Though Shakers lived separated from the world to the degree possible, worldly guests were permitted, and some visitors were important figures in American history. The first, and most often only, point of contact for visitors was through attending public worship meetings....

Among the most pressing concerns of the early Shaker leaders, in a society pledged to celibacy as a means of fostering a communal sense of union, was maintaining strict separation of the sexes. This is not to suggest that brothers and sisters were not to have any contact;...