 Shakers
The first Shaker settlement was established near Albany, New York in 1776. Called the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, the original group of eight was inspired by mystic and founder Ann Lee to leave Manchester, England for the new land. These "Shaking Quakers" arrived in New York City in 1774. They believed that a life of celibacy, confession of sin, and hard labor was the only way to total redemption. Their unsettling style of worship - singing, shouting and violent trembling in their fervor and communication with God - was scorned and considered profane by the traditional Christian religions of the time.
By 1780, many converts came into the sect and communities were being settled and organized throughout the Northeast. Mother Ann's much quoted: "Put your hands to work and hearts to God," was the essence of Shaker living and religion. They sought to live separately from the "world's people," to produce all the goods needed for their own purposes and to produce income for the purchase of land. Many talents and occupations contributed to a legacy of fine craft and ingenuity, best known are the simple yet beautiful Shaker-made furnishings and tools.
Following the Mother Ann's death in 1784, Elders structured communities into a successful economic system. The best qualified ("If you improve in one talent, God will give you more.") man or woman (the 1787 appointment of Lucy Wright as leader of the women's group of Shakers gave the sisters equal rights with their brethren) within the order was given responsibility for each type of work. Their well-made products, high ideals (having given up marriage, family, private property and personal desires for the welfare of all) earned the appreciation of surrounding towns and neighbors. "All things made for sale ought to be well done, and suitable for their use." -Joseph Meacham
Just prior to the Civil War the sect numbered six thousand believers, the peak of its growth. Today, only a few Shaker sisters remain at the Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Sister Ethel Hudson died at the age of 96 at her home at Canterbury Shaker Village in 1992. Canterbury Shakers founded the museum to preserve and interpret Shaker history and ideals.
An example of Shaker ingenuity was the Village's revolving oven, designed by Eldress Emeline Hart. Used to cook the community's renowned baked beans, the oven had four compartments, each with its own door. It was capable of cooking many quarts of beans.
Northern communities like Canterbury Shaker Village had extensive "sugar bushes" or groves of maple trees. From the sap-made-syrup, maple sugar cakes were molded in tins, sometimes with local butternut added. The Village was also known for its extensive fruit orchards, the beehives needed to fertilize the trees and, as a by-product, the honey the apiary produced.
Mary Whitcher, of Canterbury, authored Shaker literatures' earliest cookbook: MARY WHITCHER'S SHAKER HOUSE-KEEPER (Published in Boston, 1882). She was the first to give "bills of fare" or menus for each day of the week. The 150 recipes utilized a variety of fresh and nutritiously grown food. The book was not sold, but given to those interested in the medicines produced by the Shakers and advertised within.
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