One Shaker Life
Isaac Newton Youngs, 1793-1865
University of Massachusetts Press
A member of the United Society of Believers, better known as the Shakers, Isaac Newton Youngs spent most of his life in New Lebanon, New York, home of the society's central Ministry. As both a private diarist and the official village scribe, he kept meticulous records throughout those years of both his own experience and that of the community. All told, more than four thousand pages of Brother Isaac's journals have survived, documenting the history of the Shakers during the period of their greatest success and providing a revealing view of the daily life of a rank-and-file Believer.
In this deeply researched biography, Glendyne R. Wergland draws on Youngs's writings to tell his story and to explore "the tension between desire and discipline" at the center of his life. She follows Youngs from childhood and adolescence to maturity, through years of demanding responsibility into his fatal decline. In each of these stages, he remained a talented and committed yet independent Shaker, one who chose to stay with the community but often struggled to abide by its stringent rules, including the vow of celibacy. Perhaps above all, he was a man who spent most of his waking hours working diligently at a succession of tasks, making clocks, sewing clothes, fixing roofs, writing poetry, chronicling his daily acts and thoughts.
In his journals, Brother Isaac writes at length of his efforts to control his lust as a young man, and he complains repeatedly about overwork as he grows older. He defines the rules of his community and identifies transgressors, while enciphering his critical entries (and those chronicling his own sexual desires) to avoid detection and uphold the demand for conformity. At times he admits doubt, but without ever relinquishing the belief that he is on the straight and narrow path to salvation. What emerges in the end is the complex portrait of an ordinary man striving to live up to the imperatives of his faith.
In this deeply researched biography, Glendyne R. Wergland draws on Youngs's writings to tell his story and to explore "the tension between desire and discipline" at the center of his life. She follows Youngs from childhood and adolescence to maturity, through years of demanding responsibility into his fatal decline. In each of these stages, he remained a talented and committed yet independent Shaker, one who chose to stay with the community but often struggled to abide by its stringent rules, including the vow of celibacy. Perhaps above all, he was a man who spent most of his waking hours working diligently at a succession of tasks, making clocks, sewing clothes, fixing roofs, writing poetry, chronicling his daily acts and thoughts.
In his journals, Brother Isaac writes at length of his efforts to control his lust as a young man, and he complains repeatedly about overwork as he grows older. He defines the rules of his community and identifies transgressors, while enciphering his critical entries (and those chronicling his own sexual desires) to avoid detection and uphold the demand for conformity. At times he admits doubt, but without ever relinquishing the belief that he is on the straight and narrow path to salvation. What emerges in the end is the complex portrait of an ordinary man striving to live up to the imperatives of his faith.
We know very little about the lived experience of Shakerism from the individual's point of view. Youngs's numerous writings, both public and private, make it possible for Wergland to reconstruct a nuanced and detailed story of dedication mixed with occasional doubt.'—Priscilla J. Brewer, author of Shaker Communities, Shaker Lives
'The documentary base of this study is outstanding. Glendyne Wergland has immersed herself in the rich body of manuscripts produced by Isaac Youngs and also by his contemporaries as well as in the scholarly and popular literature concerning the Shakers. She has written a book that is accessible, clear, and full of details and commentary.'—Stephen J. Stein, author of The Shaker Experience in America: A History of the United Society of Believers
'Chronicles the life of a man who witnessed Shakerism from its first coalescence into communal groups in the eighteenth century to the troubling waves of apostasy in the mid-nineteenth century that signaled the start of a precipitous decline. Wergland's work offers a micro view of the lived experience of Shakerism, examining in detail this one, fascinating Shaker life.'—Journal of American History
'Wergland has written a magnificent manuscript. The depth of her research reveals the ten years spent working on this book. She has left no stone unturned in her search for information on Youngs and in her endeavors to give the reader the full picture of this Shaker's life. . . .Wergland's writing style engages the reader and captures one's attention. . . .This book is a must read for not only Shaker enthusiasts, but also anyone who loves to read.'—Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
'One of the finest pieces of scholarship ever done on the Shakers. It stands in stark contrast to the many books published in the last few years which, although on the topic of the Shakers and quite colorful, have shown very little research, and even less thought. It is one thing to list resources, it is quite another to have actually used them, and used them in the proper context. Wergland's book reflects a thorough knowledge of Shaker brother Isaac Newton Youngs and his times. Youngs left over four thousand manuscript pages, and Wergland's understanding of life at the Church Family at New Lebanon when Youngs lived there shows that she has read them all to inform her critical analysis. The result is a work that has many insights for anyone truly wanting to understand life in this community. . . I cannot state enough how important books like this are if we are ever to gain a correct and complete view of the Shakers as they have evolved.'—Stephen J. Paterwic
'This work offers a major contribution to Shaker history and to the study of women's struggle for equality. . . . Wergland's perceptive analysis of Shaker egalitarianism is a helpful approach to the ongoing feminist conversation regarding gender equality.'—Choice
'It is a major contribution to Shaker Studies and an intriguing peek into the daily round of a life that attracted many, challenged all, and defeated not a few. It is recommended to discerning librarians and students.'—Missiology: An international review
An independent scholar, Glendyne R. Wergland lives in Dalton, Massachusetts.
