My Shaker “Ancestors”

It amused my my mother to talk about her Shaker ancestors. Which would have been notworthy because a major tennant of Shaker communities was their commitment to chastity. In their communities, men and women were not even allowed to touch.

The Shakers, originally called “Shaking Quakers,” officially were “The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing.” And of course, Quakers officially are, “The Society of Friends.”

Shortly before the Civil War, a tiny group of 9 Quakers in Manchester, England broke off, came to America and settled near Albany, NY. From that origainal 9 grew an organization that at it’s height, had 2,000 to 4,000 members in 18 large and numerous smaller communities in NY, MA, NH, ME, CT, OH & KY. So, with procreation ruled out, you may wonder how they grew so much. Their idealism and industriousness attracted many converts. All communities of that time had to support themselves with farming, but Shakers were ingenious inventors and manufacturers, inventing the flat brooms we use today and the machines to make them, gadgets to pare and core apples, peg coatracks, originating selling small packets of seeds, and designing and manufacturing functional and beautiful chairs and baskets. They embraced machinery and efficiency — and simple designs.

One of their distinctive prectices, that gave rise to their name, was incorporating dance into their worship services. How was this possible when men and women were not allowed to touch? Line dancing. See

All of you have probably heard one of the Shaker song, Simple Gifts:

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain’d,
To bow and to bend we will not be asham’d,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

They danced to that, bowing, and rotating in place to the words.

But a major factor in their growth was they took in, and cared for, orphans and the homeless. Anyone clould come and stay, provided they abided by the communituy rules while they stayed (including no, or very limited) contact with the outside world. And presumably doing their share of chores as able. When children reached adulthood, they had a choice whether to stay or join the community. A major factor in the Shakers’ decline was an unintended result the creation of social service agencies to deal with adoptions and foster parents. Social workers looking out for children’s welfare eventually ended the Shakers orphanage function , cuttting off that source of new members.

So that was the basis of my mother’s claim. One of our Goodrich ancestors was raised in the Hancock Shaker Village, near Pittsfield, MA, but left when he became an adult.

The Shakers were a fascinating group, and a visit to one of their comunities, now turned into museums is well worth the trip. Two of the largest, and most impresssive, are the Hancock Shaker village memtioned above, and Plesant Hill, near Lexington, KY.