1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,279 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,640 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:17,360 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy Bee Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. Today we 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:20,319 Speaker 1: are going to talk about a religious figure. That's the 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:24,280 Speaker 1: Public Universal Friend, who described themselves as a genderless spirit 6 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: sent by God to inhabit the resurrected body of a 7 00:00:27,680 --> 00:00:31,120 Speaker 1: woman named Jemima Wilkinson. So the Friend has a clear 8 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: place in the scope of lgbt Q or queer history, 9 00:00:35,400 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: but the details of their story also mean that we 10 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: need to handle their name and pronouns a little differently 11 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: than we have done in other episodes of the show. 12 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 1: We've generally tried to take our cues on names and 13 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,000 Speaker 1: pronouns from our subjects themselves, so sticking as much as 14 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: we can to what they used in their own lives. 15 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:55,360 Speaker 1: And when we've talked about people who have experienced something 16 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: that we might describe as a gender transition, even if 17 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: the idea of transitioning had not really evolved yet, we've 18 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:05,919 Speaker 1: stuck to their post transition name and prodouns. The basic 19 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,640 Speaker 1: idea is that's who they were the whole time, even 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: if that wasn't evident. To other people, and even if 21 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,800 Speaker 1: the subject's own understanding of their gender evolved over time, 22 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: that doesn't exactly work for the public universal friend. Though, 23 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: the friends sincerely believe that Jemima Wilkinson was a different 24 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: living person who had died, and that God had chosen 25 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: to send a genderless celestial being to dwell in Jemima's 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: resurrected body, and that death and resurrection were centrally important 27 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: to the friends religious identity and to the religious community 28 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,680 Speaker 1: they established. So in this case, it doesn't feel right 29 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 1: to frame this episode with just one name instead of pronouns, 30 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: because that wasn't really how the friend approached their own experience. 31 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: The friend didn't answer to the name of Jemima Wilkinson, 32 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: and we won't use that name when we're talking about 33 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: the friend, But Jemima was still an important part of 34 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: this story who we can't simply omit so to tell 35 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: Jemima's story. Jemimah Wilkinson was born on November twenty nine, 36 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:06,639 Speaker 1: seventeen fifty two, and named after one of the daughters 37 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:10,040 Speaker 1: of Job. She was born in Cumberland, Rhode Island, in 38 00:02:10,040 --> 00:02:12,360 Speaker 1: an area that had been part of a dispute between 39 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: Rhode Island and Massachusetts. At one point it was considered 40 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,680 Speaker 1: part of the Massachusetts town of Attleboro. Jemima was the 41 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: eighth child of Jeremiah and Amy Whipple Wilkinson, and the 42 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,520 Speaker 1: Wilkinson's had been living in that area for four generations. 43 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: The Wilkinsons were related to several prominent Rhode Island families, 44 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:34,760 Speaker 1: including Stephen Hopkins, who was governor of Rhode Island Colony 45 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 1: and later one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. 46 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,400 Speaker 1: Their farm was a successful one. Its main cash crop 47 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: was cherries, and the family was so well known for 48 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: these cherries that Jemima's father was nicknamed Cherry Wilkinson. Jemima 49 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:51,560 Speaker 1: had four more siblings that were born after she was 50 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:53,959 Speaker 1: and her mother died shortly after giving birth to the 51 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: last of those children. Jemima was eleven or twelve, and 52 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: her mother had at that point given birth to twelve 53 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: children over the span of twenty five years. Jeremiah never 54 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:07,639 Speaker 1: remarried after his wife's death, and Jemima and her older 55 00:03:07,639 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: sisters took part in raising their younger siblings. The details 56 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,600 Speaker 1: of her childhood and youth aren't that well documented. It's 57 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: likely that she did physical labor on the farm, and 58 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,519 Speaker 1: we do know she became quite skilled at riding a horse. 59 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,600 Speaker 1: She was also described as an attractive young woman and 60 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:27,119 Speaker 1: a voracious reader with a sharp memory. She had very 61 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: little formal education, but through self study she developed a 62 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,800 Speaker 1: deep knowledge of Quaker theology, particularly through the writings of 63 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: figures like George Fox and William Penn. We also know 64 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,720 Speaker 1: that several members of the Wilkinson family had disagreement with 65 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,000 Speaker 1: the Smithfield Friends Meeting that led to their being disowned. 66 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: Jemima grew up as tensions were escalating between Britain and 67 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,040 Speaker 1: its North American colonies. The colony of Rhode Island declared 68 00:03:52,080 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: its independence two months before the rest of the colonies 69 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: did on July four, seventeen seventy six. This situation put 70 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: many Quaker patriotism at odds with their religious pacifism. Jemima's brothers, Benjamin, 71 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: Stephen and Jepso were disowned from the Smithfield Meetings because 72 00:04:09,120 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: they quote frequented trainings for military service and endeavored to 73 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,640 Speaker 1: justify the same. Jemima's sister Patients became pregnant in seventeen 74 00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:20,800 Speaker 1: seventy six, but was not married, and she was disowned 75 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: for this, Jemima ran afoul of the meeting standards as well. 76 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:28,719 Speaker 1: It's believed that she attended a Revival meeting held by 77 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: George Whitefield also sometimes called George Whitfield during his last 78 00:04:33,080 --> 00:04:36,840 Speaker 1: tour of New England in seventeen seventy, although her attendance 79 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: isn't specifically documented at any of them. Sometime after that 80 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:45,400 Speaker 1: she started attending meetings of the New Light Baptists. Both 81 00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:49,279 Speaker 1: the New Lights and the Quakers stressed individual enlightenment and 82 00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:53,200 Speaker 1: conscience as part of their teachings, but the Quaker stressed 83 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: the idea of discussion in consensus when it came to 84 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: matters of theology and determining the scope of God's will. 85 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: The New Lights, on the other hand, believed that everyone 86 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: had equal access to God at any time. There was 87 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: no need to discuss your conversion experience or your beliefs 88 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:12,839 Speaker 1: with anyone else or get their approval for them to 89 00:05:12,880 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: be real and valid. In addition to attending these New 90 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,719 Speaker 1: Light meetings, that appears that Jemima was talking about the 91 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: New Light teachings during her Quaker meetings. She was also 92 00:05:23,440 --> 00:05:27,359 Speaker 1: refusing to use Quaker plain speech, which substituted THEE and 93 00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: thine in place of you and yours. The reasoning for 94 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: this was that when the religious Society of Friends was 95 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:37,599 Speaker 1: being established, people used THEE and thine for close relations, 96 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,919 Speaker 1: but you and yours in a more formal context, including 97 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:43,760 Speaker 1: addressing royalty. This is very similar to the way that 98 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: two versus zoo are used in French today. The Quakers 99 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: believed in the equality of all people and used THEE 100 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: and thine for everyone, regardless of rank, and continued speaking 101 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,360 Speaker 1: this way even as you became more common outside of 102 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: Quaker communities as the prone down to use for everyone. Ironically, 103 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: today the and nine sound very formal, but at the 104 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,640 Speaker 1: time they were thought of as the casual option. By 105 00:06:08,640 --> 00:06:12,160 Speaker 1: the summer of seventeen seventy six, the Smithfield Friends had 106 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: instructed Jemima to stop speaking out of turn. That may 107 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,400 Speaker 1: have also involved her speaking out about the disownment of 108 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,720 Speaker 1: her four siblings. She'd also been instructed to stop going 109 00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: to the New Light Baptist meetings. Jemima refused to do 110 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: any of that, and then, like her siblings before her, 111 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:32,680 Speaker 1: she was disowned from the meeting in August of seventeen 112 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 1: seventy six. There are two different accounts of what happened next. 113 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:41,200 Speaker 1: One is that Jemima threw herself into religious work, including 114 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: ministering to and caring for the sick. The other is 115 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: that she withdrew into her room and became increasingly isolated 116 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: and morose. Either way, on October four, seventeen seventy six, 117 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,760 Speaker 1: she became seriously ill. An account that was tucked into 118 00:06:56,800 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: the public Universal Friends Bible calls this illness a Columbus fever, 119 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 1: described as a typhus outbreak that came from the Navy 120 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: ship Columbus that docked in Providence, Rhode Island in seventeen 121 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: seventy six. The Columbus definitely did dock in Providence, but 122 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: it's less clear whether there was a typhus outbreak that 123 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: spread from the ship. This same account reads quote on 124 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:20,680 Speaker 1: the fourth day of the tenth month, on the seventh 125 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:23,160 Speaker 1: day of the week, at night, a certain young woman 126 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 1: known by the name of Jemima Wilkinson was seized with 127 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:29,320 Speaker 1: this mortal disease, and on the second day of her 128 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: illness was rendered almost incapable of helping herself, and the 129 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: fever continued to increase until the fifth day of the week. 130 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,720 Speaker 1: About midnight, she appeared to meet the shock of death. 131 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: On October tenth, Jemima's family called for a doctor. This 132 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:48,480 Speaker 1: was doctor Man from neighboring Alborough, Massachusetts. Doctor Mann later 133 00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: wrote this account quote, her case was like one other. 134 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:54,640 Speaker 1: He knew of that the fever being translated to the head. 135 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: She rose with different ideas that what she had when 136 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: the fever was general role. And she conceived the idea 137 00:08:02,360 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: that she had been dead and was raised up for 138 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: extraordinary purposes and got well fast, but that she had 139 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:11,840 Speaker 1: been dead. None of her friends or attendants had any 140 00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: apprehension or thought of her having been dead, but she 141 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: was for some time after considered by her friends not 142 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: to be in her right mind. The friends account of 143 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: what happened is quite different from doctor Mayne's, and we're 144 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:26,680 Speaker 1: going to get into that after we first paused for 145 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:37,679 Speaker 1: a sponsor break. As Holly said before the break, the 146 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,880 Speaker 1: public universal friends account of what happened in October of 147 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy six is quite different from the one by 148 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: doctor Man that we read before the break. This account read, 149 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: in part quote, the heavens were opened, and she saw 150 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: too archangels descending from the east with golden crowns upon 151 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: their heads, clothed in long white robes down to the feet, 152 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: bringing a sealed pardon for the living God, and putting 153 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: their trumpets to their mouth, proclaimed saying room, room, room, 154 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:09,400 Speaker 1: and the many mansions of eternal glory for thee and 155 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: for everyone. Later in the same account, the Friend continued quote, 156 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: the Spirit of Life from God had descended to Earth 157 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: to warn a lost and guilty, perishing, dying world to 158 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: flee from the wrath which is to come, and to 159 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: give an invitation to the lost sheep of the House 160 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,880 Speaker 1: of Israel to come home, and was waiting to assume 161 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: the body which God had prepared for the Spirit to 162 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 1: dwell in. Some accounts have the word gossiping uh in 163 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:39,520 Speaker 1: place of the word perishing in that passage, possibly because 164 00:09:39,559 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 1: of unclear handwriting. From this point the Friend stopped answering 165 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,480 Speaker 1: to the name Jemima Wilkinson and became known as the 166 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 1: Public Universal Friend, as well as the All Friend and 167 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,600 Speaker 1: the Comforter, and a variety of other monikers. To followers, 168 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: they were often just the Friend or the PuF the 169 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,640 Speaker 1: name Public Universal Friend, and also had some overlap with 170 00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:06,040 Speaker 1: Quaker practices. Public Friends were the Quakers who were authorized 171 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 1: to travel from place to place and preach. The Friends 172 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:13,440 Speaker 1: stopped recognizing the Wilkinson family as relatives, although several of 173 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:17,840 Speaker 1: the Wilkinson's were among the friends first adherents. Those adherents 174 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: generally avoided using gendered pronouns or any pronouns at all 175 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,120 Speaker 1: when talking about the friend. This was true even in 176 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:30,600 Speaker 1: people's personal diaries or other private documents. Outside of those adherents, though, 177 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,000 Speaker 1: people were all over the place in terms of what 178 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: pronouns and names that they used to talk about the friend, 179 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,920 Speaker 1: and this continues until today. Most biographies and journal articles 180 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 1: use he or him or she and her. Tracy was 181 00:10:44,880 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 1: telling me before we even started that a lot of 182 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:50,360 Speaker 1: the pieces she used as reference made this all very 183 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,680 Speaker 1: very confusing. Yeah, yeah, I think there was one article 184 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,960 Speaker 1: of everything that I read that used um, like a 185 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,680 Speaker 1: non gendered pronoun to talk about friend, and the rest 186 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:04,839 Speaker 1: of them a lot of them used she, and one 187 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 1: entire book used heat, which I found jarring. Uh. The 188 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 1: friend also started dressing in a way that combined masculine, feminine, 189 00:11:13,640 --> 00:11:19,160 Speaker 1: and clerical apparel. Congregationalist ever styles described one outfit this way. 190 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:24,200 Speaker 1: Quote lightcloth cloak with a cape like a man's purple gown, 191 00:11:24,640 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: long sleeves to wrist bands, man's shirt down to the hands, 192 00:11:28,679 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 1: with neck band, purple handkerchief or neckcloth tied around the 193 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:36,240 Speaker 1: neck like a man's no cap, hair combed turned over 194 00:11:36,440 --> 00:11:40,800 Speaker 1: and not long, wears a watchman's hat, and another account, 195 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:45,320 Speaker 1: Quaker missionary William Savory, described the friend wearing a calico surplus, 196 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: which is a blousy liturgical garment. Others described the friend's 197 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 1: appearance as being similar to depictions of Jesus Christ. The 198 00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:57,040 Speaker 1: friend's voice was also described as neither masculine or feminine, 199 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:01,319 Speaker 1: or sometimes as both masculine and feminine, although some detractors 200 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: described the voice as grum, which means morose, deep, or harsh, 201 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: but also has connotations of sounding almost demonic. The friends 202 00:12:09,920 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: first public sermon was delivered on October thirteenth, seventeen seventy six, 203 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: so just three days after that doctor visit. They attended 204 00:12:17,960 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: services at the Elder Miller Baptist meeting House and then 205 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 1: afterwards spoke from under a tree outside the building. The 206 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: friend continued to preach from the Wilkinson home and in 207 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: the area around Cumberland, Rhode Island over the fall and 208 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: winter of seventeen seventy six into seventeen seventy seven, and 209 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:37,559 Speaker 1: then set off as an itinerant minister in the early 210 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:42,520 Speaker 1: months of seventeen seventy seven. That year, Jeremiah Wilkinson was 211 00:12:42,559 --> 00:12:46,800 Speaker 1: disowned from the Smithfield Quakers, and the three Wilkinson daughters 212 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: who had not already been disowned, were all expelled in 213 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:53,640 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine, all of that for following the Friends teachings. 214 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,160 Speaker 1: The teachings were a fusion of Quaker and New Light 215 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,840 Speaker 1: Baptist ideas, along with some mysticism. Followers wrote about their 216 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,160 Speaker 1: prophetic dreams and their visions, and while the Friend was 217 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,760 Speaker 1: still in Rhode Island, faith healing was also part of 218 00:13:07,800 --> 00:13:10,839 Speaker 1: their ministry, although that seemed to have disappeared after they 219 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:14,320 Speaker 1: moved on to other areas in the Northeast. The Friend 220 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,600 Speaker 1: preached on ideas of equality among all people, as well 221 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: as being pacifist and abolitionist, and believed that women should 222 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,440 Speaker 1: obey God rather than men. The Friend also encouraged, but 223 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: did not require, celibacy. These teachings also warned of a 224 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: coming apocalypse to begin on April first, seventeen eighty. In 225 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,480 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy eight, the Friend felt called to take their 226 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:40,400 Speaker 1: preaching to England and made preparations to travel there, something 227 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:43,560 Speaker 1: that required a lot of work because the Revolutionary War 228 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 1: was still going on. Although the Friend did get permission 229 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,200 Speaker 1: from local authorities to make this trip and started making 230 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: arrangements for passage, the trip didn't actually wind up happening. 231 00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: One possible reason is that the Friend met and converted 232 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: Judge William Potter. Potter was fifty seven at the time 233 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,640 Speaker 1: and was one of several prominent and wealthy people among 234 00:14:03,679 --> 00:14:07,600 Speaker 1: the Friends followers. Potter's father had been one of the 235 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:11,719 Speaker 1: wealthiest planters in Narraganst at Rhode Island. Potter had inherited 236 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: his father's estate and had become one of the most 237 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,600 Speaker 1: prominent men in that part of the colony. Potter had 238 00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,440 Speaker 1: been an Anglican, but he and his wife Penelope, left 239 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: the church to follow the public Universal Friend. The Potters 240 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 1: became a major source of the Friend's financial support. The 241 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 1: judge added a fourteen room extension onto his mansion for 242 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:34,480 Speaker 1: the Friend and their attendants to live in, and he 243 00:14:34,560 --> 00:14:38,120 Speaker 1: housed the headquarters of the Friends community for six years. 244 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:41,200 Speaker 1: He also freed his enslaved workforce because of the friends 245 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: abolitionist teaching. Towards the end of the seventeen seventies, Potter 246 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,280 Speaker 1: either lost or resigned from his position as a judge, 247 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:50,760 Speaker 1: as well as from other offices he had been holding. 248 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:54,320 Speaker 1: Either he stepped away from them all to focus on 249 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,080 Speaker 1: his work with the Friend, or he was voted out 250 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: or lost his appointments because of these religious views that 251 00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: the Friend was teaching. From seventeen seventy eight to seventeen 252 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 1: eighty seven, the Friend was primarily based in Rhode Island, 253 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: although they traveled back and forth to other parts of 254 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,320 Speaker 1: New England, as well as farther south into New Jersey 255 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:17,560 Speaker 1: and Pennsylvania. The Friend established meeting houses in other cities 256 00:15:17,560 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 1: and towns, including New Milford, Connecticut, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By 257 00:15:22,160 --> 00:15:25,400 Speaker 1: the early seventeen eighties, the Friends following had become known 258 00:15:25,480 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 1: as the Society of Universal Friends. The Friends spent fourteen 259 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: years as an itinerant minister, traveling from place to place, 260 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,960 Speaker 1: usually with between twelve and twenty followers. The Friend preached 261 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: in exchange for shelter, also giving advice on things like 262 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: domestic matters and farming, as well as mediating disputes they 263 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: had visited and cared for POWs and injured soldiers on 264 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,280 Speaker 1: both sides of the Revolutionary War. The Friend had also 265 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: actively recruited new followers, including attending the funerals of people 266 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: of other faiths who had died, both to offer comfort 267 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: to the bereaved and to be available for people who 268 00:16:02,640 --> 00:16:05,760 Speaker 1: might be interested in their teachings but kind of reluctant 269 00:16:05,760 --> 00:16:09,040 Speaker 1: to seek them out otherwise. By seventeen eighty three, though 270 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:13,000 Speaker 1: the Friend was being criticized in print beyond just articles 271 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,080 Speaker 1: that viewed their teachings as heretical or their gender as suspicious. 272 00:16:18,040 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: That year, former adherent Abner Brownell published Enthusiastical Errors Transpired 273 00:16:23,200 --> 00:16:27,080 Speaker 1: and Detected. It didn't specifically name the Friend, but it 274 00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 1: was clearly meant to be an expose of the Friends ministry. 275 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: It may have been inspired by the writing titled A 276 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: Brief account of a religious scheme taught and propagated by 277 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: a number of Europeans who lately lived in a place 278 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,160 Speaker 1: called niski Una in the state of New York, but 279 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: now residing in Harvard, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commonly called Shaking Quakers. 280 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: Again we always Love A very long and convoluted title uh. 281 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: This particular piece of writing was an expose that was 282 00:16:54,360 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: written by former Shaker Valentine Rathbun. Brownell seems to have 283 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: been motivated to write this after the Friend excommunicated him 284 00:17:02,720 --> 00:17:05,840 Speaker 1: for publishing his own book of prophecies without their permission. 285 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: Among brown New's accusations was that the Friend maintained a 286 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: spy network to pass them information about other people's sins 287 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:17,639 Speaker 1: in order to bring those transgressions up in front of 288 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: the congregation during services. Brownell also said that the Friend 289 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:26,640 Speaker 1: had instructed him to plagiarize previous works by Isaac Pennington 290 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:29,920 Speaker 1: and William Sewell and published them as a book called 291 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:34,560 Speaker 1: Some Considerations Propounded to the Several sorts and Sects of 292 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:37,760 Speaker 1: Professor of this Age. This book had come out in 293 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: seventeen seventy nine under the name A Universal Friend to 294 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:46,399 Speaker 1: All Mankind. It was definitely straight up plagiarized. In September 295 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: of seventeen three, two members of the society drafted a 296 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: declaration of faith in part to resolve ongoing questions about 297 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: who the Friend actually was. Some of the friends adherents 298 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,879 Speaker 1: described the Friend as a Messiah UH or as a 299 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:05,360 Speaker 1: reincarnation of Jesus Christ, something that the Friend themselves never claimed, 300 00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: but also didn't really deny. This declaration described the Friend 301 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: as quote the Council of the Lord, spoken by the 302 00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: influence of the Holy Spirit through the Tabernacle of the 303 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: Universal Friend. In seventy four, the Universal Friends Advice to 304 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:25,080 Speaker 1: those of the same religious society recommended to be read 305 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: in their public meetings for Divine Worship, was published. The 306 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,879 Speaker 1: Friend had established meeting houses in several communities at this point, 307 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,320 Speaker 1: and this book contained instructions on the structure of worship 308 00:18:35,359 --> 00:18:37,960 Speaker 1: at those meeting houses, as well as lots of Bible 309 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,840 Speaker 1: verses and other quotations. According to the Universal Friends Advice, 310 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,800 Speaker 1: meetings were to begin punctually at ten in the morning, 311 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:47,600 Speaker 1: and people who couldn't attend meetings were advised to sit 312 00:18:47,640 --> 00:18:50,399 Speaker 1: down in their homes at the scheduled time to quote, 313 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 1: wait for and upon the Lord. Members were to live 314 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: peaceably with all men as much as possible, or to 315 00:18:57,119 --> 00:18:59,879 Speaker 1: take up your daily cross against all on godliness and 316 00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: worldly lusts, and to speak in meetings only when moved 317 00:19:03,600 --> 00:19:06,760 Speaker 1: to do so by the Holy Spirit. The Friends Advice 318 00:19:06,840 --> 00:19:10,080 Speaker 1: also included several references to the Golden Rule and the 319 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 1: admonition to quote live as you would be willing to die. 320 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:19,200 Speaker 1: In five the Friend met Sarah Richards. After Richard's husband died. 321 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:23,240 Speaker 1: The following year, she joined the Society of Universal Friends, 322 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: bringing her infant daughter, Eliza with her. Richards became one 323 00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,720 Speaker 1: of the most prominent people in the society and the 324 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: closest person to the public Universal Friend, essentially being second 325 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:37,760 Speaker 1: in the society's hierarchy and becoming known as Sarah Friend. 326 00:19:38,359 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 1: A couple of years later, though, the society started to 327 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,480 Speaker 1: experience some troubles. On January four seven, several members of 328 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,200 Speaker 1: the Society were staying at the home of David Wagner 329 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:53,160 Speaker 1: in Philadelphia. There was some kind of argument between two 330 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: of the friends adherents, Sarah Wilson and Abigail Dayton. Wilson 331 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,480 Speaker 1: later accused Dayton of trying to strangle her as she slept, 332 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 1: something that other people in the house wrote off as 333 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,680 Speaker 1: a nightmare, but Wilson published an account of this whole 334 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: incident that later morphed into the friend having tried to 335 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: strangle her, even though the friend was in Rhode Island 336 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,280 Speaker 1: at the time. This happened. By the late seventeen eighties, 337 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: the Friend was also facing increasing criticism and derision in 338 00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:23,720 Speaker 1: New England. A lot of it was connected to the 339 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:29,400 Speaker 1: friends genderlessness and androgynous physical appearance. The tractors were inordinately 340 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,800 Speaker 1: focused on what kind of undergarments the Friend wore, what 341 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,000 Speaker 1: their voice sounded like, and whether there was something sexually 342 00:20:36,080 --> 00:20:39,560 Speaker 1: licentious going on within the Society of Universal Friends, which, 343 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:44,200 Speaker 1: as we said earlier, encouraged celibacy. When the Friend established 344 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:47,800 Speaker 1: a meeting house in Philadelphia, it was almost immediately vandalized, 345 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: which was the first time the Society of Universal Friends 346 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,400 Speaker 1: was the target of mob violence. Criticism and persecution were 347 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: among the factors that led the Friend to establish a 348 00:20:56,960 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: community in Western New York. The Friend may have also 349 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 1: been inspired by a Frata cloister in Pennsylvania or New 350 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,040 Speaker 1: York Shaker communities, and we'll talk more about that after 351 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: we pause for another sponsor break. When the Public Universal 352 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 1: Friends selected a location for their community of followers, it 353 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 1: was in a region that was being described as the 354 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:29,320 Speaker 1: unsettled frontier of the newly established United States of America. 355 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,040 Speaker 1: Of course, that was not true. What is now Western 356 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,600 Speaker 1: New York was home to the Seneca Nation, one of 357 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 1: the six nations of the hoddanas Shone Confederacy. The friend 358 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:43,720 Speaker 1: was described as being fair and respectful with the Seneca 359 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:47,800 Speaker 1: people that they encountered, but we also only have white 360 00:21:47,800 --> 00:21:51,479 Speaker 1: people's descriptions of this. The society's first community in New 361 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:54,679 Speaker 1: York was established in the Finger Lakes region, an area 362 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: that was highly disputed Before the Revolutionary War, the colonies 363 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,200 Speaker 1: of New York and Massachusetts had argued over whose charter 364 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 1: it belonged to. After the war, Britain wanted to claim 365 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:09,879 Speaker 1: it for the Loyalists and their former Hoddina Showny allies. Meanwhile, 366 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: the United States had tasked General John Sullivan with taking 367 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,200 Speaker 1: a scorched earth military campaign to punish the Hoddina Shown 368 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:20,680 Speaker 1: nations that had allied with the British. Although the New 369 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:25,800 Speaker 1: York Constitution forbade private purchases of land from indigenous nations, 370 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: the New York Genesee Land Company, also known as the 371 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 1: Lessie Company, had tried to get around this by securing 372 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: a nine ninety nine year lease for it. Although the 373 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,640 Speaker 1: state ultimately invalidated that lease, the company had become so 374 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:43,280 Speaker 1: influential that the state had to then bring them on 375 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:46,760 Speaker 1: as negotiators when trying to get a clear title to 376 00:22:46,840 --> 00:22:50,639 Speaker 1: this land from the indigenous population. So when the Society 377 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: of Universal Friends started looking for land in seventive they 378 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:59,159 Speaker 1: definitely were not heading to a pristine, unsettled frontier. This was, 379 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 1: as we said, highly disputed territory, and the society was 380 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,959 Speaker 1: benefiting from the systemic destruction of the Seneca Nation. The 381 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 1: society's first settlement was on the western shore of Seneca Lake, 382 00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: with the first group arriving in Their goal was to 383 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:17,919 Speaker 1: live in a truly communal way, with all of the 384 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:22,520 Speaker 1: community's land being collectively held, but that idea turned out 385 00:23:22,520 --> 00:23:25,879 Speaker 1: to be impractical, especially given all of these ongoing lease 386 00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,640 Speaker 1: and tidal disputes over the land they were on. Instead, 387 00:23:29,960 --> 00:23:33,720 Speaker 1: every member who contributed money towards the land acquisition was 388 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,919 Speaker 1: given a receipt what they're holding a portioned for use 389 00:23:37,040 --> 00:23:40,320 Speaker 1: based on how much each person had invested, but all 390 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:43,880 Speaker 1: of the land was meant to belong to the community 391 00:23:43,920 --> 00:23:48,320 Speaker 1: like There were no property lines around any person's individual 392 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: plot of land. You could theoretically have the right to 393 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: a certain percentage of it, but it wasn't defined as 394 00:23:56,640 --> 00:23:59,600 Speaker 1: a specific piece of land in that parcel. Some of 395 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:02,639 Speaker 1: the eighties members returned to New England over the winter 396 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,520 Speaker 1: of seventeen eighty eight to seventeen eighty nine, and then 397 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,680 Speaker 1: came back to New York in the spring. The Universal 398 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: Friend didn't join them until seventeen nine. They had planned 399 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:14,639 Speaker 1: to do so a year earlier, but nearly drowned in 400 00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:17,720 Speaker 1: a carriage accident on the way. By this point, the 401 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: Society of Universal Friends had grown dramatically, with new followers 402 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,119 Speaker 1: drawn in by the friends charismatic preaching. The seventeen nineties 403 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:29,920 Speaker 1: census recorded two hundred and sixty people living in the community, 404 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: making it the largest white settlement in Western New York. 405 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: They had also built a gristmill and a sawmill. A 406 00:24:37,119 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 1: meeting house was finished in the summer of seventeen ninety 407 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,320 Speaker 1: as well. Many of the settlements households are actually headed 408 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:45,879 Speaker 1: by women, and there were, of course a large number 409 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:50,440 Speaker 1: of women among the Friends adherents. However, after this initial success, 410 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:55,119 Speaker 1: the settlement ran into a series of problems. In seventeen ninety, 411 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,640 Speaker 1: the federal government assumed state's debts from the Revolutionary War 412 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,640 Speaker 1: under the Funding Act of sevent The dispute between New 413 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: York and Massachusetts about who owned Western New York had 414 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:09,400 Speaker 1: been settled with the Phelps and Gorham purchase of seventy eight, 415 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,159 Speaker 1: but after the Funding Act was passed, Massachusetts currency increased 416 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:17,159 Speaker 1: so much in value that Phelps and Gorham could no 417 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:20,280 Speaker 1: longer afford to pay for it. Land in the area 418 00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 1: changed hands repeatedly. Property value soared. The Society's land went 419 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,880 Speaker 1: from being worth two thousand, six hundred dollars to being 420 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: worth eighty six thousand dollars, and whether the area was 421 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: part of New York or Massachusetts was once again disputed 422 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:38,879 Speaker 1: in the fallout from the Funding Act, Yeah, Phelps and 423 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,399 Speaker 1: Gorham couldn't afford to pay for it. Massachusetts was like, 424 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,560 Speaker 1: we could take some of it back, then, great, give 425 00:25:44,560 --> 00:25:47,680 Speaker 1: me it. Yeah. As all of this was going on, 426 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 1: some of the Society's wealthiest investors decided that even though 427 00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: they had paid for this land on behalf of the community, 428 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,320 Speaker 1: they would take this opportunity to cash out on their 429 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: investment and leave. It's led to a bitter bitter division 430 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,840 Speaker 1: between the community and some of its longtime members, as 431 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: those with the most money arranged their sales without regard 432 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,919 Speaker 1: to who was living where or where. People had built homes, 433 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: or planted orchards, or made other improvements Judge William Potter, 434 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,199 Speaker 1: for example, who we talked about earlier, made about forty 435 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,800 Speaker 1: thousand dollars profits selling land that other people were actually 436 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: living on. As the Society lost control of the land 437 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,000 Speaker 1: on Seneca Lake, they moved once again in early seventeen 438 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:32,600 Speaker 1: ninety four, this time establishing New Jerusalem on the shores 439 00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:36,200 Speaker 1: of Crooked Lake now called Cuca Lake. The Friend had 440 00:26:36,200 --> 00:26:39,440 Speaker 1: started looking for land in seventeen ninety two, and this 441 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,360 Speaker 1: time the deed for fourteen hundred acres had been assigned 442 00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: to Sarah Richards, also known as Sarah Friend, since the 443 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,920 Speaker 1: public Universal Friend refused to do business under their legal 444 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:53,040 Speaker 1: name of record. Unfortunately, Sarah Friend died after a long 445 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: illness on November see, and her will left the land 446 00:26:58,080 --> 00:27:01,399 Speaker 1: to another prominent woman in the society, the Rachel Mallen. 447 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,920 Speaker 1: Once the Friend arrived in New Jerusalem in sevente they 448 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,359 Speaker 1: lived in a log cabin with the poorest members of 449 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: the community, the ones who couldn't afford to build homes 450 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,879 Speaker 1: of their own. The Friend had also established what they 451 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: called the Faithful Sisterhood. This was a group of women 452 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: adherents who were the Friend's supports, circle and missionary force. 453 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:24,159 Speaker 1: Some of the Faithful Sisterhood also wore clothing that blended 454 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: masculine and feminine elements and avoid using gendered pronouns for themselves. 455 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 1: The Friend and the Society didn't escape legal and land 456 00:27:32,720 --> 00:27:36,600 Speaker 1: troubles by moving to Cuga Lake, though. In seventeen ninety six, 457 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:40,320 Speaker 1: Eliza Richards, daughter of the late Sarah Richards, eloped with 458 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 1: Rachel Mayland's younger brother, Enoch. Eliza was only sixteen and 459 00:27:44,880 --> 00:27:47,800 Speaker 1: Enoch was not believed to be particularly cunning, so it 460 00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:49,680 Speaker 1: is not clear if they came up with this whole 461 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:52,400 Speaker 1: idea on their own or if someone else put them 462 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,840 Speaker 1: up to it. They claimed Sarah's will had been tampered 463 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,200 Speaker 1: with and that Eliza had really inherited the Society's land 464 00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: from her mother, and that meant that upon her marriage 465 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:06,159 Speaker 1: to Enoch, the land was legally his. In May of 466 00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:10,679 Speaker 1: sev Enoch filed an ejection action against the community. In 467 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: the legal actions that followed went on until long after Eliza, Enoch, 468 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: and the Friend had all died. Then, in seventeen ninety nine, 469 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: James Parker, one of the investors who had sold his 470 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,680 Speaker 1: land for profit earlier on, brought charges of blasphemy against 471 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 1: the Friend as part of an ongoing attack by several 472 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,200 Speaker 1: former adherents who really seemed set on just taking down 473 00:28:33,240 --> 00:28:37,240 Speaker 1: their former religious leader. Judge Potter was also part of 474 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,440 Speaker 1: this whole effort. The Friend was questioned all these addies 475 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 1: blasphemy charges in eighteen hundred. They didn't give a direct 476 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:48,000 Speaker 1: answer about whether they were the incarnation of Christ, but 477 00:28:48,080 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: they flatly denied that they had tried to replicate any 478 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:55,280 Speaker 1: of Christ's miracles. The judge ultimately ruled that under the 479 00:28:55,360 --> 00:29:00,080 Speaker 1: US Constitution, blasphemy was no longer an indictable offense, and 480 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,360 Speaker 1: the charges were ultimately dropped. The Friend gave up most 481 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: of their public speaking and preaching after this, except for 482 00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:09,960 Speaker 1: services held in New Jerusalem. In eighteen eighteen, the Friend 483 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,760 Speaker 1: wrote out a will which provided for the society's poorest 484 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:15,800 Speaker 1: members until the end of their lives. It had been 485 00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,840 Speaker 1: signed public universal Friend, but on the advice of an attorney, 486 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 1: the Friend had added the note be it remembered that, 487 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: in order to remove all doubts of the do execution 488 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,760 Speaker 1: of the foregoing Will and Testament, being the person who, 489 00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 1: before the year one thousand, seven hundred and seventy seven 490 00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:34,480 Speaker 1: was known and called by the name of Jemima Wilkinson, 491 00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:38,400 Speaker 1: but since that time as the universal Friend. Yeah, their 492 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: attorney was basically like, after all of this land dispute 493 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: that we have had going on for so many years, 494 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: please take this step to to make sure to like 495 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,520 Speaker 1: not give somebody else ammunition for saying that your will 496 00:29:51,560 --> 00:29:57,360 Speaker 1: is not valid. On April nineteen, Patients Wilkinson Potter died 497 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:00,680 Speaker 1: and the Friend gave their last public sermon her funeral. 498 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: The Friend died not long after, on July one, eight nineteen. 499 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:09,120 Speaker 1: Although the Society's death book used the words left time 500 00:30:09,320 --> 00:30:13,040 Speaker 1: to mean died, the friends entry reads quote twenty five 501 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: minutes past two on the clock. The Friend went from 502 00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:20,200 Speaker 1: here after lying in state for four days so adherents 503 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 1: could pay their respects. The Friend's body was buried in 504 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,640 Speaker 1: an unmarked grave. Court proceedings in the dispute over Sarah 505 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:31,000 Speaker 1: Richard's will went on until eighteen twenty eight. During that time, 506 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:34,760 Speaker 1: David Hudson wrote the first biography of the Friend. Hudson 507 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:37,400 Speaker 1: was a law partner of Robert W. Stoddard, who was 508 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: representing Eliza and Enoch Mayland's children in the land dispute. 509 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,920 Speaker 1: Rather than being an accurate account, of the Friend's life. 510 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: This was a libelous fiction meant to discredit the Friend 511 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: and their community in court. Writing in the Quarterly Journal 512 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,320 Speaker 1: of the New York State Historical Association in nineteen thirty, 513 00:30:55,560 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 1: Robert P. St. John described this biography as a quote 514 00:31:00,040 --> 00:31:05,760 Speaker 1: and trustworthy narrative composed practically of sensational fiction. In the 515 00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:09,840 Speaker 1: nineteen sixties, biographer Herbert Whisby wrote, quote, Hudson's book should 516 00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:14,000 Speaker 1: be considered properly not as a biography of Jemima Wilkinson, 517 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 1: but as part of the campaign to get her land 518 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:22,440 Speaker 1: by discrediting her aims and dispersing her followers. Unfortunately, the 519 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,880 Speaker 1: untruths and Hudson's book were then repeated in other sources 520 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,320 Speaker 1: over the years, and over time the most outlandish rumors 521 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: and accusations became part of the lower surrounding the Friend. 522 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 1: Under the terms of the Friends Will, the community's poorest 523 00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,200 Speaker 1: members were, as we said, to be supported until the 524 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,440 Speaker 1: end of their lives. The last payments were made through 525 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:44,760 Speaker 1: a trust established by Rachel Maylan, with the final payment 526 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,080 Speaker 1: from the trust made in eighteen sixty two. The Friends 527 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 1: Home in Jerusalem, New York is still standing today and 528 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:55,200 Speaker 1: it's listed on the National Register of Historic Places. UM. 529 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:57,440 Speaker 1: And before we move on to listener mail, I just 530 00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,240 Speaker 1: wanted to shout out to my friend Adrial who read 531 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:04,320 Speaker 1: over the introduction and overall framing of this episode for me. UM, 532 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:07,240 Speaker 1: So thank you, Adrial. UM and I have listener mail 533 00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: that is pertinent to uh the land history in this story. 534 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 1: It is from Melissa. Melissa says, high ladies. Firstly, I'm 535 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 1: a big fan of your podcast. That has widened my 536 00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: perspective in so many important ways, not least of which 537 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,400 Speaker 1: it has changed history from being something that only happened 538 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,560 Speaker 1: to straight white men. We have all always been here. 539 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,560 Speaker 1: Your recent episode on the history of Hallmec, which was 540 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:35,480 Speaker 1: closely tied to the history of land grant schools, reminded 541 00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: me of a recent investigation that came out on where 542 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,920 Speaker 1: those land grants came from. UM and then Melissa provided 543 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:46,120 Speaker 1: a link to an article. I'm not sure if this 544 00:32:46,200 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: came up with the research but was beyond the scope 545 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:50,080 Speaker 1: of the episode, but it did seem like the kind 546 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: of perspective the podcast appreciates, so I thought you would 547 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:57,440 Speaker 1: find it interesting. The land grants and land grant schools 548 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,840 Speaker 1: consisted of land gained by coercive of at best and 549 00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,240 Speaker 1: genocidal at worst, means at a fraction of a percent 550 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:06,120 Speaker 1: of its true value if it was paid for it. 551 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,280 Speaker 1: All the money obtained from the land grants and some 552 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 1: of the land itself remains a sizable source of income 553 00:33:13,080 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: for many of these schools. While Indigenous students, studies, and 554 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: perspectives are routinely underrepresented, this is one of the times 555 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:23,920 Speaker 1: we can actually quantify the amount settlers have profited from 556 00:33:23,920 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: taking from indigenous people's I thought this was especially important 557 00:33:27,680 --> 00:33:30,120 Speaker 1: to point out in the context of the protests about 558 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:33,520 Speaker 1: police violence to black and brown people and the reactionary 559 00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: anger to people quote looting. There's a question of proportion 560 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,080 Speaker 1: of wrongs that needs to be kept in mind, as 561 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,720 Speaker 1: well as a historical lens. This continent and some of 562 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: its most lauded institutions are the products of state sanctioned 563 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:50,160 Speaker 1: looting and continue to profit from it. Thank you so 564 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,000 Speaker 1: much for all of your hard work putting out the podcast. 565 00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:56,240 Speaker 1: It's been such a gift to consume. Melissa. Thank you 566 00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:00,320 Speaker 1: Melissa for sending this email. UM I had not read 567 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:04,000 Speaker 1: the particular article that Melissa sent a link to, which 568 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:10,480 Speaker 1: is called land grab universities. It is in high Country news. Um. 569 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:13,520 Speaker 1: I didn't specifically say this in the episode because it's 570 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,759 Speaker 1: something that we've talked about so many times on the 571 00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,760 Speaker 1: show that I sort of imagined it as a given 572 00:34:20,239 --> 00:34:24,880 Speaker 1: anytime the federal government has been giving land to anybody, 573 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:29,200 Speaker 1: like that's indigenous land that the government took, like when 574 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:33,160 Speaker 1: we've talked about the Homestead Act, similar acts that granted 575 00:34:33,160 --> 00:34:36,959 Speaker 1: people land, like this was Indigenous land that was at 576 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: best coerced and at worst stolen or the product of 577 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:48,160 Speaker 1: mass murder. Um. But this article specifically traces like the 578 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:52,759 Speaker 1: actual land and which Indigenous communities have been living on 579 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:56,600 Speaker 1: that land. Um, Like they're interactive maps with all of 580 00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 1: the details. It is important, Like it's it's thorough information 581 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:05,759 Speaker 1: and important information. UM. And I am sorry for not 582 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:08,640 Speaker 1: specifically saying the part about like this land grant land 583 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:12,880 Speaker 1: being stolen land uh in the episode. UM, because I 584 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,799 Speaker 1: think Holly, you and I have both had this Uh. 585 00:35:15,960 --> 00:35:18,600 Speaker 1: The trap is maybe not the word, but UM, we've 586 00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:21,120 Speaker 1: both had the experience where we said something on the 587 00:35:21,160 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: show enough times that we felt like we have said 588 00:35:23,600 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 1: it already, we didn't necessarily say it. UM. So again, 589 00:35:28,680 --> 00:35:31,480 Speaker 1: we don't have a great place on our website UM 590 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:36,920 Speaker 1: to share links anymore. Currently, I know there are still 591 00:35:36,920 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 1: people who are very frustrated by that. The pandemic sort 592 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 1: of up ended our plans to try to get a 593 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:46,600 Speaker 1: replacement like that. They're just other priorities right now, which 594 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: I understand, but I also I'm frustrated by so again. 595 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:53,840 Speaker 1: This is called land grab universities. It's in High Country News, 596 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:58,640 Speaker 1: and it's got so much information about where specifically the 597 00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:03,080 Speaker 1: land came from, who it used to, like, who used 598 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:04,680 Speaker 1: to live there. I don't want to say who it 599 00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:07,719 Speaker 1: used to belong to because the idea of ownership does 600 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:11,799 Speaker 1: not necessarily work that way in all indigenous for many 601 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:15,520 Speaker 1: indigenous communities. UM. And then what schools benefited from that 602 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:19,680 Speaker 1: land and how? Uh Anyway, so thank you again Melissa 603 00:36:19,800 --> 00:36:23,000 Speaker 1: for sending this email. UH if you would like, try 604 00:36:23,040 --> 00:36:25,720 Speaker 1: to us about this or any other podcast for history 605 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:28,200 Speaker 1: podcasts at I heart radio dot com. We're also all 606 00:36:28,239 --> 00:36:30,279 Speaker 1: over social media at missed in History. That's where you'll 607 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,080 Speaker 1: find our Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram. And you can 608 00:36:34,120 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 1: subscribe to our show on the I heart Radio app, 609 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts and anywhere else that you get your podcasts 610 00:36:44,360 --> 00:36:46,560 Speaker 1: stuff you missed in History Class is a production of 611 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,800 Speaker 1: I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 612 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,000 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 613 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.