15

He was 72.

The Ministry Journal records in 1861 that Amos Lewis, "a deranged
man who has been living for a few years at the South Family, died
last night."

The Ministry Journal on January 6, 1864 says that Eldress Sarah
Van Dyke of the East Family came to the Ministry Shop and that
"she is extremely debilitated and severely prostrated, is almost
like an infant, judgment gone and reason tottering on its
throne." But only a few weeks later she was put in charge of the
young girls, so either Giles Avery (author of the Journal at this
point) was overstating her condition or, with a shortage of com-
petent leaders, they were making do with what they had.

Sometimes the Shaker method of treatment was unusual. For
example the Ministry Journal on June 13, 1877 contains the
following notation: "Carl King, a German who lived at the North
Family for over 20 years and at the Second Family for the past
two years, set fire to the Second Family seed shop & woodhouse
while the family was at breakfast." He was taken to New York
City on the 14th by Clinton Brainard to be sent to Germany "as he
is said to be insane, and this is to avoid sending him to state
prison."

On January -5, 1880, the Ministry Journal notes that "Louisa
Youngs is insane, mostly by injudicious attention to the spirit-
ualistic papers & through a high sense. She fancies she should
be societies first leader." On January 7th she is "very insane"
and on the 16th "quite insane."

Probably because they had such trouble treating those with mental
disorders, the Shakers were open to any cures and so, as the
Ministry Journal notes in December 1884, "A woman by the name of
Rebecca Delia Wade comes to the South Family who is a peculiar
healing medium for the insane. She has operated on the crazy
women there very favorably." [How many did the South Family
have?]
But even Shaker patience wore out as the Ministry Journal records
in January 1889 when Benjamin Gates and Dr. Carl Semilroth [who
had come from Pleasant Hill a few months previously] went "to
find an asylum for Sarah Ann Spencer, who is insane & has been
for several years; she is very troublesome."

Steve Paterwic informs me that Amy Bowers of the North Family
"went insane from TB in 1900; Jay McLaughlin of the North Family