Shaker Timeline

  • Mother Ann Lee

    She made the decision to lead eight Shaker converts to a journey to America. They seeked the freedom to live, work, and worship according to their main religious tenets. These were celibacy, communal life, and confession of sin.
  • Period: to

    Shakers History

  • Arrival in America

    Mother Ann and the Shakers arrived in New York Harbor. They soon purchased land and settled near Watervliet, New York, near Albany.
  • Death and New Leader

    Mother Ann passed away in 1784, and one of her early English disciples, Father James Whittaker, assumed the leadership of the fledgling society.
  • Another Death / First American-born Leader

    Father James dies in 1787. Elder Joseph Meacham succeeded as the first American-born leader.
  • New Shaker Territories

    Shaker territories started popping up between 1783 and 1836 in New York, New England, Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.
  • Shakers....

    Shakers are one of the longest living and most successful groups in history. They still live today near Maine.