Issachar Bates: A Shaker’s Journey

Preface

{ vii Preface The preparation of this work has taken me on a long and circuitous journey, similar in some ways to Issachar Bates’s own. I entered the world of Shaker scholarship at middle age, after an abrupt career change took me into academia . During graduate school in the Department of Geography, University of California at Los Angeles, I focused on issues of historical geography in the Early American Republic, but with no expectation of ever pursuing Shaker research. As a midwestern native, I had been vaguely aware of the Shaker presence in Kentucky, and I had developed a casual interest in Shaker music. It was that musical interest that brought about my first encounter with Issachar Bates. During a post-doctoral fellowship at Dartmouth College, I joined the Enfield Shaker Singers in nearby Enfield, New Hampshire, where one of New Hampshire’s two Shaker villages had been located. I first saw Issachar Bates’s name on the sheet music of several of his songs that the group’s director, Mary Ann Haagen, had researched for the group to perform. One of these songs, “Ode to Contentment,” spoke to me in a special way: Come contentment lovely guest Reign unrival’d in my breast Thou alone wilt do. Thou alone canst fill my soul Ev’ry passion canst control When the stormy billows roll, Thou canst bear me thru’. At that time, I was in a professional and personal limbo, searching for an academic job, adjusting to a major residential move, unsure of whether my career change had been wise. It was autumn of 2004, and the country was experiencing a turbulent election season. Discontent seemed to be all around me, and I immediately wanted to know more about the man who had written those words. Later I would learn that that “Ode to Contentment” reflected a time of painful transition in Issachar Bates’s life and his effort to become reconciled to new challenges and new demands. I felt a bond. And I began to realize that Issachar’s story deserved to be shared. The long journey leading to the completion of this work then began. Upon learning that I would be moving to the region that constituted the viii } preface “Shaker West” in the nineteenth century, I decided to try to develop some research interests in the somewhat less studied communities of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Because of my training as a historical geographer, I was interested in how the Shakers initiated territorial expansion beyond the eastern seaboard states, how they maintained some degree of cultural unity across great distances, and how they adjusted to environmental differences in the various regions where they settled. Initially, biography was very far from my thoughts. But I soon realized that Issachar Bates’s great mobility made his life an ideal window into a very geographical story, namely, the story of the Shakers ’ great territorial expansion of the early nineteenth century. I also found precedent for my work in several recent biographical projects undertaken by other historical geographers. Indeed, geographers are recognizing the value of “bio-geography,” an approach that uses personal narratives about inhabiting and negotiating particular places as tools to reconstruct and better understand the landscapes of the past. This work has benefitted from the insightful comments provided by Steve Miller, Glendyne Wergland, and Steve Paterwic, with whom I shared drafts of particular chapters. I am also grateful to the acquisitions editor at UPNE, Richard Pult, for his patient support and encouragement. I received valuable critiques, commentary, and suggestions from two anonymous reviewers, which brought immeasurable improvement to the work. I alone am responsible for any errors, inaccuracies, and analytical lapses. FromthebeginningofmymodestresearcheffortsintheShakerfield,Ihave encountered a convivial atmosphere and a delightful and diverse collection of people bound together by their common enthusiasm for “things Shaker,” past and present. I now feel blessed to be able to count many of these witty and creative people among my closest friends, and I have been the fortunate beneficiary of their generous assistance, encouragement, and guidance. My most earnest gratitude goes to my good friend Christian Goodwillie. I have come to depend on his endless assistance, insights, and support, as well as his bountiful humor. Also indispensable has been the unwavering support and assistance of Glendyne Wergland, Steve Paterwic, and Steve Miller, all fine scholars who have gone to no end of trouble to guide me to sources, impart their insights, listen to my problems, suggest solutions, and correct my misunderstandings . My friend Mary Ann...