The Marvelous Women of Canterbury Shaker Village

Eldress Bertha Lindsay knew the Shaker way of life was coming to an end by the 1960s. It wasn’t ending because she was elderly, but rather the changing times of the world were leaving the old ways in the dust.

Likely Bertha was saddened, yet philosophical by the facts: No potential members were knocking on the door and asking to join the religious group. The truth was, the only way to survive, was to graciously accept the end of the religious group in Canterbury, New Hampshire, and ensure the actual buildings remained to be enjoyed by others into the future.

Bertha Lindsay came to the Shakers as a little girl. It was the early 1900s and Bertha’s parents had passed on. An elder sister arranged to transfer Bertha to the Shakers, knowing they took in orphans and raised them up with kindness.

Resisting this drastic change in her life at the outset, it wasn’t long before Bertha settled down and wrote later that she felt she had come home. The adult Sisters were kind to Bertha and that made the transition to her permanent home much easier.

It was indeed her home, and she lived the rest of her life, from childhood until she died in 1990, at Canterbury Shaker Village. According to information in Simple Gifts A Memoir of a Shaker Village by June Sprigg, once she reached the age of 21, Bertha had the choice to leave the Shakers and go into the world, but she decided to stay.

Bertha signed the Covenant and stepped into a life of meaning and commitment to God. Becoming a Shaker meant no spouse (the Shakers were a celibate sector), and no children, but those who joined the Shaker religion did so knowing the sacrifices as well as the gains.

Bertha was among the many outstanding and talented women who became Shaker Sisters. In her older years, Bertha was elevated to Eldress, one of the highest-ranking positions in the Society. Although she held power, kind-hearted Bertha was modest and never saw herself as above her fellow Shakers.

Over the years the community was thriving, the Shaker women shared their talents in cooking healthful and delicious meals, gardening, keeping the rooms of the big buildings spotless, raising the orphaned children that came into their care with compassion, and pursuing hobbies such as photography, herbal cures, painting, fiber work, and much more.

Bertha’s close friend, Sister Bertha Lillian Phelps, arrived at Canterbury Shaker Village in the latter part of the 19th century. Lillian was from a Boston family and was encouraged to pursue music from a young age. When illness overcame her as a teenager, Lillian’s parents decided a summer at Canterbury Shaker Village to rest and recover would be just the thing. They had no idea they were changing the course of their daughter’s life. At just 16 years of age, she chose to join the Shakers and stayed with them.

At some point, Lillian and Bertha crossed paths at Shaker Village and became lifelong friends. Each had special talents. Bertha excelled at baking bread and was elevated to head baker and cook, feeding the many Shakers who were at one time part of the Society. Much later in life, Bertha put her recipes into a popular cookbook, Seasoned with Grace: Recipes from My Generation of Shaker Cooking, (with forward by Mary Rose Boswell). Lillian was a talented musician, playing the piano at many Shaker services.

As a loving community, the Shakers welcomed everyone and were accepting of differences. According to A Shaker Family Album by David R. Starbuck and Scott T. Swank, in 1895, Edith M. Green was admitted to the North Family of the Canterbury Shakers.

Edith was of mixed racial heritage and her father was a sailor from St. Thomas in the Dutch West Indies. Her mother was from Maine. Edith lived with the Canterbury Shakers and signed the Covenant in 1914. She stayed with the community the rest of her life and found peace among the Shakers where skin color meant little and being a good person meant everything.

Like many of the Shaker women, Edith brought her talents to the community. She was put in charge of the Shaker Creamery and canned a great deal of the food consumed by the Shakers. Edith passed away in 1951.

The Shakers seemed to be able to do just about anything and used their skills to make such items as poplarware and oval-shaped boxes. Both sold well in the Canterbury Shaker gift shop and are desired by collectors even today.

A beloved and independent Shaker was Gertrude Soule, one of whom relocated from the Sabbathday Lake Shaker community in the 1960s. She loved children and talking about the Shakers, and she remained at Canterbury until she died in 1988. As talented as many of the other Shakers, Sister Gertrude was a dab hand at knitting and gardening, although she was not much of a cook.

Sister Marguerite Frost was born in Massachusetts and arrived at Canterbury Shaker Village in 1903 when she was 11 years of age. A serious and studious child, she embraced religion and by the time she was in her 20s, Sister Marguerite was the assistant teacher in the Shaker school. Amazingly, she also served at Canterbury Shaker Village as the community’s doctor in the 1940s. She was interested in herbal cures and wrote about the use of such herbs in medicine. Her talents were also musical, and she led a band in the community playing the saxophone, as she loved the old Shaker songs.

Due to her skills and upstanding work in the community, Marguerite was appointed Lead Minister of the United Society and served as such until she died in 1971. Similar to Eldress Bertha, Sister Marguerite likely saw village membership dwindle, and was active in the creation of the Canterbury Shaker Village Museum, which now offers programs and tours to the public.

Over the decades, the many women who came to call Canterbury Shaker Village home brought unique talents and backgrounds with them. Some were artists, writers, or teachers while others were musicians, photographers, chefs, or dabbled in medicine. Whatever their talents, the marvelous women of Canterbury Shaker Village shared their gifts with the community and in turn, with the outside world.

For a schedule of seasonal events and tours at Canterbury Shaker Village, visit www.shakers.org. or call 603-783-9511.

Photo: Eldress Bertha Lindsay among flowers at Canterbury Shaker Village. (photographer: Charles “Bud” Thompson; courtesy Canterbury Shaker Village)