Lucy Wright
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Lucy Wright (February 5, 1760 – 1821) was the leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, also known as the
Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
, from 1796 until 1821. At that time, a woman's leadership of a religious sect was a radical departure from Protestant Christianity.


Childhood

Lucy Wright was born February 5, 1760, the daughter of John and Mary (Robbins) Wright of Pontoosuck plantation (later
Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
), in the
Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United S ...
valley of the Berkshire hills near the New York border. At that time, Pontoosuck plantation was a frontier settlement, which was reached via path-like roads. Aside from Jonathan Edwards
Indian mission The Indian Mission, now the Luckhard Museum, is a historic Native American Christian mission located at 590 East Bay Street in Sebewaing, Michigan. It was built in 1849 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. History John ...
in Stockbridge, the area had no church until Wright was almost thirteen. Wright was considered an attractive woman and a leader. With Elizur Goodrich, she attended the
New Light Baptist The terms Old Lights and New Lights (among others) are used in Protestant Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms originated in the early 18th century from a spl ...
revival at New Lebanon, New York in 1779. Near the end of the revival, they heard a preacher expound on Romans 8:8 (“Those who are in the flesh cannot please God”), which may have set the stage for their conversion to a new religion.Wergland, ''Sisters in the Faith'', chapter 2.


Marriage

Lucy Wright married Elizur Goodrich on December 15, 1779. By mid-1780, Elizur Goodrich was drawn to the preachings of the Shaker leader, Mother
Ann Lee Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers. After nearly two decades of participation in a re ...
, despite the new religion's requirements of
celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...
and
confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...
of sins. His bride, however, was reluctant to convert. Thus Elizur Goodrich and his wife Lucy lived “uncommonly continent”. Goodrich and twenty members of his extended family joined the Shakers. After several months of deliberation, Wright resumed her maiden name and replaced her marriage with a commitment to Shakerism, living apart from her husband, who became an itinerant Shaker preacher. Within a decade Wright rose to leadership within the Shaker sect, with the power and authority which women were not allowed in other religions.


Life as a Shaker

As soon as Wright shifted her commitment from her husband to her new religion, Mother Ann Lee found it expedient to separate the young couple. She sent Goodrich on the road as an itinerant preacher and missionary. Wright moved to the Shaker community at
Watervliet, New York Watervliet ( or ) is a City (New York), city in Albany County, New York, Albany County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The population was 10,375 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Watervliet is north of Albany, ...
, where Ann Lee mentored the young woman and she became a leader among her peers.Wergland, Sisters in the Faith, chapter 2. Ann Lee died in 1784. By late 1788, the society’s new leader Joseph Meacham had had a revelation that Shakers should practice equality of the sexes, or
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
. He summoned Wright to
New Lebanon, New York New Lebanon is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States, southeast of Albany. In 1910, 1,378 people lived in New Lebanon. The population was 2,305 at the 2010 census. The town of New Lebanon is in the northeastern corner of Columbia ...
, and named her his female counterpart in leadership. Together, Meacham and Wright reshaped their religious society to include gender-balanced government, and gathering Believers into communal villages. Lucy Wright worked with Joseph Meacham until he died in 1796. After his death, Wright was the acknowledged leader of the Shaker ministry (a team of two elders and two eldresses who governed the society). Wright proved to be a good administrator. She survived the exit of disaffected young men in the 1790s and sustained “petticoat government” for 25 years. Her long tenure as the Ministry’s leader meant that she had ample opportunity to establish the principles of
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...
, and her leadership set an example for equality of the sexes. Wright sent missionaries to preach across New England and upstate New York. After hearing of revivals at Cane Ridge, Kentucky during the
Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
, she sent missionaries into the western wilderness, where they recruited proselytes and established new Shaker villages in Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. Under Wright's administration, Shakers standardized and increased book and tract publishing for the widely-scattered religious society. Their first statement of beliefs was ''Testimony of Christ’s Second Appearing'' in 1810, followed by a hymnal which served much the same purpose in 1813. Lucy Wright preached union among her followers. One of her sayings was, "There is a daily duty to do; that is, for the Brethren to be kind to the Brethren, Sisters kind to the Sisters, and the Brethren and Sisters kind to each other." She died in 1821. Her grave is beside that of Mother Ann Lee, in the Shaker cemetery in the
Watervliet Shaker Historic District Watervliet Shaker Historic District, in Colonie, New York, is the site of the first Shaker community. It was established in 1776. The primary Shaker community, the Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, was started a bit later. Watervliet's historic 18 ...
, now the town of
Colonie, New York Colonie is a town in Albany County, New York, United States. It is the most-populous suburb of Albany, and is the third-largest town in area in Albany County, occupying approximately 11% of the county. Several hamlets exist within the town. ...
. After Lucy Wright's death, some Shakers evidently questioned Shaker sisters' equality to Shaker brethren; they must have thought that Wright alone had maintained equality of the sexes. Nevertheless, her successors made sure that equal rights did not end with her demise. A New Lebanon Elder said, “Mother Lucy’s work was to establish and support an equ
lity Lity may refer to: * Lity (Orthodox Vespers), a procession at Great Vespers in the Eastern Orthodox Church * Lity (Orthodox memorial service), a short service for the dead in the Eastern Orthodox Church See also * Liti (disambiguation) * Leti ...
in the Church between brethren and sisters,” and he expected the believers to support it. He assured the sisters “that they have the same right as ever they had when Mother was with us, the must not be deprived of their lo & equality in the gospel .... It is in the perfect union between the two that we shall find our relation in the kingdom.”


References


External links


Mount Lebanon Shaker Society



Mount Lebanon, World Monuments Fund


{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Lucy 1760 births 1821 deaths People from Pittsfield, Massachusetts American Shaker missionaries 19th-century Protestant religious leaders 18th-century Protestant religious leaders People from Colonie, New York People from New Lebanon, New York Women Protestant religious leaders Female Christian missionaries