Joanna Southcott

SOUTHCOTT, Joanna. b. Taleford, near Ottery St Mary, Devon, 25 April 1750; d. London, 27 December 1814. She was brought up at Gittisham, near Exeter. As a young woman she worked as a farm labourer, maidservant, and upholsterer. At the age of 42 she began to have visions and to make prophecies of forthcoming events, many of which turned out to be true, such as the resumption of the war with France, crop failures, and the distress of the poor during a time of war and famine. She published the first part of these prophecies, The Strange Effects of Faith; with Remarkable Prophecies (Made in 1792) in 1801, followed by five more parts in 1801-02. She attracted the attention of the followers of...