Anna White
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Anna White (21 January 1831 – 16 December 1910) was a Shaker Eldress, social reformer, author, and
hymnwriter A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who is traditional ...
.


Biography

Anna White born on January 21, 1831, in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
, the third daughter of five children of Robert and Hannah White (nee Gibbs). Her parents were both Quakers, her father having joined by marriage. One of her earliest memories was hearing anti-slavery lecturer
Lucretia Mott Lucretia Mott (née Coffin; January 3, 1793 – November 11, 1880) was an American Quakers, Quaker, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and social reformer. She had formed the idea of reforming the position ...
speak, but she was disturbed when Mott was "abruptly silenced by the guardians of Quaker orthodoxy." She went to a Quaker school in
Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...
, called Mansion Square Seminary,White, Anna
American National Biography.
and had a strong social conscience influenced by both her faith and her parents. At seventeen, White learned the trade of
tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
, and helped her mother distribute
alms Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving. Etymology The word ''alms'' come ...
from the Quakers to the poor of New York. White became interested in 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 ...
after her father joined
Hancock Shaker Village Hancock Shaker Village is a former Shaker commune in Hancock and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It emerged in the towns of Hancock, Pittsfield, and Richmond in the 1780s, organized in 1790, and was active until 1960. It was the third of nineteen ...
, where he had done business.White, Anna (1831-1910)
Shaker Museum.
Anna was the only member of the family to join her father in the religion, formally joining the
Mount Lebanon Shaker Society Mount Lebanon Shaker Society, also known as New Lebanon Shaker Society, was a communal settlement of Shakers in New Lebanon, New York, New Lebanon, New York. The earliest converts began to "gather in" at that location in 1782 and built their firs ...
's North Family at 18 years old in 1849. Joining the Shakers alienated both of them from the rest of the family, with a rich uncle even threatening to dis-inherent her of $40,000 if she went through with it. At only nineteen years old White signed the 1829 North Family Covenant, a legal document promising to live as a Shaker for the rest of her life without compensation for work in the community, which typically was only signed by those over twenty. White helped with housework, and cared for female visitors and guests. The music of the Shakers was one of the things that had initially attracted her to the religion, and she would go on to write hundreds of spiritual songs, and compile two books of Shaker music which included some of her own hymns. White was a student of Elder Frederick Evans and Eldress Antoinette Doolittle of the Mount Lebanon Society, and was also taught by the Eldress Ruth Landon, who had seen the founder of Shakerism,
Ann Lee Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the Shakers, later changed to United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing following her death. She was born during ...
. In 1865, White became second eldress to Eldress Doolittle, and upon Doolittle's death in 1887, became first eldress. She became a vegetarian following the example of Elder Evans, and the rest of the North Family followed her example. White was an active advocate for social reform and pacifism. She wrote in support of
Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...
during the Dreyfus affair. She gave a number of speeches, most notably those at the
Universal Peace Union The Universal Peace Union was a pacifist organization founded by former members of the American Peace Society in Providence, Rhode Island with the adoption of its constitution on 16 May 1866; it was chartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 9 Apri ...
, the Equal Rights Club, and at a peace conference at Mount Lebanon. The resolutions written at the Mount Lebanon meeting in 1905 were forwarded to
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, and subsequently adopted, and were brought to President
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...
by White personally. After collecting more signatures than any other woman in the state in a petition for disarmament, White was appointed vice president of the New York of the Women’s International League of Peace and Arbitration. She also wrote a number of articles, was a leader in Alliance of Women for Peace and National Council of Women, and a member of the
National American Woman Suffrage Association The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was an organization formed on February 18, 1890, to advocate in favor of women's suffrage in the United States. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National Woma ...
. In 1904, White cowrote ''Shakerism: Its Meaning and Message'' with Eldress Leila S. Taylor, which was the only published history of the Shaker movement written by one of its members. The book joined Shaker principles and socially progressive values such as women's equality. Around the same time, White began to suffer from an illness which went on for a number of years. She became interested in
Christian Science Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices which are associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes in ...
, and Eldress Taylor wrote in ''
The Christian Science Journal ''The Christian Science Journal'' is an official monthly publication of the Church of Christ, Scientist through the Christian Science Publishing Society, founded in 1883 by Mary Baker Eddy.Christian Science practitioner A Christian Science practitioner is an individual who prays for others according to the teachings of Christian Science.Vitello, Paul"Christian Science Church Seeks Truce With Modern Medicine" ''The New York Times'', March 23, 2010. Treatment is non ...
and became "a thorough convert" to the religion, leading others in the Shaker village to become interested in it as well, which they saw as paralleling Shakerism. White's final years were spent mostly within the community, although she traveled outside to attend meetings. She died on 16 December 1910.


Selected works

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References


Further reading

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External links


Eldress Anna White: Digital Collection
Hamilton College Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Anna 1831 births 1910 deaths People from New Lebanon, New York Shaker members Religious leaders from New York (state) Female religious leaders American feminists Historical preservationists American women historians American Christian hymnwriters American women hymnwriters Converts to Christian Science 19th-century American women musicians Historians from New York (state) Suffragists from New York (state) American women activists