The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-08-12
LIFE AMoNG TEE SHAKERS.
Tho Sepsrat1on OF tho sexos--Men With
.,t wives and Women without Hus.
bands-.heir Remarkable Religious
Ceremonies--The Shakers Interior
Life.

A correspondent Of the New York Sun gives
an interesting account Of recent visit to the
priucip Il community Of those peculiar people,
the Shakers: ..... 49,.
A beautiful Sunday morning found your cor
respondent at Columbia Hall, the principal
hotel in the picturesque village OF New Leba'
non, Columbia County, N. 7. Inc Village ls
renowned chiefly as the home Of the Shakers.
I had never seen these strange people had
often. heard Of them as an honest, industrious,
and thrifty people possessing macy virtues,
and strictly adhering 70 the tenets OF their
faith add had long desired to vlsit their ST.
tlement, view their farms and gardens, see
them III. their houses, and observe their form
of religious worship. And now the opportu-
nity presented itself. i,
tits we'll known chat one of the fundamental
principles OF the Shakers creed is llf. Of
sIrict cgilbacy. They claim to be the people OF
whom Jesus said, ''Ihey neither marry nor nre
given IN marriage, but arc as the angels OF
God in Heaven" But to the public they pro-
fess not to condemn mari .ge as an lnstitu-
tlon of 1.-The world. F." and to allow no "beley-
ing" husband or wife to separate from an "uii-
believing" wife or husband except legally or by
mutual agreement
The sKxss DWELLING APART.
The New York Lebanon Society OF Shakers
numbers about Six hundred, aud ID the OLDEST,
as we'll az the lirgest society Of the order IN this
country, The settlement 10 about two miles
nom the village proper. Soon after entering
the boundaries OF the community, the bull
itnes. dwellings,, stores, church. barns, herb
room. &C.. come il view. On each side Of tho
wide and even road arc large reetangu
lar wooden houses, three or four stories high,
and uuiiorm In sizs and appearance. These
are the dwellings,. A spIclous ball runs
through the centre OF the building. .Ihe
apartments Of the brethren and 6lsters are
usually at the opposite sides or ends OF the
house. From two to six live in room; and
although the meu and women OF community
live thus contiguous. sleeping under tue same
roof and eating IN ths same dining room. they
profess to have no social Intercourse with each
other beyond that OF business or devotional
exercise. They enter the buildin at opposite
ends Of the hall; they sit at separate taoies,
aud indulge IN no conversation Win eacn
other, unless 1t be to express their merest
wants, or when superior gives directions OF
instructs subordinate.
THE COMPOSITION OF TIE COMMUNITIES.
II is not generally known that each society
of Shakers Is constituted Of several distinct
families, which are self lfsupportIng, and pos
sess within themselves perfect organizations
in both temporal aud spiritual matters. regu-
larly oficered comprising elders, deacons, care.
takers, and others. The Society OF New Le-
banon embraces eight Of THESE families. The
different comm mites, or families, in each 30.
cietIy. number from thirty to one hundred and
Atty members Of both sexes, who generally
OCCUPY one large, unitary dwelling, in which,
as they claim, the brethren and sisters live
together IN spiritual order aud social rela-