Pioneer Prophetess Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universial Friend

Fascinating and little-known story of Jemima Wilkinson, the first native-born woman to found an American religious society. She began her ministry in Rhode Island in 1776 at the age of 24, convinced that she had been directed by a vision during a serious illness. She preached for 43 years, and founded a community on Seneca Lake. Based on her letters and journals and other sources, an appendix includes the complete text of her own statement of her beliefs, originally printed as a booklet in 1784, as well as the complete text of the Death Book of the Society of Universal Friends, which contains the names and dates of death of society members.