Historical Dictionary of the Shakers by Paterwic Stephen J.;

Author:Paterwic, Stephen J.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: undefined
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Unlimited Model
Published: 2012-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

NEALE, EMMA JANE (1847–1943)

For those writing about Mount Lebanon in the 20th century, a knowledge of the life and work of Emma Neale is essential. She was born on 10 June 1847 in Hinsdale, New Hampshire. Her father was a London-born wool merchant. She had four sisters and two brothers. On 3 December 1855, she and five of her siblings were admitted to the East Family of New Lebanon. This family was actually right over the state line in the town of Hancock, Massachusetts. She was sent to live at the First Order of the Church on 15 May 1861. Here, she attended school and in 1866 began helping out as a teaching assistant. In 1872, due to the lack of men, she began teaching the boys’ school. In October 1886, she was appointed one of the Office deaconesses. By 1897, she was first Office deaconess and in 1901 became one of the five trustees of the entire Mount Lebanon community.

When the Florida property was purchased in 1895, the Church Family at Mount Lebanon Shakers took on an enormous debt that they could not easily pay off. It fell entirely on trustee Emma Neale to find a way to save her family from financial ruin. She organized the few able-bodied sisters, and they worked on a wide variety of fancy goods. A catalog, “Products of Intelligence and Diligence,” advertised their products. In addition, after Clarissa Jacobs of the Second Family gave up the cloak industry in 1899, Sister Emma took it up and formed “E. J. Neale & Co.” in 1901. This business proved to be very lucrative. After this time, she was the principal trustee for the entire society. She had to keep things going for as long as possible. She was an expert manager, but as resources dwindled, it became difficult to operate at a deficit. By 1920, there were fewer than 20 in the family and the herb industry was almost gone. As early as World War I, proposals to sell the Church Family property had been advanced, but nothing had come of it. In 1921, the younger members of the Church Family were sent to live at Hancock in preparation for vacating the place. Still no buyers followed through, and if it had not been for the income from the sale of the Florida community in 1924, the Church Family would have been in serious debt. Finally, in October 1930, Emma was able to sell the property for $75,000 to an organization that intended to found a school for boys. Along with the remaining Church Family Shakers—Sarah Neale, Charles Gannebin, Martin Jones, and Benjamin DeRoo—she moved into Ann Lee Cottage. Here they sold fancy goods and cloaks and greeted visitors.

One of these visitors was John S. Williams of Old Chatham, New York. He nicknamed her the “eldress” because she was so alert and sharp, even in her old age. Unfortunately, later writers incorrectly use his good-natured bantering to conclude that she actually was an eldress, and she has often been incorrectly depicted as such.

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