Shadrack Ireland (bapt. 16 January 1718 – died September 1778) was a religious leader in 18th-century America in the wake of the
First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
. He was a disciple of
George Whitefield
George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.
Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...
. He taught what is known as Perfectionism, meaning that he and certain of his followers had achieved perfection in their lifetime. Ireland was the child of Abraham and Abigail (Durrant) Ireland and he was baptized in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
on 16 January 1718. As an adult, Ireland was a pipe maker from
Charlestown, Massachusetts
Charlestown is the oldest neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Originally called Mishawum by the Massachusett tribe, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Boston, and also adjoins t ...
, where he had a wife, Martha (or Elizabeth), and six children.
Perfectionist beliefs
In the 1750s, Shadrack Ireland experienced a change in his "mind and body" that he believed resulted in his becoming "perfect and immortal". Ireland left his wife and family and moved to
Grafton, Massachusetts
Grafton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,664 at the 2020 census. The town consists of the North Grafton, Grafton, and South Grafton geographic areas, each with a separate ZIP Code. Incorporated in ...
, where he took a " spiritual wife"—Mrs. Sarah Prentice, the wife of the Reverend Solomon Prentice. Ireland preached abstinence except for those who had reached perfection. Since their bodies were free of sin, they could take spiritual wives and husbands (even if they were legally married to someone else). Being under the threat from authorities for his behavior, Ireland moved to the north part of the town of
Harvard, Massachusetts
Harvard is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The town is located 25 miles west-northwest of Boston, in eastern Massachusetts. A farming community settled in 1658 and incorporated in 1732, it has been home to several ...
. In 1769, he and eight followers built a house now known as "The Square House". 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 ...
who later lived there believed that Ireland himself had carved the banister and railings that lead to the second floor. While living at Harvard, Ireland also had a spiritual wife, the "widow Logy".
Immortality and death
As a Perfectionist, Ireland claimed that he would not truly die but would be resurrected. He ordered his followers not to bury him when he died, but to await his resurrection. The circumstances of his death in September 1778 were recorded by a former follower, Isaac Holden. Holden learned the details when he went to visit the Square House, not knowing that Ireland had died. The evening of his death, Ireland appeared changed but calm and serene. He washed himself as usual, and said to Mrs. Cooper and Sister Nabby, that "the Lord hath down with me and I have completed all the work he sent me to do but don't be
oingbut don't bury me for the time is very short God is coming to take the church." Ireland then went upstairs, knelt under a window, and prayed for the "hundred & fiftifour thousand" concluding by saying, "father I am but astdo thy will". He then lay down on the bed and died.
Ireland's body was left as he had ordered until the smell became so bad that he was put into a long white box in a corner of the cellar and covered with lime. His body remained there until July 1779, when his followers, David Hoar and Abijah Worster, buried him in an unmarked grave in a cornfield. David Hoar then led the group for a while.
Many of Shadrack Ireland's followers were converted to Shakerism by 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 r ...
, who then took over the Square House. Ann Lee later anathemized Ireland and sometimes referred to his presence as an "evil spirit". At one time, she even claimed to have banished him to hell.Francis, 175.