weeks later on Sept. 8th.
James Whittaker, a zealot, became the leader. Richard
Hocknell and James Partington left, refusing to serve under him.
Whittaker traveled continuously, trying to gather together the
converts that had been made. He even had built and fitted out
in Rehoboth, Mass, a ship, the "Union," commanded by Morrell
Baker, to take the message to other lands. It is said it failed
because of a dispute over Baker's captaincy but is supposed to
have made one voyage to Haiti with h orses, flour, etc., and
back to Boston. Whittaker also had the first meeting house built
at New Lebanon in 1785. He died in July 1787, only 36 years old,
worn out from his constant travel.
He was succeeded by Joseph Meacham who selected Lucy Wright
as the female leader. A regularized form of organization was now
set up with all Believers to live in communities together, apart
from the world, rather than continuing in their own homes. New
Lebanon was the first community so organized in 1787 and became
the capitol of the Shaker world, with main authority vested in
the Central Ministry there. The regions were set u^p as
bishoprics and New Lebanon and Watervliet were in the same
bishopric, with Groveland added later.
It was now that the governing method of the Shakers was set
U/-P by Meacham and Wright of elders and eldresses, deacons and
deaconesses, male and female trustees. The first US census in
1790 shows David Meacham as head of a family of 19 males over 16
years, 9 females over 16, and 5 females under 16; and Hezekiah
Noble with a family totaling 21. I believe these were what later
were designated as the First Order and Second Order. (Filley p.13
Mine, de la Tour du Pin, an exile during the French Revolu-
tion, who lived at the corner of Watervliet-Shaker and Delatour
Roads, visited the Shakers about 1795 and commented on "a large
number of nice wooden houses, a church, schools, and a community
house of brick" and mentioned a "superb kitchen garden with
everything in a state of the greatest prosperity, but without the
least evidence of elegance" as well as immense coj6mmunity
stables,,
fdalries, factories for the production of butter and cheese, and
the neat, uniform appearance of the gray wool homespun costumes
of the men, women and children. Everywhere she observed order
and absolute silence. "Through the windows," she wrote," we
could see the looms of the weavers, and the pieces of cloth which
they were dyeing, also the workshops of the tailors and the
dress-makers, but not a word or a song was to be heard anywhere."
Another early visitor was Moses Guest who, in 1796,
describes a meeting house 50' x 25' in which he say "24 men
dancing at one end of the room and 20 women at the other. -They
appeared to be from the age of 14 to 80 years; and were formed
four deep. Two of their elders were singing a song... called the
rose tree."
The Gathering Ordjfer (or later South Family) was established
in 1800 for Young Believers or novitiates and the Second Family
(or West Family) in 1810 as an additional order for Young
Believers.
David Austen Buckingham in 1826 created a list of the CF
buildings as follows: