Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1869-08-26
Life Among the shakers.

D--A't
Ccrsmonies-TNe Shakers interior
Life.
Correspondence of the sun.
HUDSON, Y. Y, July PA beautiful
Sunday morning found your correspon
dent at Columbia Hall, the principal no
tel in the picturesque village of New Leb
anon, Columbia County, n. Y. The vii
LACE is renowned chiefly as the home O
the Shakers. 1 had never seen these
strange people. [ had often heard of then
as an honest, industrious, and thrifty PEG.
pie, possessing many virtues, and strictly
adhering to the tenets of their faith. ano
[ had long desired to visit, their settle.
ment. view their farms and gardens, see
them in their houses, and observe theil
form of religious worship. And now tbs
opportunity presented itself.
1t is we'll known that one of the funda-
mnetal principles of the Shakers creed is &
life of strict celibacy. They claim to be
of the people of whom Jesus said, They
neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but are as the angels of God in Heaven
But to the public they profess not to con-
denim marriage as an institution of the
world and to allow no 'believing" hus-
band or wife to seperate from an 'sunbe-
lieving'' wife or husband except legally
or by mutual agreement.
THE SEXES DWELLING APART.
The New Lebanon Society of Shakers
numbers about six hundred, and is the
Oldest. as we'll as the largest society Of the
order in this country; The settlement is
about two miles from the village proper.
Soon after entering the boundaries of the
community, the buildings, dwellings, stores,
church, barns, herb room, &c, come in
view. On each side of the wide and even
road, are large, rectangular wooden hous-
es, three or four stories high, and uniform
in size and appearance. These are the
dwellings. A spacious hall runs through
the centre of the building. The apart
ments of the brethren and sisters are usu-
ally at the opposite sides or ends of the
house. From two to six live in a room {;
and although the men and women of the
community live thus contiguous, sleeping
under the same roof and eating in the same
dining-room, they profess to have no social
Intercourse with each other beyond that
of business and devotional exercise. They
enter the building at opposite ends of the
hall they sit at separate tables, and in
dulge in no conversation with each other,
unless it be to express their merest wants,
or when a superior gives directions or in
structs a subordinate.
THE COMPOSITION OF COMMUNE
TIErS
It is not generally known that each So
ciety OF Shakers is constituted OF several
distinct families, which are ~self-support-
inc, and possess within themselves perfect
organizations in both temporal and spiritu-
al matters, regularly differed, comprising
elders. deacons. care-takers, and others
The Society of New Lebanon embraces
eight of these families. The different COM
munities, or families, in each Society num-
Der from 80 to $50 members of both SEX
es, who generally occupy one large, unita-
~ dwelling, in which, as they claim, the
brethren and sisters live together in a spir-
itual order and social relation.
PLACES OF WORSHIP.
Each dwelling contains a large meeting
room sufficiently capacious to accommo-
date all the members of the family, and
in this room they assemble several times
a week for worship, and from twice to
thrice Il week they have reunion meet
ings in their private rooms, where from
four to eight or ten Of the brethren and
sisters spend an hour Or so sitting together
in devotional conversation and singing.
THE WORKSHOPS
There are also in the settlement large
buildings containing numerous workshops
connected with each family, one for the
men the other for women. In these va
rious branches of manufacture are carried
on. consisting of necessary articles for home
consumption and for sale. They have all
the mechanical trades necessary to meet
the immediate wants Of a family, but are
largely dependent upon the neighboring
village cities for the improved implements
which render modern agriculture success
full.
AGRICULTURE AND HORTICULTURE.
Hitherto horticulture has been the lead
ing business in most of the Shaker Soci-
cites, but recently they are turning their
ATTENTION COtlSltSIdDl1 W 0IlCUljJIc."
The Society at New Lebanon owns about
5000 acres of land, a large share of which
is for fuel, timber, and sheep, being very
mountainous. The rest is devoted to ag-
~riculture and horticulture.
IN THE HOUSE OF WORSHIP.
AS we drove to the Shaker meeting
house." a large, rectangular, plain, wood
en- building, with a convex roof. their sing
ing reached our ears. They had already
began their devotional exercises, although
it was not yet 10 o'clock in the morning.
We alighted in front of the church, and
entered, our wives through the door on
one side of the sanctuary and We through
another on the opposite side. Many Wis
isors were in the house, and an usher gave
us seats allotted to those who are not of
the persuasion" These seats are plain
wooden benches, and differ from those used
by the Shakers themselves in that they
are supplied with a back.
When we entered the meeting house"
we could hardly suppress a smile. Rang
ed in line across the room-one row be-
hind another, according to height-the
men on one side of the house, the women
on the other, they stood in their quaint
costumes, their faces cast down, their eyes
upon the floor. The men wore coats, pam
and waistcoats of the same mate
rial, Observation-Disclosures of the an
cient shad-belly pattern, with a standing
collar reaching to the ears, waistcOat but
toned close to the throat, with standing
collar and combinations of the most libe-
raj dimensions. About their necks each
wore a white kerchief, containing at least
a half yare of muslin.
The women were neatly attired in gowns
of some light lead colored material reach
ing to the feet, and guiltless of expansion