Several years ago, Dr. Lowell H. and Elaine M. Harrison and Mrs. Erleen Joiner Rogers established funds, under the jurisdiction of the College Heights Foundation, for the benefit of the Manuscripts unit of the Department of Library Special Collections. Resources, from these funds, were available for the recent purchase of a marvelous addition to our South Union Shaker Society holdings. Manuscripts has the largest amount of original extant materials about this Logan County, Kentucky utopian society, which was officially organized in 1808 and remained in existence until disbanding in 1922.

The story of how the journal found a home with us begins in the early 1990s. Through my research, I discovered that Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, had among their manuscript holdings, a journal dating from 1872 to 1878 that was kept by John Rees Cooper at South Union. Initially, I inquired as to the possibility of obtaining a photocopy. Almost immediately, the archivist of Williams College responded by sending us a complimentary photocopy. She also stated that they had no record of the provenance of the item; and although they had eastern Shaker societies' materials, this was the only item that they had from a Kentucky Shaker society.

In 1996, we undertook the project of having our Shaker materials microfilmed. Again, I contacted Williams College's archivist, this time requesting permission to microfilm the photocopy of the Cooper journal. Permission was graciously given. In appreciation, a roll of the microfilm containing the journal was presented to Williams College.

Early this summer, Kentucky Librarian Jonathan Jeffrey, who works in Manuscripts two afternoons a week -- and who is a Shaker enthusiast and researcher -- stated that he would like to index Cooper's journal. I agreed wholeheartedly that such would be a very worthwhile project. A few days later, after thinking about the matter and discussing my thoughts with my supervisor, I decided to contact the archivist at Williams College concerning the possibility of obtaining the original journal. I suggested that as this was their only South Union Shaker item that perhaps they would consider selling it to us. It would be an outstanding addition to our South Union Shaker collections, and perhaps they, in turn, could use the money generated by this transaction to obtain materials more pertinent to their collecting needs. How a letter can change a Monday from being the usual long Monday into a happy and exciting one!

Late one Monday afternoon in July, I received news that I had to instantly share with everyone nearby!! The archivist had replied that, following much discussion and "in the spirit of cooperation," they would let us have the journal for a specified sum. They realized that the journal would bring much more on the open market, but they felt that intrinsically it needed to return to its local region. By doing this, they also hope that this transaction will influence other manuscript respositories to follow their example in similar situations! I have tried to adequately express to Williams College's archivist our tremendous gratitude for their willingness to cooperate with us on this matter.

The journal is in almost perfect condition and is very readable. The Shaker life was not for everybody as is apparent in this August 7, 1872 entry : "To the World -- Francis E. Hyer & little girl did not think that one had to go through Hell to get to Heaven." Another entry, June 25, 1876, exhibits a much different attitude: "in a few years we will be forgotten, but our influence will live forever..." How insightful this scribe was! We still have many researchers delving into the South Union Shaker ledgers and documents, and I think this will not lessen in the future. Most of our holdings in Manuscripts have been donated by individuals and families; and for these generous gifts we are eternally grateful. Yet, as this incident reveals, there are items that can only be obtained through purchase.

We express our sincere thanks and appreciation to those making this purchase possible; but we also encourage others to join them in assisting us to make Manuscripts an even more important research laboratory for our patrons. --Patricia M. Hodges.

~Patricia M. Hodges

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