last=Campion|first=Nardi|publisher=University Press of New England|year=1990|isbn=0874515270|location=Hanover, NH|pages=[https://archive.org/details/motherannleemorn0000camp/page/2 2]|url=https://archive.org/details/motherannleemorn0000camp/page/2}}</ref> When Ann was young, she worked in a cotton mill, then as a cutter of hatter's fur. At the age of 20 she worked in a much less dangerous occupation, as a cook in a Manchester [[hospital|infirmary]], which was also the local insane asylum.

In 1758, she joined an English [[sect]] founded in 1747 by [[Jane Wardley]] and her husband, preacher James Wardley, which was the precursor to the Shaker sect.<ref>{{citation |last=Campion |first=Nardi Reeder |title=Ann the Word: The Life of Mother Ann Lee, Founder of the Shakers |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-316-12767-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/annwordlifeo00camp }}</ref> That sect was commonly known as the Shaking Quakers due to their similarities to the Quaker faith, but also their practice of cleansing from sin through chanting and dancing. Jane and James believed that the Second Coming was imminent and that God would return in the form of a woman. Ann Lee proclaimed herself to be that woman, and later received her title of "Mother" due to that belief. Ann believed, and taught her followers, that it was possible to attain perfect holiness by giving up sexual relations because she believed sexual relations to be the great sin of [[Adam and Eve]]. Like her predecessors, the Wardleys, she taught that the shaking and trembling was caused by sin being purged from the body by the power of the [[Holy Spirit]], purifying the worshiper.

Beginning during her youth, Ann Lee was uncomfortable with sexuality, especially her own. That was partly due to her experience living and working in the city, seeing the sin around her. Her repulsion towards sexual activity continued and manifested itself in her repeated attempts to avoid marriage. Eventually, her father forced her to marry Abraham Stanley (or Abraham Standarin).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lee, Ann (1736-1784)|url=https://shakermuseum.us/people/?id=392|access-date=2021-12-09|website=Shaker Museum|language=en-US}}</ref> They were married on 5 January 1761 at Manchester Collegiate Church.<ref>MS 13/3, Manchester Cathedral Archive</ref> She became [[pregnant]] four times, but all of her children died during infancy. Her difficult pregnancies and the loss of four children were traumatic experiences that contributed to Lee's dislike of sexual relations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kern |first=Louis J. |title=An Ordered Love: Sex Roles and Sexuality in Victorian Utopias: The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida community |url=https://archive.org/details/orderedlovesexro0000kern |url-access=registration |location=Chapel Hill |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |year=1981 |isbn=978-0-8078-1443-7}}</ref>

Those losses also led her to truly question and solidify her beliefs. Lee developed radical religious convictions that advocated [[celibacy]] and the abandonment of marriage, as well as the importance of pursuing perfection in every facet of life. She differed from the Quakers, who, though they supported [[gender equality]], did not believe in forbidding sexuality within marriage. The shaking Quakers also believed in an inner light and personal revelation, which was in common with the Quakers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2008-12-20 |title=Ann Lee |url=https://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2008/12/ann-lee.html |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=History of American Women |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Rise to prominence==
In England, Ann Lee rose to prominence by urging other believers to preach more publicly concerning the imminent [[second coming]], and to attack sin more boldly and unconventionally. She spoke of visions and messages from God, claiming that she had received in a vision from God the message that celibacy and confession of sin are the only true road to salvation and the only way in which the Kingdom of God could be established on the earth. She was frequently imprisoned for breaking the [[Sabbath]] by dancing and shouting, and for [[blasphemy]].<ref name="Francis2001 /> 

She claimed to have had many miraculous escapes from death. She told of being examined by four clergymen of the [[Established Church]], boasting that she spoke to them for four hours in 72 tongues.<ref>{{cite book |title=American History Companion: The Reader's Companion to American History |chapter=Ann Lee |chapter-url=http://www.answers.com/topic/ann-lee |page=[https://archive.org/details/readerscompanion00fone/page/646 646] |editor2-last=Garraty |editor2-first=John A. |editor1-last=Foner |editor1-first=Eric |year=1991 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-395-51372-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/readerscompanion00fone/page/646 }}</ref>

While in prison in Manchester for 14 days, she said she had a revelation that "a complete cross against the lusts of generation, added to a full and explicit confession, before witnesses, of all the sins committed under its influence, was the only possible remedy and means of salvation." She claimed to have seen a vision of [[Adam and Eve]] which told her that sexual relations were the root of all evil, and that she would be the second appearance of Christ. After this, probably in 1770, she was chosen by the Society as "Mother in spiritual things" and called herself "Mother Ann" and also "Ann, the Word", as in "the Word of God". [https://biblehub.com/niv/john/1.htm] After being released from prison a second time, witnesses say Mother Ann performed a number of miracles, including healing the sick.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Lee eventually decided to leave England for America in order to escape the persecution (i.e., multiple arrests and stays in prison) she experienced in Great Britain. She also saw the religious Awakening in the Americas and felt called to share her beliefs and religion.

==Move to America==
[[File:A group of Shakers.jpg|thumb|A group of Shakers, published in 1875]]
In 1774, a revelation led her to take a select band to America. She was accompanied by her husband, who soon afterwards deserted her. Also following her to America were her brother, William Lee (1740–1784); Nancy Lee, her niece; James Whittaker (1751–1787), who had been brought up by Mother Ann and was probably related to her; John Hocknell (1723–1799), who provided the funds for the trip; his son, Richard; James Shepherd; and Mary Partington. These nine members sailed aboard the ''Mariah'', landing in New York City. Mother Ann and her converts arrived on 6 August 1774 after three months of sailing.<ref name=":1" /> They stayed for nearly five years. In 1779, Hocknell leased land at [[Niskayuna, New York|Niskayuna]] in the township of [[Watervliet (town), New York|Watervliet]], near [[Albany, New York|Albany]]. The Shakers settled there, and a unique community life began to develop and thrive.<ref name="Francis2001" /> 

During the [[American Revolution]], Lee and her followers maintained a stance of neutrality. Maintaining the position that they were pacifists, Ann Lee and her followers did not side with either the British or the colonists. This caused contention towards the Shakers due to their refusal to sign an oath of allegiance.

Ann Lee opened her testimony to the world's people on the famous [[New England's Dark Day|Dark Day]] in May 1780, when the sun disappeared and it was so dark that candles had to be lit to see indoors at noon.<ref name="Francis2001" /> She soon recruited a number of followers who had joined the [[Old and New Lights|New Light]] revival at [[New Lebanon, New York]], in 1779, including [[Lucy Wright]].
[[File:MountWashingtonMA BenjaminOsbornHouse.jpg|left|thumb|Benjamin Osborn's house at Mount Washington]]
Beginning in the spring of 1781, Mother Ann and some of her followers went on an extensive missionary journey to find converts in Massachusetts and Connecticut. They often stayed in the homes of local sympathizers, such as the [[Benjamin Osborn House]] near the New York–Massachusetts line. There were also songs attributed to her which were sung without words.<ref>{{cite web|title=Shaker Music|url=http://www.americanmusicpreservation.com/shakermusicseries.htm |publisher=PineTree Productions}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=A guide to Shaker music: with music supplement|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4wYYAQAAIAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Pinetree|author=Roger L. Hall}}</ref> In this mission they converted many, and 18 Shaker villages emerged. Witnesses recorded that she performed many miracles during this time.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Ann Lee's mission throughout New England was especially successful in converting groups who were already outside the mainstream of New England Protestantism, including followers of [[Shadrack Ireland]]. To the mainstream, however, she was too radical for comfort.<ref>Brekus, ''Strangers and Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740–1845,'' 343–46.</ref> Ann Lee herself recognized how revolutionary her ideas were when she said, "We [the Shakers] are the people who turned the world upside down."{{dubious|date=September 2020}}

The Shakers were sometimes met by violent mobs, such as in [[Shirley, Massachusetts]], and Ann Lee suffered violence at their hands more than once. The mission came to an end when Ann and her brother William were again attacked by a mob, and badly injured. They returned home greatly weakened. William died over a year later on July 21, 1784.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Ann Lee, A Woman of Great Faith |url=https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/ann-lee-a-woman-of-great-faith |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=www.libertymagazine.org|last=Boyko|first=Boris}}</ref> Ann died only a few months later on September 8, 1784 at the age of 48, likely hastened by the events she had undergone including the loss of her brother.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Francis2001" /> She died at Watervliet and both William and Ann are buried in the Shaker cemetery located in the [[Watervliet Shaker Historic District]].<ref name="Miller">Landmarks of American women's history, Chapter: Watervliet Shaker Historic District, Page Putnam Miller, Oxford University Press US, 2003, pp. 36 ff.</ref> It was recorded that in her final days, Ann was "singing in unknown tongues"<ref name=":1" /> while sitting in her rocking chair.

The followers of Mother Ann came to believe that she embodied all the perfections of God in female form<ref name="Bishop">Rufus Bishop and Seth Youngs Wells, comps., ''Testimonies of the Life, Character, Revelations and Doctrines of our Ever Blessed Mother Ann Lee'' (Hancock, Massachusetts: J. Talcott and J. Deming, Junrs., 1816); Seth Youngs Wells, comp., ''Testimonies Concerning the Character and Ministry of Mother Ann Lee'' (Albany, N.Y.: Packard and Van Benthuysen, 1827).</ref> and was revealed as the "second coming" of Christ.<ref name="Evans">Frederick William Evans. ''[https://archive.org/details/shakerscompendi00conggoog/page/n32 <!-- pg=26 --> Shakers: Compendium of the Origin, History, Principles, Rules and Regulations, Government, and Doctrines of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing: with Biographies of Ann Lee, William Lee, Jas. Whittaker, J. Hocknell, J.&nbsp;Meacham, and Lucy Wright]''. Appleton; 1859. p. 26.</ref> The fact that Ann Lee was considered to be Christ's female counterpart was at the time unique, although several women since then have claimed to be Jesus, and have been accepted as such by their followers.

[[File:Mother Ann Lee tombstone 2006.jpg|thumb|Mother Ann Lee's tombstone]]
It is claimed that Shakers in [[Mount Lebanon Shaker Society|New Lebanon, New York]], experienced a 10-year period of revelations in 1837 called the [[Era of Manifestations]]. It was also referred to as ''Mother Ann's Work''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aune |first1=Michael Bjerknes |last2=DeMarinis |first2=Valerie M. |title=Religious and Social Ritual: Interdisciplinary Explorations |publisher=SUNY Press |year=1996 |isbn=0-7914-2825-7 |page=105}}</ref> However, the Shakers' numbers dwindled with time, and soon the religion gradually all but disappeared. In total 19 official communities were established in the Northeast  additional added in Florida with roughly 6,000 members prior to the Civil War.<ref name=":1" />

== Shaker beliefs ==
{{main|Shakers#Theology}}

Shaker beliefs are aligned heavily with those of the Quakers, such as gender equality, community and pacifism; however, the Shakers differ from the Quakers in their belief in celibacy.

Lee believed that celibacy was preferable to marriage, and within marriage, sex was only appropriate for the procreation of children. After her marriage and the death of four infant children, Lee thought that God was punishing her for engaging in sexual relations with her husband.<ref name="Boyko">{{Cite magazine |last=Boyko |first=Boris |date=January–February 2014 |title=Ann Lee, A Woman of Great Faith |url=https://www.libertymagazine.org/article/ann-lee-a-woman-of-great-faith |magazine=Liberty Magazine}}</ref>

The Shakers were incredibly focused on a utopian community where everything was shared and everyone supported. They gathered in villages and lived in dormitory-style homes, encouraging celibacy. Due to the lack of sexual relations, the Shakers adopted children, and when they reached the age of 21 allowed them to choose to stay in the faith or leave to explore other things, giving the religion a way to continue through generations. They also worked hard to find converts.

The Shakers are known for their industry and inventions, including the screw propeller, [[Babbitt (alloy)|Babbitt metal]], automatic spring and turbine waterwheel. They were the first to package and sell seeds, and were once the largest producers of medicinal herbs. Additionally, they were known for their dances and songs as folk art and their craftsmanship. [[Shaker furniture]] is prized today for its functional beauty and lasting nature.

==Cultural legacy==

Ann Lee is memorialized in:

* The (afterword of the) 1985 novel ''[[A Maggot]]'' by [[John Fowles]]
* A song, "The Heart Of Ann Lee", on the 2010 album ''All This Longing'' by English folk singer-songwriter [[Reg Meuross]]
* ''[[The Testament of Ann Lee]]'', a biographical musical film starring [[Amanda Seyfried]] as Ann Lee and directed by [[Mona Fastvold]], premiered at the [[82nd Venice International Film Festival]] on 1 September 2025. It received favorable reviews.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-testament-of-ann-lee/critic-reviews/| title = The Testament of Ann Lee critic reviews| date = September 14, 2025| access-date = October 22, 2025| website = metacritic. com}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of people who have claimed to be Jesus]]
* {{anl|Messiah complex}}
* {{anl|Millennial Praises}}
* The [[Public Universal Friend]], contemporary leader of another new religious movement

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Campion, Nardi Reeder.  ''Mother Ann Lee: Morning Star of the Shakers'' Publisher: UPNE.  1990.  {{ISBN|0874515270}}
* Francis, Richard (2000). Ann the Word: the story of Ann Lee, female messiah, mother of the Shakers, the woman clothed with the sun. New York : Arcade Pub. : Distributed by Time Warner {{ISBN|1559705620}}
* Hall, Roger Lee. ''Invitation to Zion: A Shaker Music Guide.'' Publisher: PineTree Press, 2017.
* Stein, Stephen J. ''The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers'' (Yale University Press, 1992).  {{ISBN|0300059337}}
* {{Cite Appletons' |last=Hager |first=Jacob Henry |wstitle=Lee, Ann|year=1892|notaref=x |short=x}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Lee, Ann |short=x}}
* {{cite DNB|wstitle=Lee, Ann|first=James McMullen |last=Rigg|volume=32 |short=x}}
* {{BBKL|l/lee_a|band=20|autor=Claus Bernet|spalten=899-911}}

==External links==
* {{Wikiquote-inline}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Anna}}
[[Category:1736 births]]
[[Category:1784 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century apocalypticists]]
[[Category:British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies]]
[[Category:English Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:American Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:Clergy from Manchester]]
[[Category:18th-century Christian mystics]]
[[Category:18th-century English women]]
[[Category:18th-century American women]]
[[Category:People from the Province of New York]]
[[Category:Doctrine and Covenants people]]
[[Category:People from Niskayuna, New York]]
[[Category:People from New Lebanon, New York]]
[[Category:18th-century women Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:18th-century Christian religious leaders]]
[[Category:English Shaker missionaries]]
[[Category:Female Christian missionaries]]
[[Category:Founders of religions]]
[[Category:Deified women]]
[[Category:Women Christian mystics]]
[[Category:Sexual abstinence and religion]]
[[Category:Shaker members]]
[[Category:Christian miracle workers]]
[[Category:Self-declared messiahs]]
[[Category:Deified American people]]
[[Category:Women founders]]
[[Category:Founders of new religious movements]]
[[Category:Christian messianism]]
[[Category:American women religious leaders]]