Historical Studies

Brewer, Priscilla J. Shaker Communities, Shaker Lives (Hanover, N.H: University Press of New England, 1986) JXE 86-78. This is an historical analysis of the Shakers with a particular emphasis, according to the author, on "the Society within its own boundaries, as it was experienced by its members." This study is a valuable work for those wishing to understand the inner social and religious dimensions of Shakerism. Bibliography, descriptive notes, and demographic tables.

Campion, Nardi R. Mother Ann Lee: Morning Star of the Shakers (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 1990) JFD 93-13184. A popular biography of Ann Lee.

Duffield, Holley Gene. Historical Dictionary of the Shakers (Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2000) JFD 00-7431.

Madden, Etta M. Bodies of Life: Shaker Literature and Literacies (Westport, Conn.; London: Greenwood Press, 1998) JFE 98-7242.

Melcher, Marguerite. The Shaker Adventure (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1941) ZXWC. An introduction to the history and thought of the Shakers. Bibliography.

Robinson, Charles E. A Concise History of the United Society of Believers Called Shakers (Westport, Conn.: Hyperion Press, 1975 reprint of 1893 edition) JXD 76-39. A late nineteenth-century history of the movement by a sympathetic observer. Illustrations.

Rokicky, Catherine M. Creating a Perfect World: Religious and Secular Utopias in Nineteenth-century Ohio (Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2002) JFE 02-17585. Analyzes Shakerism in the context of other movements such as the Mormons, the Separatists of Zoar, and secular groups.

Shakers. Testimonies Concerning the Character and Ministry of Mother Ann Lee and the First Witnesses of the Gospel of Christ's Second Appearing (Albany: Packard, 1827) ZXWC.
A valuable account of Ann Lee and the early Shakers.
A second edition published in 1888 with a slightly variant title
(Testimonies of the Life, Character, Revelations and Doctrines of Mother Ann Lee .) is available in microfilm under these call numbers: *ZAN-T3340, reel 484, no. 3642, and *ZAN-T3340, reel 463, no. 3438.

Stein, Stephen J. The Shaker Experience in America (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992) JFE 92-8717. A comprehensive examination of Shaker history, thought, and practice.

White, Anna. Shakerism: Its Meaning and Message (Columbus, Ohio: Heer, 1904) *Z-4487, no. 4. This is an historical account of the Shakers with a description of their beliefs by a member of the community