Independent scholar Sankovitch recounts the unlikely history of Jemima Wilkinson (1753-1819), a Rhode Island woman who claimed to have died and been reborn as a genderless messenger from God: Universal Friend. Raised in a Quaker home, Jemima became swept up in the religious revival movement of the 1770s and the excitement of colonial patriotism. Then, in 1776, she suddenly fell deathly ill, only to awaken one morning dramatically transformed. She had been visited by angels, she said, and now her body was a vessel anointed to “carry God’s message of universal redemption” to lost souls. Rejecting identification as a male or female and taking a new name, Universal Friend became a nonbinary minister, intent on creating “a practical, functioning utopia,” where equality, opportunity, and individual enrichment would be the guiding values. Into a world of danger and dissent, Friend went forth, wearing a long, dark robe over a silk skirt, with a white or purple cravat around the neck to preach a gospel of salvation. The world was dying, Friend announced, and each person must seek redemption and work for peace; instead of taking up arms, “piety and faith should lead to reconciliation.” Friend’s message resonated with merchants and tradesmen, teachers and farmers, some offering Friend lodging and financial support. Wherever Friend made a home, it was turned into a community where chores were shared and each individual was respected. Friend’s ministry extended to Pennsylvania, New England, and finally, the nation’s western frontier in New York state, where the Society of Universal Friends worked to establish a viable community. Sankovitch reveals the trials and challenges that Friend strived to overcome, including scandals, betrayals, fraud, and greed—and the perseverance that led to the success, though brief, of their Jerusalem.
