Cheryl Bauer - The Shakers of Union Village

Vincy McNemar was a child when Shaker missionaries arrived at the Turtle Creek community near Beedles Station in Warren County in March 1805. Her father, Richard McNemar, was pastor of the Turtle Creek Church, which had recently separated from the Presbyterian Church to join the New Light movement. After Richard accepted the Shaker faith that April, his congregation followed him. Vincy and most of her six siblings also became Shakers. She became a noted writer of sacred songs. (Warren County Historical Society.)

Five adults signed this covenant to live together in the Shaker faith for the upbuilding, protection and safety of each other on December 22, 1806. The agreement marked the beginning of communal life at Turtle Creek for the new Shaker converts. Shakers had begun living in small communal families in England in the 1760s out of financial necessity. The lifestyle supported the Shaker goal of celibate lives as brothers and sisters in Christ. It gradually became the norm for Shakers. Malcolm Worley, the first Shaker convert west of the Alleghenies, led the Turtle Creek Family. Their aim was to use and improve our strength, abilities and faculties for the benefit and support of each other. They affirmed they had all joined the sect voluntarily and that any of them were free to leave if they wished. Some people were suspicious of the Shakers unconventional lifestyle. Over the years, however, most people grew to admire them for their ethics, charity, and sincerity. (Edna L. Bowyer Records Center and Archives of Warren County.)

Although the Worley agreement was signed in 1806, it was not filed in the Warren County Common Pleas Court until February 8, 1811. Robert Wilson, one of the original signers, wanted out of the sect, and either he or his heirs wanted to regain property he had signed over to the Shakers. It was a scenario played out numerous times over Union Villages first four decades. The United Society of Believers, which encompassed all Shakers, had covenants with each individual Shaker village and its respective members who signed the agreement. People could live in a Shaker community without signing the covenant, but those who signed were considered full members who legally gave all their possessions and property to the United Society. The courts upheld Shaker covenants in the majority of 19th-century cases. (Edna L. Bowyer Records Center and Archives of Warren County.)

The Worley agreement was signed by Malcolm and his wife, Peggy, Turtle Creek landowners William Wilson and Robert Wilson, and Anna Middleton. Middleton was the second western Shaker convert and a 19-year-old former slave from Virginia. Samuel Rollins and Calvin Morrell, early Union Village leaders, witnessed the signings. Middleton could only make her mark at the time, but by the 1820s, night classes for women were held at Union Village to help all members become literate. (Edna L. Bowyer Records Center and Archives of Warren County.)