Barrett, Andrew

The Shakers Collection comprises the history of a unique religious sect. Encountering persecution from their origin in England to their first settlement in the New World, they found eventual tolerance and acceptance in the Ohio Valley, in particular, at Watervliet Village. They gained a reputation for honesty, hard work and skill in agriculture and hand crafts. Doomed to decline and eventual extinction by their celibate way of life, their history was preserved by dedicated Shaker chroniclers such as Richard McNemar, Issachar Bates, Stephen Ball and Nancy Moore, and by non-Shaker researchers such as William J. Hamilton and J. P. MacLean.

Shakerism was born in Manchester, England in 1772 under the direction of Mother Ann Lee, who felt for humanity and had a passion for saving and purifying mankind. Ann Lee was the daughter of William Lee and the wife of Abraham Stanley. She was one of seven children and had no formal education. She was born in Toad Lane, Manchester, on Feb. 29, 1736, when King George II was King of England. Religious leaders had forgotten that emotion is a part of all true religious experience. Shakerism was announced to the world for those who, like Jesus of Nazareth, thought of religion as something to live by; Shakers actually practiced what they preached. The tenets of the religion were four: confession of sin, celibacy, community property, and withdrawal from the world. The official name of the sect was "The United Order of Believers", but they largely received the popular name "Shakers" because members often shook with emotion during their religious services.

...