Children of Phineas Runyon and Charity Coates

The following is a re-print from the original Our Shaker Heritage website. Additional details and corrections have been found over the years and I intend to update this post with those changes as time allows. Please bear with me...and if you have additions/corrections to share please get in touch.~Nancy

Children of Phineas Runyon and Charity Coates

The following data are derived from the Shaker records of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky and surrounding counties added to prior research from multiple sources. It lists the children of Phineas and Charity Runyon including those four who, like their parents, joined the Shakers as adults, as well as the Sutton, Ryan, and Badgett extended family members. This list includes Phineas and Charity (generation 1) followed by their children (generation 2) and so on to the third generation and, in the case of the great grandchildren of Phineas and Charity who also lived at Pleasant Hill - to the fourth generation. Members of the family who lived as Shakers are highlighted in red. 

1   Phineas Runyon b: February 13, 1744 in Kingwood, Hunterdon Co., NJ , arrived Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, Ky Fall 1812, d: January 21, 1831 in Shakertown (Pleasant Hill), Mercer Co., KY, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and June 10, 1830

.  +Charity Coates b: December 23, 1744 in Kingwood, NJ m: 1761 in Hunterdon Co., N.J. d: August 9, 1827 in Shakertown (Pleasant Hill), Mercer Co., KY, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814

2 John William Runyon - Revolutionary War veteran b: November 01, 1763 in Hunterdon Co., NJ.  d: September 1833 in New Hope, Preble Co., OH or  Madison Co.,KY.  ...  +Patty (Patricia Mary) Bennett b: unknown m: February 23, 1803 in Rowan Co., NC, buried Old Cem. near New Hope in Jackson Twp.  As an adult, John William migrated from North Carolina to Madison County, Ky, then on to Preble County, Ohio. John and Patricia are buried at Friendship Cemetery, Sugar Valley, Preble CO., Ohio. He and Patricia Bennett are the parents of Mary Runyon Hornbaker. 

2 Joseph Runyon - Joseph and his wife Jane joined the Shaker community in 1809. They arrived at Pleasant Hill March 1810 with their ten children, ranging in age from 1 to 25.  Six of Joseph's children remained throughout their lives at Pleasant Hill.  Joseph died in 1845 at age 80; Jane passed away five years later at age 83.

2   Joseph Runyon b: January 24, 1765 in Kingwood, Hunterdon Co., NJ, Believed in 1809, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: April 28, 1845 in Pleasant Hill, KY, Elder, assistant trustee, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814 and June 10, 1830

...  +Jane (aka Ginny) b: December 12, 1766 in Fairfax Co., VA m: Bef. 1785, Believed February 1810, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: August 24, 1850 in Pleasant Hill, KY, Family Deaconess, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3   Charlotte (aka Sally C.) Runyon b: July 25, 1785 in Rowan Co., NC, Believed September 1809, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: April 20, 1879 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: family deaconess, office, trading, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3   Nancy Runyon b: May 27, 1787 in Rowan Co., NC, believed in 1810, arrived Shakertown Spring 1815 without her husband, d: July 8, 1852 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830

   ....  +Thomas Ryan m: November 23, 1807, Fayette Co., KY

          4   Lawson Ryan  b: November 24, 1808 (twin), arrived Shakertown May 1815, departed Shakertown March 28, 1828

          4   Wesley Ryan b: November 24, 1808 (twin), arrived Shakertown May 1815, departed Shakertown July 20, 1825

          4   Nancy Ryan b: January 12, 1812, arrived Shakertown May 1815, departed Shakertown March 31, 1829

3   Vincent Runyon b: August 16, 1789 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown June 1810, d: March 17, 1846 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, occ: down river trader and Elder, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3   Marcy Runyon b: August 21, 1792 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: January 25, 1837 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814 and June 10, 1830, Elder sister

3   George Runyon b: September 13, 1795 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: May 24, 1884 at Pleasant Hill, Ky  occ: farmer, minister, preacher, hymn writer, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and January 1, 1824

3    William Runyon b: July 12, 1799 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: January 13, 1866 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: stone mason, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3   Guilford D. Runyon b: January 8, 1802 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, departed Shakertown May 18, 1829 and returned the following June, was expelled from Shakertown February 19, 1839, d: April 6, 1873 at Harrodsburg, Ky, buried at Harrodsburg, occ: shoemaker, signed Church Covenant January 1, 1824 and April 3, 1838 (Read more on Guilford)

3   Matilda Runyon b: July 27, 1804 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: May 14, 1873 at Pleasant Hill, KY, occ: nurse, kitchen deaconess, seamstress, signed Church Covenant March 13, 1835 and April 9, 1844

3   Polly Runyon b: August 4, 1807, departed Shakertown June 26, 1825

   ...  +Isaac Sutton

          4   (Mary) Jane Sutton b: February 14, 1832 in Lexington, Fayette Co., KY, brought by her mother to Shakertown June 7, 1834, d: December 29, 1912 at Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant May 10, 1856, occ: seamstress, Trustee

          4  James Sutton b: February 14, 1830 in Fayette Co., KY, brought by his mother to Shakertown May 1834, departed Shakertown December 1849 and returned October 29, 1850, d: August 18, 1895 at Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, KY

3   Benjamin Runyon b: May 16, 1809, departed Shakertown May 6, 1828

2 Bafford Runyon - went by the nickname "Barefoot".

2   Bafford Runyon b: June 06, 1767 in NJ  called Barefoot.  d: March 22, 1844 in Eaton, Preble Co., OH., buried Gard Cem.

...  +Nancy Ann Parks b: April 05, 1768 in NC m: 1786 in Rowan Co., NC. d: October 09, 1862 in Preble Co., OH buried Winholt Cem., Dixon Twp, Preble Co., OH

2 Mercy Runyon - Mercy and her husband John Badgett joined the Shaker community in December 1811, arriving at Pleasant Hill with their nine children.  John died at Pleasant Hill in 1853 at age 87; Mercy seven years later at age 92.

2  Mercy Runyon b: December 23, 1768 in Kingwood, NJ., arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844, d: February 1, 1860 in Pleasant Hill, KY

  ...+ John Badgett b. Nov. 23, 1766 in Granville Co., NC, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and April 9, 1844, d. March 2, 1853 at Pleasant Hill, KY, Deacon, farm and public business

3  Charity Badgett b: October 15, 1791 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown early 1810, Believed June 1810, d: February  13, 1865 at Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814, July 1, 1830 and April 9, 1844, occ: Deaconess, Offfice

3  Prudence (aka Sally) Badgett b: October 14, 1794 in Rowan Co, NC, arrived Shakertown December

27, 1811, Believed January 1812, d: August 27, 1848 at Shakertown, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3  William Badgett b: November 15, 1795 in Madison Co., KY, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and January 1, 1824, departed Shakertown August 25, 1828

  ...+Janie Hover m. October 11, 1828 Mercer Co., (Mercer Co. marriage records)

3  Salome Badgett b: January 14, 1798 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, d: February 15, 1826 at Pleasant Hill, Ky,

3  John R. Badgett, Jr. b: April 3, 1800 I Fayette Co., KY, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, departed   

    Shakertown October 20, 1826

  ...+ America Bosley (b. abt. 1801 in Lincoln Co. KY, died: abt. 1834, parents: possibly Thomas Berry Bosley and Elizabeth Lucinda Sutton) August 2, 1827. Second wife Amanda Miller Haitt.  Died: Abt. 1850 in Washington Co. KY. Children of John R. and America Badgett:

3  Ginny (aka Jinny or Jane) Badgett b: September 13, 1802 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811,  departed Shakertown December 17, 1827

...  +James C. Hutton m. December 24, 1829 Mercer Co., Ky in 1829 (Marriage Records of Mercer County, Kentucky 1816-1830)

3  Polly Badgett b: November 16, 1805, departed Shakertown February 19, 1824

3  Hardin Badgett b: January 19, 1808, departed Shakertown July 1, 1825

3  Katherine (aka Kitty) Badgett b: June 11, 1811, departed Shakertown March 14, 1831

2 Michael Runyon - b: 1772 in or 1775 in NJ, 1812 to Preble Co., OH, 1829 to Lockeport, Will Co., IL  d: June 29, 1856 in Hickory Creek, Will Co., IL

...  +Nancy Blackwell  m: November 24, 1797 in Madison Co., KY. (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Michael Runyon and Nancy Blackwell filed 24 Nov 1797 and married 30 Nov 1797 with Dysa Blackwell, P? of the Bride giving consent and Nathan Parke as bondsman)  d: April 26, 1839

2 Charity Runyon - b: April 14, 1776 in Hunterdon Co., NJ.  d: December 04, 1855 in Preble Co, Ohio

...  +Samuel Parks b: December 25, 1769 m: November 06, 1792 in Yadkin Co., NC d: September 11, 1848 in they were amoung early settlers of Preble Co., OH

2 Martin Runyon - Martin and Patience joined the Shaker community in 1813. They arrived at Pleasant Hill December 1813 with their eight children, ranging in age from 1 to 14.  Two of Martin's children remained at Pleasant Hill.  Martin died in 1840 at age 62; Patience passed away seventeen years later at age 75.

2   Martin Runyon b: April 20, 1778 in NJ, Believed March 1813, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, d: September 27, 1840 in Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant after May 1814 and June 10, 1830, Deacon and Trustee

...  +Patience Baxter b: September 17, 1782 in Baltimore, MD m: December 18, 1799 in Madison Co. KY (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Martin Runyon and Patience Baxter filed 18 Dec 1799 and married 19 Dec 1799 with no one listed as giving consent and Joseph Fowler as bondsman), arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, Believed January 1814, d: October 20, 1857 in Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3  John Runyon b: May 7, 1800, Elder, Believed January 1814

3  Betsy (aka Elizabeth?) Runyon b: October 12, 1801 in Madison Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, d: December 14, 1861 in Pleasant Hill, KY, occ: teacher, girls caretaker, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

3  Matilda (aka Rebecca) Runyon b: June 24, 1803 in Barren Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, departed Shakertown October 22, 1834

  ....  +Lewis Gillespie

3   Asa G. Runyon b: June 20, 1805 in Madison Co. KY, departed Shakertown June 14, 1827, d: October 1857 in Teatersville, Garrard Co., KY.

....  +Mary F. Arthur  m: August 27, 1836 in KY

3    Silas Baxter Runyon b: November 22, 1807 in Madison Co., Ky, departed Shakertown November 3, 1823  d: 1855 migrated to Dallas Co. Tx about 1848

.. + Rebecca Tye b.March 4, 1809 in Knox Co., Ky m: July 18, 1829 in Whitley Co., Ky d: June 8, 1846                    

....+ (2nd wife of Silas) Cynthia Ann (aka Sintha) Cornelius b: Abt. 1826 in KY married November 19, 1846  (Source: Garrard Co. records)

3  Charity C. Runyon b: August 2, 1809, departed Shakertown April 25, 1831

   ....  +Isaac N. Hawkins  m: October 25, 1837 in Madison Co., KY.

3   Peggy Runyon b: June 11, 1810, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, Believed January 1814, d: September 28, 1829 at Pleasant Hill, Ky

3   Sally Runyon b: August 22, 1813 departed Shakertown (Pleasant Hill, KY) August 6, 1831, d: August 24, 1874 age 63, female, married, housekeeper, died Aug. 24, 1876 of unknown cause. Born in Madison County the daughter of Runyon, Martin and Patience. (Garrard County, KY records)

....  +? Philips  

2 Absalom Runyon - b: May 09, 1782 in Madison Co., KY.  d: March 14, 1867 Buried in the Scudder/Fowler Cemetery overlooking the East Fork of Otter Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. 

...  +Mary (Polly) Fowler b: September 04, 1783 in Penn m: April 03, 1806 in Madison Co., KY. d: March 26, 1866 (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Absolom Runyon and Polly Fowler filed 1 Apr 1806 and married 3 Apr 1806 with Richard Fowler, Father of the Bride giving consent and as bondsman)

2 Emley Runyon - Emley and Lydia joined the Shaker community in 1812, arriving at Pleasant Hill August 1812 with their three children, ranging in age from 6 months to five years.  One of Emley's children remained at Pleasant Hill.  Lydia died in 1823 at age 34; Emley died twenty-one years later at age 60. Note: Emley (sometimes called Embley) Runyon's name is often puzzled over because of its similarity to the feminine name "Emily." Recently, I discovered that the Runyon family had neighbors in Kingwood, New Jersey with the surname Emley (Robert and Mary Emley's daughters Susanah and Elizabeth were married there in the 1790s). Perhaps they were family friends and this is where the name of Phineas and Charity's son comes from. ~Nancy

2   Emley (aka Embly) Runyon b: September 22, 1784 in Rowan Co., NC, Believed August, 1812, arrived Shaketown August 1812, d: October 19, 1844 in Pleasant Hill, KY, Elder and Deacon, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844

...  + Lydia Burton  b: September 12, 1788 in Boonesborough, Ky, m: February 15, 1806 in Madison Co., KY (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Emley Runyon and Lydia Burton filed 15 Feb 1806 and married 20 Feb 1806 with Samuel Burton, Father of the Bride giving consent and Nathaniel Oldham as bondsman), Believed August, 1812, arrived Shakertown August 1812, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, d: July 19, 1823, church Elder

3   Lawson Runyon b: October 10, 1807 in KY , departed Shakertown August 24, 1829, Moved to Hot Springs, AR bef. 1850

....  +Emily Ross  m: May 25, 1845 in Hot Springs, Garland Co., AR d: Aft. 1882 (Native American)

3  Amy Runyon b: August 25, 1809 in Madison Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown August 1812, d: July 13, 1863 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: teacher, nurse, childrens caretaker, signed Church Covenant January 20, 1831 and April 9, 1844

3  Robert (Comstock) Runyon b: February 4, 1812, departed Shaketown April 7, 1829

.  + Betsy Thompson

          4   Lawson Runyon

2  Isaac Runyan - born 1787, Isaac Runyon and Sarah Winn (born about 1796) filed 1 Jun 1812 and married 2 Jun 1812 with John Winn, Father of the Bride giving consent and as bondsman (Madison County Marriages 1786-1822)

2 Mary "Polly" Runyon - Littleberry Hurt and Polly Runyon filed 4 Dec 1805 and married 5 Dec 1805 with Phineas Runyon, Father of the Bride and Little B. Hert [sic], Father of the Groom both giving consent and with Absolom Runyon as bondsman (Madison County Marriages 1786-1822)

2 William Runyon - d: in Ohio

...  +Katherine Low  m: December 13, 1793 in Rowan Co., NC.

2 Aaron Runyon - died 1795 in North Carolina

2 Robert Runyon - died in North Carolina

Betsy Bates visits Pleasant Hill

Betsy Bates, Issachar Bates' daughter visited Pleasant Hill in 1862 at the height of the Civil War. Nine members of the Runyon family were still living as Shakers at this time and would have greeted and worshiped with Betsy. They were Charlotte, George, Matilda, and William - children of Joseph and Jane, plus two of the grandchildren, James and Jane Sutton; Sally Runyon, daughter of Martin and Patience; Amy Runyon, daughter of Emley and Lydia; and finally, Charity Badgett, daughter of Mercy Runyon and her husband John Badgett.

Fifty-seven years earlier in New York State, Betsy Bates had waved goodbye to her father as he set out on his mission with John Meacham and Benjamin Seth Youngs in search of converts on the western frontier, which sparked the creation of Pleasant Hill.

Building Pleasant Hill

The Runyon family members arriving at Pleasant Hill in the early years of the 19th century would have been placed in various buildings that were available, notably, the "old fraim house" and a log house. Over the years, a regular shuffling of people from one dwelling to another was taking place. 

The Believers ranks apparently swelled to the point where some had to live during the warmer months in a camp. Shaker journals tell us that in September 1809, the Believers "built a log house, weatherboarded it & lathed & plastered it, which made quite a comfortable dwelling house. We moved in it in September. Bid a dieu to our camp." 

The old "fraim house" was occasionally occupied "by young Believers that would occasionally drop in for a time till at length the place was evacuated and the buildings mov'd away."  It was still in use in the fall of 1812 when newly-arrived converts Phineas and Charity Runyon were among its occupants. 

During 1809 the village's “First Stone House” was also completed (and may have been an early design by Micajah Burnett, the Pleasant Hill Shaker who went on to design the community's most impressive buildings). In August 1812, when the Center Family moved into the three story stone house, Embly Runyon was among them. Like many of the buildings, the first stone house was later re-purposed into the Farm Deacon’s Shop (it still stands today and is available for overnight accommodation. Likewise, the former blacksmith and wagonmaker’s shop was turned into museum shop and ticket office).

1809 "First Stone House" - now the Farm Deacon's Shop

1809 was a year of prolific building at Pleasant Hill. Journal records tell us that in the fall, a log house at the East Family was built for the special purpose of gathering the society's children (before this, the children were still living with their parents). The log house does not appear to have been used for the children right away. It is not until 1811 that Joseph Runyon (who had been serving as an Elder in the "fraim house") moved into "the loghouse to teach school" and other journal notes tell us the children were collected there in 1811. Their stay was apparently brief: On January 7, 1813 the North Family "mov'd up to the log school house ... it stood about 20 rods north of the three storyed Center stone house, then occupied by the School Family."

Runyons were again among those sharing the "fraim house" in December 1813 when Martin Runyon & family arrived at Pleasant Hill, with some remaining until January 1815. Later in 1815, Patience and Martin Runyon moved from the West Family to the North Family, Matilda Runyon moved from the North Family to the West Family, and Betsy Runyon moved from the East Family to the West Family. By the end of August 1816, a staggering 106 members comprised the West Family alone. Housing them must have been a full-time job.

The earliest buildings at Pleasant Hill faced west, in keeping with the tradition of the Shaker communities in the east.  But since prevailing winds in this part of Kentucky come from the southwest, the Believers asked for and were granted permission to reorient their structures. Turning the long sides to the west took advantage of solar heat, allowing more light to penetrate the interior. 

The Shaker Millennial Laws dictated materials and colors:  Dwelling houses should be either limestone or brick, outbuildings brick or painted clapboard (in colors of oxblood red, brown, ocher), interior floors should be stained reddish-yellow in the shops, and wood trim should be stained dark red for baseboards and blue for pinrails.

The East Family Dwelling, of Shaker-made brick, was completed in 1819 (and by 1826 Mercy Runyon was living in its Elders room). 

The Meeting House,  spiritual center of the community, was completed in 1820. Its first floor was constructed free of pillars to provide space for dancing during worship. Second floor apartments housed the village ministry which later included George Runyon.

In April 1826 a family was established at the grist mill composed chiefly of the former North Family. One of its elders was Sister Marcy Runyon.

The East Family Dwelling, the West Family Dwelling (completed 1822), and the Meeting House (1820) are all mature works of Micajah Burnett. The massive grey limestone Center Family Dwelling is considered his crowning achievement. Begun in 1824 and completed in 1834, the Center Family Dwelling served as the home of the First Order, "such persons as have had sufficient time and opportunity practically to prove the faith and manner of life of the Society, and who are prepared to enter freely, fully, and voluntarily into a united and consecrated interest." At almost 25,000 square feet, it was the largest building at Pleasant Hill. The limestone blocks ("Kentucky marble") were quarried locally from the Kentucky River palisades at the eastern edge of the Shaker property. William Runyon likely played a role in the fitting of the stones used in the Center dwelling, the foundation of the Meeting House, and many other structures at Pleasant Hill. In the 1850 census his occupation is listed as stone mason. 

The Center Family Dwelling housed as many as eighty Believers. Among them were William Runyon and Charlotte Runyon, and Joseph's wife Jane "Ginny" Runyon. Shaker journals tell us she moved from the shop to the Center dwelling in December 1842 and are precise to the point of saying she was given the "middle room 2nd story."  

The Trustee's Office, with its beautiful twin spiral staircases (also designed by the brilliant Micajah Burnett), was completed in 1839. This building served as offices and living quarters of the legal and financial leaders of the community, the trustees. Charlotte (Sally C.) Runyon was among the first to live here. Jane Sutton, Joseph Runyon, and Martin Runyon also served as trustees over the years. 

In total, the Shakers built over 250 structures at Pleasant Hill. Thirty-four of the surviving buildings were restored beginning in 1966. More on the architecture of Pleasant Hill can be found in the book Antebellum Architecture of Kentucky by Clay Lancaster (1991). And for some interesting column, balustrade, dormer, and staircase designs at Pleasant Hill check out Outside Sources for Shaker Building at Pleasant Hill by Mary Rae Chemotti (1981). For Shaker dwelling house architecture in general see Julie Nicoletta's article The Architecture of Control - Shaker Dwelling Houses and the Reform Movement in Early-Nineteenth-Century America.

Establishing Shawnee Run

On a site near the banks of Shawnee Run, a small communal family took shape...

In August of 1805, three Shaker missionaries to Kentucky were getting to know the northeastern portion of the state when an opportunity arose for them to preach to a group of potential converts that included three Kentucky residents - Elisha Thomas, and Samuel and Henry Banta. The Thomas and Banta families (along with the Monfort and Bruner families) were all related by marriage. Hearing their testimony, Elisha Thomas would become not only the first Shaker convert in Kentucky but instrumental in the creation of one of two Kentucky communities that would be established.

Where this meeting occurred is not clear. Sources say it happened at "Concord in Bourbon County." However, Concord, Kentucky is northeast along the Ohio River in Lewis County (which was formed in late 1806 from Mason County) and the Concord Christian Church in Bourbon County wasn't yet established. In any case, Shaker Benjamin Seth Youngs was subsequently invited to address a group in Elisha Thomas' barn at his farm along Shawnee Run in Mercer County. 

Map of the state of Kentucky with the adjoining territories, 1794

There, a large number of listeners converted, with Youngs reporting in January 1806 twenty-one "grown Believers on Shawnee Run."

In August, Elisha Thomas deeded his 140-acre farm to the Shakers and in December, forty-four men and women signed the first family covenant “dedicating themselves and their property to the material benefit" of the Society. The first permanent communal gathering of believers in Kentucky began to take shape with the name "Shawnee Run."  

A Map of the State of Kentucky by Elihu Barker, 1797

Infrequent visits by the eastern Shakers proved less than satisfactory for the new converts. Therefore, Elisha Thomas offered Elder John Meacham a horse, saddle, bridle, and spending money if he would come to live at Shawnee Run. Elder John told them if they would build a place for them to live, some among the "old believers" (those Shakers who had traveled from the east) would come. 

When the new ministry arrived (with only fifty dollars, two beds, bedding, and a few other items) a new log house was waiting for them and the center of the community had shifted to a nearby hilltop east of Elisha's original farm to the spot where today visitors can walk among the restored buildings.

Molly Goodrich and Peter Pease would become the appointed leaders for the new Kentucky societies. In the meantime some of the Shawnee Run converts were appointed by Elder Benjamin to assume certain responsibilities, with Elisha Thomas to "stand first in our absence." Isaac Dean was appointed to take charge of the farm. 

Beginning in 1809, the year Joseph Runyon became a Believer (his wife Jane/Ginney believed in February 1810), John Meacham, Samuel Turner, Lucy Smith, and Anna Cole composed the Shawnee Run ministry. As the organization of the community took place its name was changed from Shawnee Run to Pleasant Hill and the first permanent structure (the "First Stone House" - later to become the farm deacon's shop) was built to house the ministry.

By 1810, there were thirty-four Believers and "100 more not yet gathered." Joseph and Jane Runyon, with most of their children, arrived at Pleasant Hill on March 2, 1810. Three months later, their grown son Vincent arrived. Interestingly, Vincent and his sister Marcy were the first Runyon family members to sign the Church Covenant. They did so August 13, 1811. For both, this was the beginning of a life-long commitment. And for Vincent it was in celebration of his 22nd birthday which occurred August the 16th. 

The organization of the society at Pleasant Hill proceeded rapidly. To increase their land holdings, that began with the rich, fertile 140-acres given by Elisha Thomas, the trustees began purchasing adjoining acreage. 

By 1812 the East, Center, and West Families had been formed, and a fourth, the North Family, was established as a "gathering family" for prospective converts. In August of that year, Emley and Lydia Runyon arrived at Pleasant Hill with their children and during the autumn, they were joined by his parents Phineas and Charity as well as his sister Mercy Badgett and her husband John and their children. 

On December 21, 1813, Martin Runyon, his wife Patience Baxter, and their children arrived. The following spring, June 2, 1814, Martin was among those Believers of legal age to sign the covenant. In fact, one hundred twenty-eight men and women bound themselves together, establishing the community in the pattern of the Shaker Ministry at New Lebanon, New York. Included also were: Joseph Runyon, Emley Runyon, Phineas Runyon, Marcy Runyon, Charity Badgett, Vincent Runyon, William Badgett, George Runyon, John Badgett, Sr., Ginney Runyon, Sally Runyon, Lydia Runyon, Charity Runyon. 

More opportunities to sign at Pleasant Hill would come after May 1815, on June 10, 1830 and again on April 9, 1844. Many of the younger generation would make that commitment. Many would depart. But that core group who signed in 1814 did remain committed and were Believers for life.

A Field Ripe for Harvest ~ Shaker Missionaries to Kentucky

What caused the Ministry in New York to set their sights on establishing new communities of Believers out west? News of the "Second Great Awakening" camp revival meetings held in 1801 at Cane Run, Kentucky, made its way north to the Shakers in New Lebanon, New York via The Albany Gazette. "No doubt, the Shakers in New England saw the phenomena as a fulfillment of Mother Ann's prophesy that 'the next opening of the gospel will be in America's 'southwest'," writes Carol Medlicott in her book Issachar Bates, A Shaker's Journey. By this time, Ann Lee had been dead for twenty-five years. Mother Lucy Wright, now head of the Ministry, decided the timing was right to send a small reconnaissance group to the area. Three Shaker men - two unmarried elders, John Meacham, Benjamin Seth Youngs, and one new convert, a married father of nine, Issachar Bates set out with only a vague idea of where to go.

The three men, with their one horse, left early on New Year's Day, 1805 during what was to be a particularly harsh winter. Although his wife Lovina and he were living a Shaker life of celibacy by this point, Issachar would continue to show affection for both her and his children, despite their great distance during the decades that followed.

The believers slowly made their way south, covering sometimes thirty miles in one day. As they traveled through the Shenandoah Valley, they began looking for signs of people who might be receptive to their message but were disappointed by those who were "lost in sin" and "the same carnal creatures in all their conversation and conduct." 

After passing through the Cumberland Gap into Tennessee they were shown a new map of the United States and decided to turn northwest into Kentucky. Here, they undoubtedly were following in the footsteps of the Runyon, Badgett, Parks, and other settlers who entered Kentucky from North Carolina and Virginia along the Wilderness Road, famously pioneered by Daniel Boone.

The group was welcomed at Crab Orchard and later Paint Lick in Garrard County by preacher Matthew Houston. Houston introduced them to Barton Stone, the famed Cane Ridge preacher. They went on to Turtle Creek (what would become Union Village) across the river in Ohio and by then had walked over 1,200 miles in two months and twenty-two days.

In the spring of 1805 Barton Stone was still organizing revivals and Issachar Bates returned to Bourbon County to speak at his invitation. He proved outspoken, openly challenging Stone's preaching about Christ's second coming. Cleverly, Issachar put an emphasis on spiritual value rather than doctrine. Medlicott explains: "He was harking back to the first followers of Christ, who had used the inspired teachings of Jesus to free them from adherence to hidebound Jewish law. This would have been a potent argument for a frontier revival crowd ... a needed correction to the doctrinal strictures of America's large, established church institutions." My hunch is that these arguments must have been quite appealing to Joseph Runyon and others in the family who were the first in the family to convert.

Additional eastern Shakers arrived the following year, including six women. Issachar wisely requested that the Ministry send women specifically to counsel the female frontier converts not only in spiritual matters but in the ways of collective childcare and in appropriate dress. For many potential converts the sticking point was celibacy. A majority of the newly-converted believers were husband and wife still living in close quarters. Issachar once again had the wisdom and experience to counsel in these matters. Over the coming years he would become somewhat of a father figure to new converts (the "young believers") throughout the west.

In November 1806 a large group of Kentucky converts, including Henry Banta, visited Turtle Creek, bringing gifts of food, wool, and cotton. By 1810 a settlement along Shawnee Run in Mercer County had been launched by sending a team of old believers (Shakers from the east) to serve as elders. This settlement would come to be called Pleasant Hill.

Two Brothers or Two Wives?

Not long ago, I wrote about one of the family immigrants to Preble County, Ohio, John William Runyon. He was the husband of Patricia Mary Bennett and they are both said to be buried in Friendship Cemetery, Sugar Valley, Preble County, Ohio. They appear to have been married in Kentucky before the move to Ohio.

There is also William Runyon who married Katherine Low, December 13, 1793, in Rowan County (now within Davidson County near Healing Springs) North Carolina. Are William and John William the same man? What became of Katherine Low Runyon? Was she the mother of Ellen Runyon Rice or Mary Runyon Hornbaker?

Parks to Preble ~ All in the Family

Samuel Parks and his wife Charity Runyon undoubtedly were aware of, and may even have attended, the revival meetings at Cane Ridge in their home county in 1801.  What planted a seed for the Shaker movement likely also contributed to their family's migration north into Ohio, to Preble County.

Samuel and Nancy had both been born in Hunterdon County, New Jersey and were brought by their parents to North Carolina. The two married there in 1792 and soon after headed into Kentucky, settling in Bourbon County. Samuel's sister Nancy Ann Parks married Charity's brother Bafford "Barefoot" Runyon in North Carolina and eventually they too made their way into Kentucky, choosing Barren County, about 100 miles southwest of Lexington.

After the revival meetings at Cane Ridge in Bourbon County, Samuel and Charity with family and neighbors migrated yet again, spreading their own religious beliefs and traditions farther into the frontier. This time it was north, into Ohio, which was admitted to the Union on February 19, 1803.

Six years after the Cane Ridge revival was held near the town of Paris, Kentucky, a preacher by the name of David Purviance, raised a Presbyterian and having embraced the New Light, or Christian faith while in Kentucky, was establishing a church at New Paris, Preble County, Ohio. A great proportion of Ohio's new arrivals were coming in from Kentucky.

Robert Runyon (son of Bafford and Nancy) was among the earliest settlers of Gaspar Township, near Sugar Valley, arriving 1808.  Over the next seven years Samuel and Charity Parks, Bafford and Nancy Runyon, Josiah Conger and his wife Catherine Runyon (Robert's sister), William Gray, and the Rhea family were among the incoming settlers to the area. Most seem to have laid down roots southeast of the county seat of Eaton, in either Gasper or Dixon Townships. Also included was Revolutionary War veteran John William Runyon, another son of Phineas and Charity Runyon, brother of Bafford and Charity Parks. He arrived from Madison County, Kentucky.

The original family members who settled in Preble County are buried in Friendship Cemetery and Gard Cemetery.

Eighty years later when this land ownership map of Preble County was drawn, the impact of their settlement can still be seen in the landowner names, which include Parks, Runyon, Conger, Railsback, Lewellen, Thomas, Huffman, Wilkinson, and Gray.

1887 Preble County, Ohio land owner map

Two sources referenced include:

History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions by R. E. Lowry, 1915

History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches by H. Z. Williams & Brothers, 1881

Cane Ridge Meeting House ~ Sowing the Seeds

August 1801 - Bourbon County, Kentucky

The 'Second Great Awakening,' a series of religious revival meetings was punctuated by one particularly large and exuberant meeting that took place in early August 1801. The location was the Cane Ridge Meeting House in Bourbon County, about twenty-five miles northeast of Lexington. It must have been a well-planned and well-advertised event to have drawn such a large crowd from the sparsely populated surrounding frontier. Two hundred years later, the site remains rural and agricultural.

The organizer was Presbyterian preacher Barton W. Stone.  During the event, which lasted several days, an estimated ten to twenty thousand people converged on Cane Ridge. Stone had arranged for dozens of Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist preachers to speak. Rousing sermons are said to have induced shrieks, cries, dancing and jerking, trance-like states, barking, speaking in tongues, and visions among the huge crowds. Communion was given, confessions were heard, and hundreds, if not thousands, were saved.

Cane Ridge Meeting House - LOC collection

In less than a decade, Pleasant Hill would be one of several established frontier outposts of Shakerism. All the pieces were falling into place at just the right time.

Bourbon County is the very county that Charity Runyon and her husband Samuel Parks had migrated to from North Carolina seven or eight years before the Cane Ridge event. Mercy Runyon and her husband John Badgett had also made the trek from North Carolina about 1787, settling in nearby Fayette County. By the turn of the century, family patriarch Phineas Runyon and his wife Charity had settled along Otter Creek in Madison County.

We can only speculate about whether any Parks, Badgett, or Runyon family members attended the revival meetings at Cane Ridge. They were certainly influenced by them and the change they sparked over the coming years. As congregations and churches sprang up as a result of the revivals, so did Shakerism.

The Parks family would move on to Preble County Ohio while the Badgett and Runyon families stayed put and would soon make the pivotal decision that would change their lives and the lives of their children forever.

Society of "Harmless, Dreamy Enthusiasts"

THE MILLENNIAL CHURCH [SHAKERS.] 

The implantation of this society of harmless, dreamy enthusiasts, on the soil of Kentucky, and in the Mississippi Valley, generally, was a result of the Great Revival ... an ultimate outgrowth of the Presbyterian church. But little need be said about it. It has done no good, and comparatively but little harm, religiously. It was, especially during its early and medieval history in the west, of no small advantage to the agricultural, horticultural and mechanical interest of those neighborhoods in which its societies were located. The Shakers, wild and vague in their religious notions, but wise and practical in their management of their material resources, were the fore-runners in the improvement of live stock, agricultural and mechanical implements, and the methods of farming and gardening. On this account, if for no other reason, they deserve a brief notice. 

They are a frugal, industrious people, and have acquired considerable wealth. Their religious tenets are too silly and absurd to be worth studying.

this description comes from History of Kentucky Baptists From 1769 to 1885 by J.H. Spencer, publication date 1886

A Mysterious Visitor

In early August of 1847, Brother Zachariah Burnett wrote in his journal that "Visitor Tuntstill West from Monticello, Ky came to see his relations viz Runyons, Suttons, & Ryons."

I have not yet been able to discover the connection between Tunstal West and the Runyons but the year of his visit, Jane Runyon (who with her husband and children were the first of the Runyons to join the Shakers) would have turned 80 years old. Her husband Joseph had been dead for two years. Her son Vincent, a devout Shaker, had died the previous year.

Zachariah mentions Runyons, Ryans, and Suttons, but not Badgetts, Baxters, or Burtons, so unless the connection goes farther back to Phineas and Charity (who are both long dead by this visit), the relation does seem to be with Joseph's line. 

Pleasant Hill is about an 80 mile wagon ride from Wayne County where Tunstal Quarles (T.Q.) West lived, so it would have been a significant trip, especially for a farmer during the growing season. According to his Find a Grave memorial, Tunstal Quarles "T.Q." West was born Jan 10, 1806 to Isaac West and Margaret Russell. 

Tunstal's first wife was Sarah Elizabeth Wray West. The two  had several children together before Sarah's death in November 1841. Less than a year after his 1847 visit to Pleasant Hill, Tunstal married a second time. On March 31, 1848 in Wayne County, Kentucky, he wed Sophia Wilson, 13 years his junior. Sophia may have been a widow, and her maiden name was possibly Wright.

Shaker records tell us that Jane "Ginny" Runyon was born in Fairfax County, Virginia. Isaac West's father Soloman was reportedly born in Virginia and migrated to North Carolina. 

Margaret Russell's parentage is a bit fuzzier but they are in South Carolina or North Carolina, before Margaret ends up in Wayne County, Kentucky. 

Joseph Runyon migrated from New Jersey to Rowan County, North Carolina with his parents. There, he marries Jane about 1784, and their first four children are born there before they migrate to Fayette County, Kentucky.

Could Shaker Jane, wife of Joseph, have been a sister of either Isaac West or his wife Margaret Russell?

If so, Tunstal would have been able to visit his Aunt Jane, cousins Charlotte, Vincent, George, William, and Matilda Runyon, cousin Nancy Runyon Ryan, and his cousin Polly's children, Jane and James Sutton.

Divorce, Shaker Style

I recently finished reading The Great Divorce : A Nineteenth-Century Mother's Extraordinary Fight against Her Husband, the Shakers, and Her Times by Ilyon Woo and it made me more curious about the life of Nancy Runyon Ryan.  

Nancy, at age 20, had married Thomas Ryan in 1807. Within a few years the majority of her family had joined the Society at Pleasant Hill and Nancy and Thomas were busy with twin boys Lawson and Wesley, born in 1808. An interview conducted in 1835 reveals what happened next.

"Mr. Crouch had a sister that married a Ryan. That sister's son, living in Mercer [County, Kentucky] married into a family of Runyons. Runyons lived on this side of the Kentucky River, between there and Lexington. The whole family joined the Shakers, and younger Ryan's wife thought she must go too. She left twins lying in the cradle and went. This brought Ryan into conflict with one, whom he beats himself severely. Another one, that came to his house, he beat nearly to death. The man thought to go to the law but the magistrate advised him to keep away and let Ryan alone."

The interview certainly paints Nancy as a woman who has abandoned her babies but the Shaker journals help explain. They tell us that Nancy became a Believer in 1810, so Thomas' run-in with the brethren must have happened in 1810 when the twins were still quite young. Perhaps they had visited Thomas to proselytize, hoping to persuade him to try the Shaker way of life.  The journals also tell us it was another five years before Nancy was able to live among the faithful at Pleasant Hill. 

Having given birth to a daughter (Nancy Jr., born in 1812) during those years we can speculate that she soon returned to Thomas' household. Was she trying to convince her husband to join with her? Did the Church leadership offer Nancy help or advice based on similar experiences in other communities? Did Thomas die during this time? We know only that she arrived in the Spring of 1815, and that her children joined her there in May of that year. Who brought the children? 

We will likely never know the specifics but, like the protagonist in The Great Divorce, it seems Thomas was vehemently opposed to the idea of joining a celibate commune. 

While Nancy's saga was taking place in Kentucky, Mother Lucy Wright was consulting with the Elders at the community of Watervliet outside Albany. There, James Chapman had left his family to become a Believer. He soon returned home for his children against his wife's wishes. Eunice Chapman, had no legal rights to their children but was not going to give them up without a fight. This is the subject of The Great Divorce. In the NPR clip below, the author explains how women of this period, upon marriage, became "civilly dead." 

At Pleasant Hill, Nancy Runyon Ryan lived to age 65 and died a Believer. Her three children were raised among the Shakers, presumably with no further objection from their father. Each left Pleasant Hill separately while in their teens. 

I'll leave it for you to discover whether James Champman and his children remain Shakers or "go to the world."

Listen to a 6-minute NPR interview with the author here: