As early as 1747, women assumed leadership roles within the sect, notably Jane Wardley, Mother Ann Lee, and Mother Lucy Wright.Shakers settled in colonial America, with initial settlements in New Lebanon, New York (called Mount Lebanon after 1861).From that day I have been able to take up a full cross against all the doleful works of the flesh.Having supposedly received a revelation, on May 19, 1774, Ann Lee and eight of her followers sailed from Liverpool for colonial America.He revealed to me the depth of man's loss, what it was, and the way of redemption therefrom.Then I was able to bear an open testimony against the sin that is the root of all evil; and I felt the power of God flow into my soul like a fountain of living water.By 1920, there were only 12 Shaker communities remaining in the United States.
They believed in the renunciation of sinful acts and that the end of the world was near. The marriage of the Lamb, the first resurrection, the new Jerusalem descended from above, these are even now at the door.In 1770, Ann Lee was revealed in "manifestation of Divine light" to be the second coming of Christ and was called Mother Ann."Mother Ann", as her followers later called her, claimed numerous revelations regarding the fall of Adam and Eve and its relationship to sexual intercourse.Their celibacy combined with external and internal societal changes resulted in the thinning of the Shaker community, and consequently many of the other Shaker settlements are now village museums.Future leader Ann Lee and her parents were early members of the sect.