Ann Lee joined the Shakers in 1758. She married in 1762, but the marriage was an unhappy one. All four of her children died before reaching the age of six.

She was convinced that her suffering was a divine punishment for her sins. Ann experienced spiritual dreams and visions. Fellow Shakers began to call her “Mother Ann”, a leader of the congregation.

The first years in Niskayuna were difficult. The group crowded into a small cabin. They suffered through several winters with little food. But, by 1779 they had established a small settlement.

Ann Lee led her followers in worship by dancing, singing, and speaking in tongues. Local people were perplexed and frightened and suspected Ann Lee was a witch or a British spy. Her supporters were also under suspicion.

This increased when the growing community refused to fight in the Revolutionary War. As a pacifist, Ann Lee attempted to dissuade others from taking up arms against the British. She soon was arrested and jailed, along with several other members of the small Shaker community.

Mother Ann was inspired to begin preaching Shaker doctrine after the “Dark Day” on May 19, 1780. On this date, the sun went dark at midday across New England. This was possibly due to ash and smoke from a forest fire in faraway Ontario, Canada. The event came at a time of great religious and spiritual revival in New York and Massachusetts.

Joseph Meacham was the pastor of a New Light Baptist congregation in New Lebanon, New York. In 1780, he was one of the first people to travel to Watervliet to meet with Ann Lee. Meachum, his family, and many members of his congregation were early converts.

James Whittaker (1751-1787), was a devoted follower of Ann Lee and an eloquent preacher. He led the Shakers for three years after her death.

Joseph Meacham assumed the leadership after Whittaker’s death in 1787. Meacham continued what Whittaker had begun and established the New Lebanon settlement as the Lead Ministry.

Located on the east side of the Hudson River, New Lebanon was closer than to the other Shaker communities in New England. It was also the location of Meacham’s own congregation.

As successor to Mother Ann, Meacham established the complex system of communities that today we recognize as “Shaker.” The Shakers established a system of communal ownership of property and each community was economically separate. The effect was a new and controversial concept of "family." Men and women shared authority at each level of the hierarchy as Elders and Eldresses, Trustees, and Deacons and Deaconesses.

Crucially, Father Joseph appointed Lucy Wright as his female counterpart and co-equal as Lead Minister. Despite the Shakers’ professed belief in the equality of men and women, Meacham’s decision came as a surprise to many. Together, Father Joseph and Mother Lucy worked to establish the physical, social, and religious framework of the Shakers.

Upon Father Meacham's death in 1796, Mother Lucy took on an unusual role as the sole female head of a large religious organization.

Lucy and her husband Elizur Goodrich visited the Watervliet Shakers during the 1780s. They were a young, recently-married couple and both were intensely religious. Elizur joined the Shakers almost immediately. Many of his Goodrich relatives also joined. Lucy debated her own conversion for several months.

When Lucy did eventually join the Shakers, Elizur was no longer her husband but her spiritual brother. She resumed her maiden name of Wright and embraced her new identity as a Shaker sister. Mother Ann placed her in charge of the Sisters at Watervliet when she left on her missionary tour.

Father Joseph appointed Lucy Wright as co-equal Lead Minister. Upon Father Joseph’s death in 1796, Mother Lucy continued alone as the Lead Minister.

Twelve years after the death of Mother Ann, not all Shakers were willing to accept a woman as their leader. Several Brethren who opposed a “petticoat government” left the Shakers. Mother Lucy was remarkably effective as both an administrative and a spiritual leader. She and her supporters successfully deflected attacks on her leadership.

Mother Lucy saw the opportunity in the religious revivals taking place in the western frontier. She sent missionaries to establish Shaker communities in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.

In the early 1800s, choreographed dances set to hymns began to replace the early individual and spontaneous forms of worship. Mother Lucy’s style of dance distinguished Shaker worship through most of the 19th century.

This ritual dancing attracted many visitors from the World. In 1848, the Shakers built a larger Meeting House to accommodate the growing numbers of visitors. This structure still remains at the Church Family site. The 1791 Meeting House was demolished in 1929.

He worked both in the herb industry and alongside other caregivers in the infirmary. He was among the Shakers who had known Mother Ann personally. As such, he was revered as a “first born” Believer.

The success of Shakers’ communities depended in part on sanitation and care for the sick. Brothers and Sisters were appointed as physicians in Shaker Families.

In the late 18th-century, American medicine combined Old-World folk traditions with Native American knowledge of local medicinal and culinary plants. Some of the medical caregivers had professional training or experience. Others learned through apprenticeship.

Today, the American Pharmaceutical Association recognizes this as the first herbal medicine industry. The Shakers dedicated hundreds of acres to growing herbs. They produced dried and powdered herbs, elixirs, and pills for medicinal uses. Beginning in 1827, the Watervliet Shakers mass-marketed and sold their own pharmaceuticals. Their customers came from across the US and parts of Europe.

His older brother, Seth Young Wells, converted most of the family in 1802.

Freegift became a carpenter, inventor, teacher, and religious leader. In 1824, he was one of eight brethren jailed for failing to pay a fine for refusing to serve in the military.

As pacifists, the Shakers sought relief from obligatory military service. Freegift traveled to Albany with Brother Calvin Green more than twenty times to make their appeal to the state Legislature . During the Civil War, the Shakers appealed to President Lincoln. He finally granted them conscientious objector status.

The Brethren’s Workshop was constructed in 1822 and was a hive of activity. Tailors, broom-makers, shoemakers, and even a dentist worked in various rooms. Brother Freegift spent many hours working here.

He kept a work journal beginning in 1812. This was the year the mill at Ann Lee Pond was built and ten years before the Workshop was constructed. The entries document his high level of production, the many tools he improved or invented, and the range of furniture and other items he made. He describes a threshing mill, steps for the dwelling house, a windmill for the West Family, chairs, and window sash for the 1848 Meeting House.

In 1820-21 he was the main person who conducted the silver pen business.

Skilled Shakers often traveled to other communities to share their talents. However, his overzealous nature caused friction in Ohio. He was called to return to Watervliet in 1843.

During the Era of Manifestations, Nehemiah was one of a handful of young men who were “instruments”. Between 1842 and 1846, he channeled spirits and received messages and “gifts” to share with other Believers. Most of those receiving messages were young women. Nehemiah’s biological sister Nancy was also an active instrument. She received messages from many historical and spiritual figures. Nehemiah was also a talented singer, and one of the Shakers chosen to perform in Albany in 1870.

Perhaps Nehemiah’s own early years influenced his willingness to work with “his boys.” He knew what it was like to arrive in a very different setting as a child of seven.

A photograph taken around 1868 shows Nehemiah, one other man, and a group of boys. They are all dressed in identical pants and shirts and carefully posed on and around a wagon. The image is stereoscopic. When seen through a special viewer, the 2-part image appears three-dimensional.

Throughout his life, Brother Nehemiah remained in contact with relatives outside the community. The bond between biological family members remained strong. In 1862, the Church Family journals note that Nehemiah “took 3 barrels of apples, 2 bbls [barrels] potatoes and 1 bbl onions, carrots & beets to his relatives in Lansingburgh.”

Nehemiah’s father, Nehemiah White Sr. requested burial in the Shaker cemetery. While Nehemiah White, Sr. was not a Shaker, he wished to be close to family members who were Believers. The Shakers honored his request after his death in 1834. His is one of the graves of non-Shakers located along the first row in the cemetery.

Brother Nehemiah worked hard as a gardener. Like all Shakers he sought out new efficiencies in his work. In 1867, he “went to Mt. Lebanon to find out how they put up garden seeds. [He reported one] person there can put up 300 Ibs. in a day, while at Watervliet 2 persons put up only 100 Ibs. in a day.” He worked with Elder Giles Avery on beekeeping. They brought over 50 swarms out of a cellar after the winter to set them outdoors.

Jackson experienced a spiritual conversion during a terrifying thunderstorm in 1830. A desire to preach took her far beyond Philadelphia.

Like Mother Ann Lee, Rebecca Jackson experienced dreams and visions. She predicted the future and healed others through prayer. She practiced what she called her “gift of power”: an ability to overcome periods of illness when she felt called to do God’s work. Unlike Mother Ann, Jackson taught herself to read and write. She kept a series of journals that document almost 30 years of her spiritual life.

While preaching in Albany in 1836, she went with a group to observe a Shaker meeting in the 1791 Meeting House. She was inspired by what she witnessed.

In June 1847 Rebecca Jackson and a disciple, Rebecca Perot arrived to live with the Watervliet Shakers. Jackson quickly became one of the noted participants during the Shaker meetings. She garnered respect and praise from the Watervliet Shakers. Still, she was restless and longed to resume her own mission work.

She and Perot returned to Philadelphia and remained for almost six years before returning to Watervliet in September of 1857. Rebecca Jackson finally embraced Shaker authority.

Jackson’s charisma and spiritual powers united a group of followers who lived as Shakers in Philadelphia with the World at their front door. She died in 1871 and was buried in Lebanon, Pennsylvania near relatives.

Rebecca Perot assumed the leadership of the Philadelphia family. She changed her name to Mother Rebecca Jackson in honor of her friend and mentor. This leads to some confusion as her photo is often incorrectly used to represent Rebecca Cox Jackson.

The Shakers constantly sought converts from the World to build and maintain their communities. In some cases, entire families joined the Shakers. In others, an indenture was arranged for a child by a parent or guardian. A craftsperson agreed to train a child in a particular skill while providing room and board.

Many guardians simply sought a guarantee of shelter and education for a child. The Shakers saw the opportunity to train a new member of the community. On behalf of the Shakers, Sister Clarissa promised to provide Samantha “with meat, drink, washing, lodging and suitable apparel, and other things necessary”. She would also teach Samantha “the occupation of domestic economy” as well as reading, writing, and arithmetic.

For her part, Samantha was to “well and faithfully serve her said guardian, and obey all her lawful commands; and shall in all respects conduct her self [sic] in a faithful, honest and moral manner, and as a good and faithful apprentice.”

Upon her 18th birthday she was freed from this contract. Many apprentices left upon the end of the indenture. Some, like Samantha Bowie, remained and signed the covenant to join the community as a true Shaker.

Sister Samantha became a vital part of the Church Family. By 1860, she was living at the Trustees’ Office, an honor reserved for the most devout and devoted Shakers. She was apparently a good cook, since she was frequently assigned to work in the Trustees kitchen. Through the 1870s, she served meals to visitors. The bounty of the Shaker table advertised the success of the community.

The Shakers’ custom was to rotate Sisters and Brethren among various work assignments. In addition to her cooking duties, the journals note her activities:

17 Dec 1868: She went to the North Family to learn about making straw bonnets and then began doing so.

23 Jun 1870: Went to Ministry Shop to learn to make baskets of poplar chip from Eldress Ann Buckingham.

12 Dec 1870: Samantha is stitching some leather gaiters, "a new kind for us."

15 Dec 1870: Samantha working on small needle books.

16 May 1876: Set a hen on some duck eggs. Eggs hatched 12 June.

The journals note his frequent projects requiring mechanical skills. These included fixing the waterworks and clocks, installing glass, and wallpapering rooms.

Brother Josiah was also very active as a singer. He often led singing meetings and instructed the other Shakers in learning new songs. He was among the group of Shakers who performed in Albany in 1870.

In 1886 he was moved from the North Family to the Church Family. He was appointed as Second Elder, assuming the role of postmaster at the same time.

One year later he became the Elder of the Church Family. He seems to have remained in that capacity the rest of his life. He retained ties at the North Family and assisted with administrative matters after the death of Elder Alexander Work in 1909.

As a Trustee, he worked with closely with Eldress Anna Case at the South Family who also served as Trustee for the Watervliet community. As the Shakers declined in number, the West and North Families were closed. Together, they were responsible for overseeing the consolidation and sale of the properties.

The Watervliet Shaker community had to deal with public harassment throughout their history. These included disturbances during worship services, and more serious attacks such as arson.

In 1914, the barn complex along what is now Heritage Lane was destroyed by an arsonist's fire. While the Church Family members were few in number, they had faith that God would provide a future for them.

In 1915, Elder Josiah took the insurance money and oversaw the construction of a new complex. This included a hay barn, silo, cow barn, and manure shed. The barn complex reflects the importance of agriculture throughout the history of the Shakers.

For many decades, the Shakers relied on hired labor for farming and other economic activities. When Elder Josiah was ill with a serious case of hiccoughs in 1919, he stayed at the South Family for several weeks. The South Family journal noted that “the [Church Family] hired men (James Tribley, Fred Tribley, Fred Willey, Mr. Baumes) come to see him every day and get their orders.”

Fully recovered one month later, Josiah traveled by train to Cortland to purchase milk cows for the South and Church Families.