There’s something in Shaker history that not many people know about. It’s not a secret, per say; it’s more of an unusual societal quirk buried deep within personal journals and rarely documented.
But on Saturday, Feb. 25, Shaker Heritage Society Director Starlyn D’Angelo will share that hidden history in “All Souls Are Created Equal,” a lecture about African American Shakers coinciding with Black History Month.
“It’s a topic that nobody has really written about,” said D’Angelo.
The first Shaker Community was established in Albany in 1776, a group of people originally from Manchester, England who were unhappy with existing religious choices and sought to create their own communal religious society in which they could practice their faith freely.
The Shakers’ rigid lifestyle was unique enough, but what D’Angelo found when she began dissecting personal journals was another aspect of the community even more compelling, given the time period.
“We found six very specific references to the Shakers here in Albany sheltering fugitive slaves and helping them flee to freedom,” said D’Angelo, who has spent about 10 years researching the topic with interns from local colleges.
Shakers went against the grain in their lifestyle (they were often persecuted, beaten or thrown in jail for their beliefs) but were law abiding, so evidence pointing to Underground Railroad activity, possibly orchestrated on a larger level, surprised D’Angelo.
“They were in violation of the Fugitive Slave Act, which would have put them in jeopardy,” said D’Angelo. “We’re trying to see if we can piece together more of this story to determine how extensive this activity was.”
Putting together the puzzle isn’t easy. D’Angelo must watch out for quick references like “Brother F took a runaway slave to Schenectady to help them on to freedom in Canada,” which take a sharp eye to pick out.
“It’s a little like looking for a needle in a haystack because you’re reading through hundreds of journal entries,” said D’Angelo. “They don’t identify necessarily who is African American and who isn’t, so we look through … records and come up with a list of people. It’s a process of sifting through the information.”
But the clues are there, so D’Angelo said she was shocked that no comprehensive history exists.
“It’s a hidden history I think is important to document,” said D’Angelo.
It’s not just the role of blacks in the Shaker Community that has been overlooked. D’Angelo said human stories in general are lacking.
“The vast majority of books about Shakers have to do with their furniture, which is wonderful and beautiful, but historians simply have not looked at the human stories,” said D’Angelo.
Ever since seeing a watercolor painting from a Shaker community in New Lebanon that included a black man, D’Angelo has made it her mission to discover what Shaker attitudes toward blacks were.
“What’s clear is they believed in racial and gender equality from the very beginning. There were blacks as early as 1790; that’s quite amazing considering that they already were ostracized because of their unique religious beliefs,” said D’Angelo. “It was very brave of them to accept black people as equals in their community.”
A cornerstone of the Shaker faith was treating and loving one another equally.
“When a family joined the Shaker community the children were put in a children’s order, husbands were put in one part of the community and wives in another part. … They were expected not to care for each other any more than they would have for other brothers and sisters in the community,” said D’Angelo.
In fact, the first person buried in the cemetery at the 1848 Shaker Meeting House site in Albany was a black woman who had likely been a slave at some point.
“At that time, you didn’t bury black and white people next to each other in a cemetery; that was unheard of and yet another reason for non-Shakers in this period to dislike the Shakers,” said D’Angelo.
These days, there’s only one active Shaker community left, and though the lifestyle has evolved through the years, the basic beliefs remain.
“They believe in passivism, celibacy, confession of sin and communal ownership of property,” said D’Angelo. “They’re still focused on hard work in daily life.”
D’Angelo has presented her research findings at conferences before, but the lecture on Feb. 25 will include new information and is all part of a greater campaign to increase awareness about Shaker history, so she hopes the public stops by.
“This is an important part of our American heritage and something that makes Albany unique. It’s something of our own, you don’t find this anywhere else in the country and I think it’s something people should know about and I hope it makes people proud,” said D’Angelo. “I also think the stories are very interesting.”
One story she’ll tell is about a black family that joined the Shaker community in the early 19th century. Years later, the parents decided to leave the community but the children wanted to stay. The parents ended up suing the Shakers for stealing their “property.”
“That’s the kind of thing you don’t hear a lot of,” said D’Angelo.
“All Souls Are Created Equal” is at 2 p.m. on Feb. 25 at 25 Meeting House Road. A donation of $5 is suggested.
This year also marks the Shaker Heritage Society’s 35th anniversary, so there’s a full slate of programs and events in the future. On Wednesday, Feb. 29, there will be a 35th Anniversary Celebration at the 1848 Meeting House from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. featuring Albany Pro Musica, dance, basket making demonstrations and food. All proceeds will benefit education programs of the society. For information about tickets or other upcoming events, visit www.shakerheritage.org or call 456-7890.
