Scope and Content Note
The Shaker Collection includes correspondence, diaries and journals, recipes, photographs, financial and legal papers, community laws and rules, church records such as covenants, hymns and hymnals, orders and instructions, spiritual communications, prayers, inspirational writings and drawings, registers, lists of members, logbooks, lectures and speeches, and writings by and about members, including poetry, autobiographical, biographical, and historical sketches, essays, memoirs, testimonies, and notes and book drafts. Most of the collection concerns the period from 1792 to 1937, although some retrospective material relates to events as early as 1676. Many of the items are copies signed and dated by the transcriber.
The collection is organized in eight series by the name of the Shaker community. Within each series, items are numbered and listed in an order devised by the United States Works Progress Administration arrangers in 1938. Six of the series contain records from Enfield, Connecticut ; Pleasant Hill and South Union, Kentucky ; Canaan and New Lebanon, New York ; and Union Village, Ohio. Two series of miscellaneous records concern communities in Alfred, Maine; Busro (West Union), Indiana; Canterbury and Enfield, New Hampshire; Hancock, Harvard, Pittsfield, and Tyringham, Massachusetts; Watervliet, New York; and Watervliet and Whitewater, Ohio.
The records reflect many aspects of Shaker life and history. The diaries and journals document the daily life of individuals, including mention of the weather, and community events such as the construction of buildings, travels of the members, education of children, and the arrival and departure of visitors. Some diaries are more concerned with character and spiritual development. The autobiographical, biographical, and historical sketches, memoirs, logbooks, and registers provide further accounts of life in Shaker communities. Birth and death dates of early Shakers are often noted; other demographic data can be obtained from the registers and writings. Material related to two unpublished books includes the drafts and notes for a history of Union Village and the autobiography of Susanna C. Liddell.
Shaker beliefs and religious practices are recorded in volumes containing covenants, declarations of trust, church orders and instructions, discourses, and essays. The significance of revelation and inspiration in Shaker religion can be seen in the many accounts of visions and spiritual communications with deceased members of the sect, including Ann Lee, William Lee, and James Whittaker, or with angels and other divine beings.
A significant amount of material relates to Shaker music. Hymns and anthems are especially numerous. Musical accompaniment is provided for some of the hymns.
Correspondence exchanged between communities is limited in quantity. Legal papers, such as indentures and court documents, financial accounts, clippings, and other miscellaneous items complete the collection.
Prominent Shakers who are represented in the collection by correspondence, diaries, journals, or other writings include Giles Bushnell Avery, David Darrow, Calvin Green, Matthew Houston, Rebecca Jackson, Susanna C. Liddell, Richard McNemar, Joseph Meacham, Richard Pelham, Seth Y. Wells, and Isaac N. Youngs.