Joseph Meacham

Joseph Meacham
Born(1742-02-22)February 22, 1742
Enfield, Connecticut
DiedAugust 16, 1796(1796-08-16) (aged 54)
OccupationsShaker leader and missionary
Religious life
ReligionChristianity
DenominationShakers

Joseph Meacham (February 2, 1742 - August 16, 1796) was a Shaker leader and missionary. Having been one of the early American converts to Shakerism, he became the third leader of the Shakers after Ann Lee and James Whittaker.

Biography

Born in Enfield, Connecticut, on February 2, 1742, Joseph Meacham was the son of Baptist minister Joseph Meacham and Sarah Wright Meacham. His grandfather was a Congregationalist minister. Meacham became a Baptist minister and led a congregation during the New Light Revival. After meeting with Ann Lee in 1780, only a few years after Ann Lee and her followers came to America, he and much of his congregation converted to Shakerism. In 1787, he succeeded James Whittaker as leader of the Shakers. After assuming leadership of the Shakers, Meacham initiated a number of projects including the establishment of New Lebanon as the administrative center of the Shakers, the construction of new buildings, and new rules and orders for Shaker communities. The changes in worship, social hierarchy, daily life, and community aesthetics instituted under the leadership of Meacham emphasized order and uniformity. He also initiated many of the communal aspects that would become defining features of Shaker society. He died on August 16, 1796. He was succeeded by Lucy Wright as leader of the Shakers.: 183–184 

References

  1. 1 2 Cunicelli, Elizabeth Anne. ""Under your own vines and fig trees": A study of Joseph Meacham and the indigenization of millennialist, perfectionist and utopian themes in Shaker religion". Fordham Research Commons. Fordham University. Retrieved 19 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 Paterwic, Stephen (2008). Historical Dictionary of the Shakers. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. pp. 140–141. ISBN 9780810859593. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
  3. ↑ Fluhman, J. Spencer (2005). "Early Mormon and Shaker Visions of Sanctified Community". BYU Studies. 44 (1): 79–110. Retrieved 24 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Evans, F. W. (Frederick William) (1859). Compendium of the Origin, History, Principles, Rules and Regulations, Government, and Doctrines of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. With Biographies of Ann Lee, William Lee, Jas. Whittaker, J. Hocknell, J. Meacham, and Lucy Wright. New York: D. Appleton & Company. Retrieved 8 May 2021.