On this date 232 years ago ...

Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers in America died at the community of Watervliet, New York.

Do all your work as though 

you've a thousand years to live, 

and as you would if you knew 

you must die tomorrow. 

- Mother Ann Lee 

Ann Lee's grave at the Shaker Cemetery in Albany County, NY
Photo by Erik Lander, 2001

Martha Stewart presents a short video on Pleasant Hill

Her website doesn't say when this video was produced but in less than 5 minutes, Martha Stewart gives a good overview of who the Shakers were, as she presents scenes from Pleasant Hill.

Pleasant Hill Shaker Village - MarthaStewart.com

Martha Stewart takes us to the Pleasant Hill Shaker Village near Lexington, Kentucky. The town museum's director provides some facts about this historical village.

Shaker records on Find a Grave

I've been working to make sure all of the Runyon relations who were Pleasant Hill Shakers are available and accurate on Find a Grave. While now part of Ancestry.com Find a Grave assures its members that its data will remain free and available to all.

To look up any Runyon, Badgett, Ryan, Sutton, etc. enter the last name below and click on search.

Many links to Phineas and Charity's non-Shaker descendants are starting to appear as well so that connections can easily be understood.

Remember that markers for individual Shakers were usually not placed in the graveyard (none exists for the Runyon family members) so requesting a photo will not result in a gravestone photo. 

Search for cemetery records in Shaker Cemetery, KY at by entering a surname and clicking search: Shaker Cemetery, KY (181 names)All of Find A Grave (146.0 million names) Restrict search to Surname

With chickens in a yard

“Portrait of Jane Sutton with chickens in a yard between buildings,” part of the Winterthur Shaker photographs and postcards collection.

This photo looks like it must have been taken at the southwest corner of the Trustee's Office, as that is the only large brick building that has a back addition flush with the front on its west side. This is the spot where visitors approach from the parking lot today.

The photo appeals to me for three reasons. First, it shows action - farm work in progress - rather than the typical "sit on the steps for your portrait" shot. Second, Jane is a Runyon descendant (granddaughter of Joseph and Jane/Ginny). Third, it shows that Pleasant Hill was a working farm in the way that you might expect a Shaker farm to be... orderly but not perfect, and not pristine as a visit to the restored village today might suggest.

Off to Frankfort

One of the Shakertown journals in the Filson Historical Society Special Collections available digitized is this one, which includes nineteen pages of entries from the year 1816. Most are related to the weather conditions but starting with image 10, the subject matter turns to comings and goings and various projects at Pleasant Hill. Phineas, William, and Joseph Runyon are each mentioned, the latter two traveling to nearby towns - Lexington, Danville, Frankfort. Most of the trips seem to have taken 3 to 4 days.

Here is an entry for Joseph Runyon's excursion to Frankfort to sell carpets, Monday, February 19, 1816:

Aliens from the Sheepfold

I've often wondered what neighboring villages and farmers thought of the society of Shakers at Pleasant Hill. I found one reference while researching a different branch of the family who lived in Garrard County, southeast of Mercer County. It comes from "The song of Lancaster, Kentucky, To the statesmen, soldiers, and citizens of Garrard county," written by Eugenia Dunlap Potts in 1874.

Page 14 of The song of Lancaster, Kentucky, To the statesmen, soldiers, and citizens of Garrard county.
Eugenia Dunlap Potts, May, 1874.

LOC Resources

The Library of Congress is such a valuable resource for genealogists and so much of the collection is now online, including the D.G. Beers & Co. maps from the late nineteenth century.

Here is the D.G. Beers map for the Pleasant Hill portion of Mercer County. You can find the complete map online at Loc.gov.

Map of Boyle & Mercer counties, Kentucky
D.G. Beers & Co.
H.J. Toudy & Co.
Worley & Bracher.
Philadelphia : D.G. Beers & Co., 1876

Preservation Project

Harrodsburg, Ky. – Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill has been awarded a $5.1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. in support of site’s Restoring the Spiritual Center project.

The project will preserve, protect and interpret the site’s two most iconic buildings, the 1824 Centre Family Dwelling and the 1820 Meeting House, which served as the spiritual epicenter of the Pleasant Hill Shaker community for nearly 100 years.

The management, care and public access to historic Shaker spaces, collections and archives will be targeted for improvement through the project. The two buildings are testaments to Kentucky Shaker craftsmanship, ingenuity and spirituality. The 24,000 square-foot Centre Family Dwelling was once the second largest structure in the state.

Read more at Shaker Village awarded $5.1M preservation grant