Warren County Local
History by Dallas Bogan |
Contributor: |
Dallas Bogan on 29 July 2004 |
Source: |
Dallas Bogan, Warren County, Ohio and Beyond (Bowie Maryland: Heritage Press, 1979) page 316 |
Return to Index to see a list of other articles by Dallas Bogan |
The Shaker sect, namely the Society
of Believers, is full of rich history. There is so much written about this
subject that this column can hold just a portion of the many happenings. An
account of some of the setbacks embarked upon by the Shakers
will be our subject for this article.
The direct results of the "Great Kentucky Revival" caused the Mother
Church of the Society of Believers in Lebanon, N.Y.,
to send three of its missionaries to the Miami Valley, namely, John
Meacham, Benjamin S. Youngs, and Issachar
Bates. (They arrived in Turtlecreek Township on Friday, March 22, 1805.)
Rev. Richard McNemar was a principal player in the revival.
Following this momentous event, Rev. McNemar was found preaching
at the Turtle Creek Presbyterian Church at Beedle's Station. Through his conversion
to the Shaker faith, he became a great leader in a movement
that was to last for over 100 years in Warren County.
The first convert to the Shaker faith was Malcolm Worley. His
lands became the site of the newly formed Society. He was recognized as the
first Shaker converts in the West. He had previously
been involved in the Kentucky Revival, which had so affected him that the ways
of the Shakers totally embraced him. Worley entered
Shakerism at the age of 43; he lived 39 years after becoming a member, and died
August 3, 1844, at the age of 82.
His family had converted with him. However, his three children, Rebecca,
Joshua and Joseph, at a later time withdrew
from the Society. They went through legal channels in efforts to try to reclaim
the land he had deeded to the Shakers. Their claim was
that their father was not sane at the time of the transaction.
The Supreme Court heard the case and a decision was made in favor of the Shakers.
A sum of $1,200 was spent in legal actions by the children, but to no avail.
Another decision by the Supreme Court was rendered in 1811, again the Shakers
being the defendants. Robert Wilson sued Elder David
Darrow for $250, and again the Believers were victorious. Court action
was brought against them in 1816 by Jonathan Davis, but again
proved unsuccessful. They were also involved in court proceedings as a result
of the 1817 mob. Elder Solomon King became the new leader in
1829. Joshua Worley was second in the ministry to Elder
King, while his brother, Joseph, was an Elder at the
North House.
The year 1835, near the end of Elder King's reign, saw a financial reverse,
which totally shocked the Society. Nathan
Sharp, the Society's primary trustee, departed with a valuable
horse along with an unknown amount of money and valuable papers. The new converts
were astonished at this act, which were at this time trying to establish the
character of the Ministry and Elders.
The same year other disasters to the organization were experienced. On June
9, close to nine inches of rain fell in a very short period of time. Damages
incurred amounted to about $25,000 when all the milldams were swept away. The
tailrace had been filled with gravel and stones. Other noted damage included
clothing, fulling and coloring shops. The lowlands to the west of the community
were many feet under water and large trees were uprooted and carried away. The
crops in this section were also damaged. An abundance of caterpillars caused
significant damage that year, eating away the foliage on the forest trees and
killing many of them.
In October of the same year, Elder King returned to the parent
home in New Lebanon, N.Y., and while there resigned his position at Union Village.
In succession to the leadership, David Meacham was next and
served a short time. In 1836, Freegift Wells took over. At
this time Joshua Worley's name was still entered as an assistant
to the ruling Elder of the Society. Joshua's name does not
appear again in the legislative committee. A thought was passed on that he might
have been disappointed for not having been chosen as the head of the settlement,
even though his faithful service merited it.
In July 1859, a gang of organized thieves from Indiana made arrangements to
burglarize the sect. A gang member unveiled the plot and all appropriate steps
were taken to prevent an occurrence. A large amount of wheat and clothing was
stolen in March 1860. The thieves proved to be renegades.
A fire that completely engulfed the old North House occurred on March 4, 1865.
In this enclosed building were a tin shop, broom factory, carpenter shop, shoemaker
room, and sarsaparillas laboratory. A total loss of $10,000 was experienced.
To add to this tragedy, they already had an indebtedness of $12,000. By 1875
the debt added up to $20,000. A reform of sorts was called for, and instead
of paying a rate of eight or nine percent interest; money was borrowed from
other Shaker communities. Consequently, $2,000 was paid on the debt the first
year. Elder William Reynolds was the appointee handling the
finances.
A cow barn and 39 head of cattle were lost by fire on January 2, 1876.
Further losses to the Society were felt in 1877 because of a bank failure in
Lebanon. The Shakers suffered a loss of $7,468.
On January 22, 1884, the Elder at the West Family fled with $500 belonging to
the family.
The Society had begun loaning money in 1885 in which a Dayton business (the
Dayton Furnace Company) had collective loans of $16,000. This venture proved
to be a total loss, the culprit being a shrewd lawyer.
A tornado struck the village on May 12, 1886, which caused havoc to several
buildings, uprooted many of their fruit and forest trees, and blew their wooden
fences over. In 1890, the Farm Deacon sold about $700 worth of livestock and
disappeared with the money. On April 12, 1890, the two-story wood shed at the
South House was destroyed by fire. Just seventeen days later the dwelling at
South House, washhouse, and laundry equipment were destroyed by fire. The homeless
quickly took up residence amongst the other families. An investigation by a
detective was called for by the Elder, which revealed that one of the Shaker
inmates was the rogue. He was sent to the penitentiary for a period of four
years.
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