who was ann lee

Ann Lee, often known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founder and spiritual leader of the Shaker movement in America during the late 18th century. Born in Manchester, England, around 1736 (some sources list February 29, 1736), she became the central figure of Shakerism after claiming visions and receiving a divine call to establish a community in the American colonies. She led the Shakers in their distinctive practices—celibacy, communal living, pacifism, equality of the sexes, and vigorous, ecstatic worship that included dancing—before her death in 1784 in Watervliet, New York. Her followers spread Shaker villages across the Northeast, with Harvard, Massachusetts, and New Lebanon, New York, among the notable early settlements. Her leadership and teachings helped shape the Shaker movement into one of America’s most enduring utopian religious communities, known for its highly productive craftsmanship, progressive gender roles, and strict communal discipline.