Shaker life Derobigne M. Bennett and his sister, Letsy Ann, were admitted as
Shakers in New Lebanon, New York, in 1834. Living in the Church Family's First Order, he worked as a shoemaker, boys' caretaker, herbalist, physician, and scribe, writing part of the Journal of Inspirational Meetings in 1840 before his questioning nature became evident. His life with the
Shakers ended in 1846 when he eloped with Mary Wicks at the same time his sister Letsy Ann Bennett eloped with John Allen, all four of them slipping away from the Shaker village unnoticed.
Freethinker After leaving the Shakers, Bennett evolved into a "freethinker", founding
The Truth Seeker newspaper with his wife Mary Wicks Bennett in 1873. In 1878, Bennett wrote that "
Jesuism", rather than
Pauline Christianity, was the gospel taught by
Peter,
John and
James. On 1 September 1873, D. M. and M. W. Bennett released the first tabloid edition of
The Truth Seeker. Its masthead announced its purpose: . D.M. Bennett is interred at
Green-Wood Cemetery in
Brooklyn, New York. His monument, erected by his fellow freethinkers, is covered with his statements. Bennett was the subject of the biography
D.M. Bennett: The Truth Seeker (2006) by Roderick Bradford and a 2009 documentary. ==Obscenity prosecution==