Arriving in the American colonies with a handful of followers, Mother Ann Lee (1736-1784) became founder and leading spirit of the radical religious sect called the United Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, better known as the Shakers.

Contributed by Peter Harrison Branum, Ph.D. in Philosophy, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama

Born on February 29, 1736, in Manchester, England; died in 1784 at Niskeyuna (now Watervliet), New York; daughter of John Lee (a blacksmith); married: Abraham Standerin, 1762 (terminated marriage in 1775); children: four, all of whom died in infancy.

Ann Lee was the quintessential nonconformist. A spiritual trailblazer, she led the advance guard of a new era of religious liberty and toleration which would eventually characterize the young nation with which she cast her lot. A person of great personal charisma, Ann Lee was also a true religious and social innovator. The ideals and practices of the Shakers caused them to be among...