Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1886-04-17
The Oneida Community.
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER, JOB
II. MOVES.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER, JOHN
II. MOVES.
From the New York Times.
The death at Niagara Falls on Tuesday, OF
John Humphrey Noyes brings conspicuously
before the public probably for the last time, one
of the most curious of the socialistic expert.
ments for which the first half OF this century is
noted, the Oneida Community OF Perfectionists,
which Noyes founded, and which, 80 long as he
was able to manage it, maintained wonderful
degree OF materlai prosperity and vitality. The
hist ry OF Noyes himself Is scarcely more than
That OF the community which he tathered. He
was born in 1911. He was studying law in 1881
when he ceuie under the Influence OF the great
"Finney S-'ival, ," In which be was among
the many converts. He abandoned his inten-
ton OF becoming q lawyer and studied the
oogy, first at AndOver and then at New Haven.
His ardent study OF the Bible under the infiu-
ence OF revival preachers soon gave him new
views OF salvation which were all his own, and
watch he gave the name of "PerfectiOnism" 1t
was in 1884 that he founded this new commu-
nistlc religion, and the next twelve years he
spent in extending his views and preaching
salvation from sin, principally at Putney, VT,
where he slowly drew about him a SIN all COM
pany OF believers, among whom were his wife,
ms mother, two sisters and their husbands. In
1S47 he had about 40 followers OF his own, and
there We're other small bodies of "Perfection-
ists' scattered about the country, in correspon-
dence with him and anxious to take him tor a
leader.
Noyes had detailed to his followers in 1S45
his peculiar views OF the proper relations of the
sexes, and a year later the PuIney community
began cautious experiment in communal liv-
ing. Their views, which were openly avowed,
excited what Noyes politely called "Putney
conservatism" but il was q conservatism that
took the form of brickb bats and nrebrands, and
the community found 1t expedient to leave
Putney in S4S. They took refuge in Oneida
Madison county, this state, where they secured
forty acres of untitled and neglected ground, an
unpainted frame house, an abandoned Indian
hui, and an OLD Indian sawmill. Here the COM
munity began with debt OF $4,000, and so
poor that they could not afford to buy beds but
had to sleep on the floor OF the garrett, which
wi,s their principal lodging room. Other com.
munities sprang up, but were ali gradually ab-
sorbed by the one at Oneida, with the exception
existence. Under Noyes' Intelligent leadership
the enterprise thrOve, and in 1870 the commu.
nifty had over 200 members, owned 664 acres
OF choice land, ami had three line water
powers. The manufacturing interest was
valued at over $2Ou,OOO, and the community
had Il number OF the brick buildings and much
excellent machinery.
The religious features of the community were
Its most interesting characteristic. Noyes be-
licved i'll the Bible and held that God Is dual
male and female. A siniess lite was the stand.
ard OF the community, and "periectionism" was
defined as immediate and total cessation from
sim" Their social theory, evolved from the
Bible, Was that, rs In heaven there is no simple
marriage, giving one woman exclusively to one
man, there should be no such Institution on
earth, aud SO they substituted complex for sim.
pie marriage. They held, however, that uni
versaI marriage could only be practiced by
those who had reached the stage oi perfection.
ism" aud that for those still in the world the
ordinary system Of marriage was necessary.
They repudiated free love, in the ordinary
sense OF the term, but really practiced it in q
religious sense. OF course this theory worked
itself out in practice as an abOmi nation but SO
long as NOyes retained the active leadership
complex marriage" was continued. In 1879,
however, it was abandoned, after Moves had
lost his grip through old age and with its aboli-
ton the community lost its peculiar signin-
canoe.