The first biography of a key and complex American religious figure of the nineteenth century, considered by many to be the ‘father of Shaker literature.’
Richard Mc Nemar (1770–1839) led a remarkable life, replete with twists and turns that influenced American religions in many ways during the early nineteenth century. Beginning as a Presbyterian minister in the Midwest, he took his preaching and the practice of his congregation in a radically different, evangelical ‘free will’ direction during the Kentucky Revival. A cornerstone of his New Light church in Ohio was spontaneous physical movement and exhortations. After Shaker missionaries arrived, Mc Nemar converted and soon played a prominent role in expanding and raising public awareness of their religion by founding Shaker communities in the Midwest, becoming the first Shaker published author and the most prolific composer of Shaker hymns.
Split between two opposing religious traditions—an evangelical movement attracting tens of thousands and Shakerism, which drew only hundreds to its villages—Richard Mc Nemar’s life poses a challenge for any biographer. Christian Goodwillie’s mastery of the archival records surrounding Mc Nemar and the Shakers allows him to tell Mc Nemar’s story in a way that fully captures the complexity of the man and the scope of his enduring legacy in American religious history.
Tabla de materias
Acknowledgments
Maps
Introduction
Part I: Presbyterian and Schismatic
1. Youth
2. Westward Migration and Education
3. Ordination
4. Revival
5. Rebellion
Part II: Shaker
6. Rebirth
7. The New and Living Way
8. Community Foundations
9. Shakers and the Shawnee Prophet
10. Shaker Publications and the Expansion of Missionary Efforts
11. Gospel Order in the West, James Smith, and the Ohio Mob
12. War Comes to the Wabash
13. Perfidy, Pilgrims, Prosecution, Progress, and Pestilence
14. The End of the Beginning
15. ‘There’s Something Dead upon This Ground, ‘ or, ‘The Buzzards and the Flesh’
16. The Struggle with Abijah Alley and Aquila Bolton
17. Eleazar Goes East
18. Eleazar and the Covenant
19. Custos Sacrorum
20. The Great Snake and the Patriarchal Skeleton
21. Unrest in the West
22. Freegift to the West
23. ‘The Name or Memory of Mr. Mc Namar’
24. The New Era
25. War in Heaven
26. A Wandering Star
27. Look Homeward, Angel
28. Aftermath and Legacy
Appendix 1: Richard Mc Nemar, ‘A general outline of the past Journal of my life’
Appendix 2: Richard Mc Nemar, ‘Testimony of E[leazar] Wright’
Appendix 3: Richard Mc Nemar, ‘My years on earth have been but few’
Appendix 4: [Archibald Mc Corkle?], ‘A few mourning thoughts on Mc Nemar’s fall, ‘ and Richard Mc Nemar, ‘An Answer to the Mourning Thoughts on Mc Nemar’s Fall’
Appendix 5: The Expulsion of Richard Mc Nemar
Appendix 6: [The Redemption of Richard Mc Nemar]
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Sobre el autor
Christian Goodwillie is the Director and Curator of Special Collections at the Burke Library of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He was Curator of Collections at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from 2001 to 2009. He has served as President of the Communal Studies Association and was recognized with their Distinguished Scholar Award in 2021. He has authored, coauthored, or edited eleven books and has written numerous articles on the Shakers and other intentional communities, early American history, Freemasonry, and other topics.
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