Ann Lee was born in 1736 in Manchester, England. She was born and raised in the Friends Church (Quakers). When she was 16 she got involved in a sub-sect of the Quakers that taught complete celibacy and that practiced ecstatic trembling during worship. They claimed that the trembling was the Holy Spirit purging sin from their bodies. That is why this group of people came to be called "The Shakers." According to these eccentric folks, if you never had sex and trembled enough in worship you could get pretty darn close to reaching perfect purity. Another distinctive characteristic of this sub-sect of Quakers was that unlike all other forms of Christianity at the time, they believed and taught the complete equality of men and women in all areas of church leadership. They felt that once you took sex and childbirth out of the equation there really isn't a difference between men and women. This idea was way, way, way "out in left field" at the time. As a result of this way of thinking, young Ann was able to rise to prominence as a leader in the group. She preached, shouted at people about the imminent return of Christ, danced around at strange times and in strange places, and spoke of having visions. She even spent some time in jail for her behavior. In 1774 she said a vision told her to take a group of believers to the American colonies, which she did. Her husband went with her but apparently it all got a little too weird for him (not to mention the celibacy thing) because he bailed on her right after they got to America. I'm all for trying to make marriage work, but I can't say that I blame the guy as there came a point when she considered herself to be the female counterpart to Jesus Christ and that she might just be the Second Coming of Jesus.
The Shaker communities spread out from New York, popping up throughout New England as well as in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. They made a lot of really cool stuff--buildings, furniture, and clothing. One Shaker song has spread into other Christian communities. That song is "Simple Gifts." It's the one that goes: ""Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free" and so on. Their progressive ideas on the equality of genders are important and interesting, but weighed down by all the strangeness that came with those ideas.
My favorite story about Shakers comes from right here in Ohio. Apparently the people in Lebanon, Ohio were jerks to the Shaker community, while the people in Dayton were very nice and welcoming. Because of this, the Shakers rode through Lebanon pronouncing a curse on the town. Then they rode through Dayton pronouncing a blessing. At the time Lebanon and Dayton were about the same size. To the superstitious, the old Shaker curse is why Dayton prospered and grew while Lebanon stayed a little town.
