Richard McNemar

**The first biography of a key and complex American religious figure of the nineteenth century, considered by many to be the "father of Shaker literature."

**Richard McNemar (1770-1839) led a remarkable life, replete with twists and turns that influenced American religions in many ways during the early nineteenth century. Beginning as a Presbyterian minister in the Midwest, he took his preaching and the practice of his congregation in a radically different, evangelical "free will" direction during the Kentucky Revival. A cornerstone of his New Light church in Ohio was spontaneous physical movement and exhortations. After Shaker missionaries arrived, McNemar converted and soon played a prominent role in expanding and raising public awareness of their religion by founding Shaker communities in the Midwest, becoming the first Shaker published author and the most prolific composer of Shaker hymns.

Split between two opposing religious traditions-an evangelical movement attracting tens of thousands and Shakerism, which drew only hundreds to its villages-Richard McNemar's life poses a challenge for any biographer. Christian Goodwillie's mastery of the archival records surrounding McNemar and the Shakers allows him to tell McNemar's story in a way that fully captures the complexity of the man and the scope of his enduring legacy in American religious history.

Auteur

Christian Goodwillie

Contenu

Acknowledgments
Maps
Introduction
**Part I: Presbyterian and Schismatic
**1. Youth

2. Westward Migration and Education
3. Ordination
4. Revival
5. Rebellion
   **Part II: Shaker
   **6. Rebirth
6. The New and Living Way
7. Community Foundations
8. Shakers and the Shawnee Prophet
9. Shaker Publications and the Expansion of Missionary Efforts
10. Gospel Order in the West, James Smith, and the Ohio Mob
11. War Comes to the Wabash
12. Perfidy, Pilgrims, Prosecution, Progress, and Pestilence
13. The End of the Beginning
14. There's Something Dead Upon This Ground, or, the Buzzards and the Flesh
15. The Struggle with Abijah Alley and Aquila Bolton
16. Eleazar Goes East
17. Eleazar and the Covenant
18. *Custos Sacrorum
    *20. The Great Snake and the Patriarchal Skeleton
19. Unrest in the West
20. Freegift to the West
21. "The Name or Memory of Mr. McNamar"
22. The New Era
23. War in Heaven
24. A Wandering Star
25. Look Homeward, Angel
26. Aftermath and Legacy
    Appendix 1: Richard McNemar, "A general outline of the past Journal of my life"
    Appendix 2: Richard McNemar, "Testimony of E[leazar] Wright"
    Appendix 3: Richard McNemar, "My days on earth have been but few"
    Appendix 4: [Archibald McCorkle?], "A few mourning thoughts on McNemar's fall;" and Richard McNemar, "An Answer to the Mourning Thoughts on McNemar's Fall"
    Appendix 5: [Susannah C. Liddell?], The Expulsion of Richard McNemar
    Appendix 6: [Susannah C. Liddell?], [The Redemption of Richard McNemar]
    Notes
    Bibliography