The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-09-30
Shakers, Suffrage and spiritisn,

:
two years before our Declaration
of Independence declared "all
men are created equal Spirit
manifestations, akin to the recent
popularity of other world commun-
! ication. had vogue in the colo
MES before the Revolutionary War.
These facts are recalled by the
proposed abandonment Of the
| Shaker Community in Enfield, New
Hampshire, which is reported to
have dwindled from $50 members
to only survivors. says a bull
letin from the Washington. D. c..
! headquarters of the National Geo.
graphic Society
How an Idea Survived
"Of all the groups that found
sanctuary on the sol! of colonial
! America the most remarkable, per-
haps, were the Shakers with their
customs that We're partly medieval
and partly far ahead Of their day."
the bulletin continues. 3.And the
! persistence of a firmly grounded
religious belief is aptly illustrated
by their survival to this day al
though their virginia. vows provid-
ed no Younger generation to carry
on their tradition. and their delib-
crate isolation in self-sustaining
communities gave few opportuni-
ties to make converts.
1"The Shakers never had more
than 5000 members and the twelve
communities remaining today re-
ported 367 members in 1915, which
means a population of not more
than a thousand. The longevity of
individual members, combined with
their abstinence from meat and
| fish, their prescribed manual la
bor and hygenic living, have made
their communities interesting .hu-
man experiment stations for the
biologist as we'll as the geograpfler.
The bodily movements as they wor-
shipped closely resembles the noon
day gymnasium Of many an Amer
ican business man.
Arrested for Gyrations
"Ann Lee. self styled, Ann the
Word but known among her fol-
lowers as Mother Ann founded
the Shakers whose oficail title is
United Society Of True Believeres
in Christ's Second Coming At
ter four children died in their in
fancy Ann Lee sought solace
among an offshoot of the Quaker
sect in England which had been
Influenced by the early eighteenth
century wave Of manifestations
among what we would call med
iums. Ann could not read Or write
and her husband later deserted her.
For her shouting, leaping and bod
lily gyrations during hers exhorta-
tons she was arrested in Manches-
ter.
While in Jail the young woman
asserted that the Christ appeared
TO her in vision, told her he was
one with her, and upon serving her
sentence she gathered a few follow
ers and set out for America to pro-
claim herself the embodiment Of
Christ in His second coming.
a Modern Miracle
"On the way across the ships
captain forbade the Shakers TO in-
dulge in their athletic fern Of
worship. Whereupon. according to
Shaker literature, a storm arose, a
plank was sprung, and the vessel
began to fill. Mother Ann re-
assured the captain saying two an
gels had appeared before her in a
vision to promise her safe voyage
Just as the crew was becoming eS-
hausted from pumping a huge
wave came again, struck the ship
and jammed the plank back into
place.
For two years Mother Ann
worked in New York as washer
woman, then. in 1875. she founded
the first Shaker church at Water
liet. New York.
SIN such strange fashion was in
stituted, the year that America
dates her national birth, the Wes-
tern Worlds first experiment in
communism. Later societies, OF
families. grew up in New York,
Massa chusetts. New Hampshire.
Maine, Connecticut, Ohio and TseE-
tucky.
The Shaker Platform
"The cardinal principles Of the
Shaker religion are virgin purity,
confession of their sins, complete
separation from what they term
the worlds vanities, and a COM
munism which approaches political
socialism. If man and wife join
a Shaker community they are sup
posed to live as brother and sister.
Until recently they prohibited
the taking of photosraph and for
bade pictures Of all kinds as idol
atrous. Even the cultivation OF
flower gardens for decorative pur-.
poses was frowned upon in former
wears. And there is still doubt
among the older members a1out
the propriety OF musical instru-
ments.
1.-The Shaker community is as
nearly selfsustaining as possible
and about the only importations
in their beginnings were iron for
their plow shares. In their indus
trial and agricultural development
they have contributed many valu-
able ideas which have been sieZed
upon for general use. They are
credited with the revolving harrow,
cut nails. and the planting ma
chine. Raising herbs for medicinal
use was one OF their early major
industries.