The Story of the Shakers (Revised Edition) by Flo Morse

Author:Flo Morse [Morse, Flo]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Countryman Press
Published: 2016-01-31T16:00:00+00:00

Elder Frederick Evans was well known among the “world’s people.”

Few were embracing the religious life that demanded so much of its members and kept them secluded in the country. There was more resignation than inspiration in some members’ continued seeking of human perfection. With diminished numbers and reduced zeal, six Shaker villages closed between 1875 and 1900, and the surviving members moved to other communes. Some of the vast land holdings—each society had an average of 2,700 acres in 1875—were sold off or entrusted to hired hands. Many home industries were dropped, and the Shakers bought some of the assembly-line products of the world.

Elder Frederick shook his head when the looms stopped weaving Shaker cloth. “We buy more cheaply than we can make,” he said, “but our homemade cloth is much better than what we can buy. And now we have to buy three pairs of trousers where before we made one. Thus our little looms would even now be profitable—to say nothing of the independence we secure in working them.”

One new trend he favored was the broadening of Shaker life. The Believers began to read to the world’s newspapers and magazines, and books on science, history, and travel. They held reading meetings and had debating clubs. Purely pleasure-giving flowers and pictures and musical instruments were finally enjoyed. And why not? said Elder Evans. Saints deserved the good things of the world as much as sinners.

To hold the interest of the younger members, family problems were discussed in open meetings. But no one listened when young women wanted out of the kitchen, or yearned to let their hair grow free of the ever-present bonnets and indoor caps, which some in the West pushed back to their ears. The only change allowed in the sisters’ costume was the replacing of the separate shoulder kerchief with a yoke that still hid the bosom.

It was not until many years later that some of the sisters got their wish for less monotony. They had long outnumbered the brethren and were destined to outlast them. As the men grew fewer, the sisters took over more of the support of the families. They escaped from the communal kitchens and took to selling their confections in Shaker booths at country fairs. They became a familiar sight traveling in pairs to New England seaside, lake, and mountain resorts, where they peddled their small well-made wares and fancywork.

While Elder Frederick was busy at church headquarters with public relations, the quality and structure of local leadership elsewhere declined. Too many elders now wore two hats and, as part-time trustees, paid too little attention to spiritual matters. There were great financial losses, not only from uninsured fires and less productive farms, but from careless or foolish speculations and worldly investments, and even a lack of principle on the part of distracted leaders. Trying to hold things together, they neglected the faith and made things worse.

The old ingenuity and enterprise that once put the Shakers ahead of their time was declining. They became obsolete when machines separated man’s hand from his work.

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