Revolutionary War, having been wounded at the battle of Jones'
Bridge between Ft. Edward and Ft. Ann in July 1777, when he would
have been 18 years old. His right hand "was nearly ruined". In
1818 he was sent to Savoy to help them build their grist mill,
However in January 1832, when he had a "severe turn of the flu",
he showed "symptoms of derangement" for a week or two and then
became "raving crazy." He was now 73. He was so noisy that the
brethren moved him "to the little shop over the creek." A month
later he broke out "a window the west side of the little shop and
jumps out but is soon took back." But he apparently recovered
and in 1835 visited Lebanon and Hancock for a couple of weeks.
He finally died quietly in 1845 at the age of 86.

Hattie Coburn came from Groveland in 1892 when that community
closed, along with her brothers Byron and Chester. Hattie was
always "feeble-minded", the term used then, and one of the
sisters usually took care of her. At the North Family this was
Esther Scott. However Esther died in 1916 of cancer so this left
Hattie as another responsibility for Jennie Wells and Ella
Winship to take care of along with a number of elderly sisters.
When the North Family closed in 1919, Hattie was among those who
moved to the South Family. But, as those left there also aged,
it no longer became possible to care for her and in March 1929
she was taken to the mental hospital at Poughkeepsie.

In 1883 Aaron Sonburg, the West Family Trustee, drowned himself
in the North Family quarry. He was only 38 but suffered badly
from rheumatism in his back and legs.

In 1895, Jacob Bauer, aged 73, died at the South Family. The
West Family Eldress said he hung himself, but the South Family
journal said he died, "was very feeble, very nervous, had a
stroke, nearly blind."

Nothing much is known about Sally Bigelow who came from Delaware
County in 1834 when she would have been 28 years old. She held
no offices nor did anything mentioned in the journals until on
10 January, 1858, it was noted that she became insane. On the
15th she was "sick and very deranged" and on the 20th she died of
"inflammation of the brain" at the age of 52.

Sometimes the Shakers apparently realized they had misjudged the
state of an applicant's mental health. There are three
instances, at least. In March 1841 they recorded that Mathew
Conry was "taken crazy." He was taken to the world the next day
but two days later came back "wild and crazy." This time they
apparently put a "tight jacket" on him but he got it off and ran