MOTHER ANN LEE

Inscription

MOTHER ANN LEE
LEADER OF AMERICAN SHAKERS.
SETTLED IN THIS AREA IN 1776 &
HELPED BUILD A NEW RELIGIOUS
COMMUNITY. DIED IN 1784 AND
WAS BURIED NEAR HERE.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2026

Mother Ann Lee, born in Manchester, England in 1736, emerged as the spiritual leader and eventual messiah of the Shakers, a Christian sect formally known as the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing. Guided by divine visions, she joined the movement in 1758 after a difficult early life, which included factory work, a troubled marriage, and the loss of her four children. Her followers believed she represented the second incarnation of Christ, declaring that “no blessing can come to any person, but only by and through her”.

In 1774, Lee traveled to America with eight followers to spread her gospel in the New World. By 1776, she had established a Shaker community in Niskayuna—now Watervliet—near Albany, where members cleared land and worked as farmers, blacksmiths, weavers, and shoemakers. They gained economic prosperity by selling goods like seeds, brooms, and furniture. The Shakers practiced celibacy, pacifism, communal living, and embraced racial and gender equality, values that were revolutionary for their time.

Known for their simplicity in design and ecstatic worship—earning them the name “Shakers”—the community welcomed outsiders, including minister Valentine Rathburn, who documented the “new religion” in 1782. Mother Ann Lee died in 1784 and was buried among 442 other Shakers in the nearby cemetery. After Lee’s death, the movement prospered in the early 19th century and eventually expanded to 19 communities across the Northeast.

Although the sect declined over the next century, with fewer than five members remaining in the 21st century, its legacy endures. The Watervliet site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and the Shaker Heritage Society—founded in 1977—continues to preserve the remaining buildings and host community events.