Publications
Elder Rufus Bishop’s Journals, Volumes 1 & 2
By edited by Peter H. Van Demark
January 1, 2018
Tags Shaker Studies
Shaker Studies, no. 14. Volume 1: 519 pages, Volume 2: 539 pages, 2018.
ISBN: 978-1-937370-23-7 ($80)
For thirty-one years, Elder Rufus Bishop was at the top of the Shaker hierarchy. From 1821 until his death in 1852, Elder Rufus was one of the male members of the Ministry of New Lebanon, N.Y., overseeing the bishopric, hosting visitors from other Shaker communities, and traveling to both eastern and western congregations. From 1815 until his death, and daily starting in 1829, he kept a detailed record of the weather, visitors, deaths, problems, joys, and other happenings. These volumes contain the annotated journals of Elder Rufus, a fascinating look deep into the halcyon years of the Shakers. Isaac Newton Young’s journal for their 1834 western trip is also included, to ll in the gap in Elder Rufus’s records. So many Shakers are mentioned by Elder Rufus that there are about 1750 entries in the Appendix of Biographical Sketches. These volumes also include a survey of Elder Rufus’s life and a foreword by the editor, who is the third great-grandnephew of Elder Rufus. The hope is that these journals will aid Shaker scholarship and help with the understanding of this important period in Shaker history.
