Mount Lebanon, New York, Church Family Records

Historical notes

Although Ann Lee and her English followers initially settled in Niskeyuna (Watervliet), New York, the first official Shaker community was established in New Lebanon, New York, the town in which a large group of American converts lived. The first Shaker meetinghouse was built there in 1785, and the Church was formally organized, or “gathered into order,” in 1787. The Church was originally divided into a first, second, and third family. The first family was comprised of a “purified generation” — children and unmarried adults. It was reorganized in 1811 as the Church, First and Second Orders. These two families had separate spiritual leaders (Elders and Eldresses) and domestic leaders (Deacons and Deaconesses) but were united in their business affairs under the same set of Trustees (Office Deacons). After the establishment of a post office in 1861, the name of the New Lebanon society was changed to Mount Lebanon to differentiate it from the nearby town of New Lebanon. The Church Family was a large and active family, with over 200 members in the two orders through the 1850's. The meetinghouse was located in the Church Family and the Central Ministry resided there during much of the year. It was the most powerful Mount Lebanon family and its leaders often participated in the decisions of the Ministry or acted in behalf of other families. Six other families were located at Mount Lebanon: the Second, South, East, North, Upper Canaan, and Lower Canaan families. In 1879, the First Order became the Church Family and the Second Order became the Center Family. The Center Family closed in 1894 and its remaining members moved into the Church Family. When the Church Family property was sold in 1930 to the Lebanon School for Boys (renamed Darrow School), the few remaining members continued to live in a building called the Ann Lee Cottage at the Center Family. Following the death of Emma J. Neale in 1943, the Church Family was closed and with the sale of the North Family property in 1947, the society at Mount Lebanon officially closed.