Documents An Owenite Society in Illinois Waltsr B. H endrickson * When came to the in 1824, not only did he establish the community at New Harmony, In- diana, but he inspired the foundation (or proposed founda- tion), of other communities or co-operative enterprises.’ Frank Podmore mentions six, and George B. Lockwood says that there were more than nineteen communities in the United States owing their existence to the enthusiasm generated by Owen.2 Recently information became available about a here- tofore unknown co-operative society at the English settlement in Edwards County, Illinois, where the towns of Albion and Wanborough had been founded by Morris Birkbeck and George F10wer.~ The major source is the document here printed in full. The original is in the manuscript collection of the Illinois State Historical Library at S~ringfield.~It is the purpose of this introduction to demonstrate Robert Owen’s direct inspiration of the Wanborough society. In the first place, Owen visited the English settlement for several days. This was natural because it had been Rich-

*Walter B. Hendrickson is professor of history at Mac Murray College, Jacksonville, Illinois. 1 But, as Frank Podmore says, “The New World was prepared . . . to welcome both the man and his doctrines.” For example, in had been founded sometime before 1822 a “Society for promoting communities,” and Owen’s New View of Society (London, 1813), had been published. Podmore, Robert Owen, A Biography (2 vols., London, 1906), I, 289. See also “A Sketch for the formation of a Society of Mutual Co-operation and Community of Property, to be composed of tradesmen, farmers, clerks, mechanics, &c. intended to be established in the state of New Yoyk,” written by William Hebert and appended to his A Visit to the Colony of Harmony (London, 1825). This is most conveniently found in Harlow Lindley (ed.), as Seen by Early Travelers in Indiana Historical Collections (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1916- ), I11 (1916), 327-329. 2 Podmore, Robert Owen, I, 333; George Lockwood, The New Har- mony Movement (New York, 1905), 177-178. As Arthur E. Bestor, Jr., says, “The impact of in America was a complex thing. . . .” See “Education and Reform at New Harmony, Correspondence of William Maclure and Marie Duclos Fretageot, 1820-1833,” in Indiana Historical Society Publications (Indianapolis, Indiana, 1895- ) , XV (1948), 298. See also, ibi&., 304. The present study may be con- sidered as a contribution to the understanding of this impact of Owen- 1Sm. * See Jane Rodman, “The English Settlement in , 1815-1825,” in the Indiana Magazane of Hzstory (Bloomington, Indiana, 1905- ), XLIII (1947), 329-362. 4A photostat of the document was supplied throu h the courtesy of Mr. Jay Monaghan, State Historian pi Illinois, ant it is with his permission that the document is here printed. 176 Indiana Magazine of History ard Flower (the father of George), who told the Scotch philanthropist that the Rappites wished to sell their town of harm on^.^ Owen arrived at Harmony on December 16, 1824, to negotiate with Frederick Rapp, and on Saturday, December 25, he came to Albion to visit George Flower.s The next day Owen addressed a gathering of the settlers at Albion. So large was the crowd (about two hundred), and so mild was the weather that the meeting was held in the open air. Captain Donald Macdonald recorded Owen’s remarks : He “commenced by congratulating himself at being surrounded by so many speaking his own language & brought up as he had been, & so far from his own home. He then stated the principles of Human Nature that Man’s character consists of & is formed by the Power that creates him and 2ndly. by the circumstances in which he is placed after birth. Thence he traced the effect of charity, kindness & benevo- lence, and the absence of the angry passions. -He told them that such alone was pure religion, and that they might be certain it did not exist wherever anger, ill will, and unchar- itable conduct was found. He called their attention to the necessity of placing themselves in the best and excluding the worst circumstances, commented upon the advantages of Union, and spoke of those principles alone being able to pro- duce it. He shewed his plans & read the rules & regulations for a community as drawn out & adopted by the British & Foreign Philanthropic Society, formed in London four years ago.”r Owen spoke for two and a half hours and the crowd, as Macdonald said, “broke up quietly & in good humor. Sev- eral persons spoke of his views & plans as being highly satis- factory.”8 The people of Albion and Wanborough discussed Owen’s speech among themselves. A dozen and a half persons signed an agreement, offering to become members of a community,*

5 J. S. DUSS, Geovge Ra and His Associates (Indianapolis, Indi- ana, 1914), 23-25; Podmore,%obert Owen, I, 232, 285-289. 8 “The Diaries of Donald Macdonald,” in Indiana Historical Society Publications, XIV (1942) 255; George Flower, History of tk-e English Settlement in Edwards bounty, Illinois, in Chicago Historical Society Collectkns (12 vols., Chicago, 1882-1928),. I, 282; Joe! E. Hiat! (ed.), “Diary of William Owen,” in Indiana Histoncal Society Publzcatw, IV (1906), 82, 83-84. 7 “The Diaries of Donald Macdonald,” in Indiana Historical Society Publications, XIV, 257. 8 Zbid. 9 Several of the settlers at Albion and Wanborou h joined the com- munity at New Harmony. Flower, History of the &glish Settlement in Edwards County, Illinois, 282-288, An Owenite Society in Illinois 177 and on Thursday a group of over seventy men and women appeared at the Brick Tavern in Albion to hear Owen once again explain his proposals for uplifting and improving the moral, economic, and social condition of men through com- munal action.lo Among those present at these two meetings was William Hall, a lower middle class Englishman who, in England, had been, as he said, carrying “a load of Care & Anxiety” because of the difficulty of providing for the numerous family with which God had blessed him. Hall had brought his wife and their nine children to the United States in 1821 because he wanted to escape “that Aggregation of Oppression, Tyranny, Hypocrisy, & Misery which prevailed in England” and with the hope of establishing his family in “Freedom & Indepen- dence, of enjoying the fruits of our industry in peace & Security.” In Illinois he had bought eighty-five acres of land, erected a cabin, planted corn, started an orchard and garden, and acquired livestock. Through the hard work of every member of the family, they all made a reasonably com- fortable living. Hall had had a fair education, and was interested in botany and ornithology, and practiced scientific farming. He had a rather speculative turn of mind and he read and thought about the economic and social problems which men were called upon to solve.ll As noted above, Hall was present at Owen’s meetings and though in his journal he does little more than record his presence,’2 he was certainly impressed by Robert Owen and his ideas. On the return to New Harmony, Owen stopped to visit with Hall and inspected his farrn,l3 and a couple of weeks later Hall and two neighbors went to Harmony to find out what was being done there. Robert Owen had left for the East, but Captain Macdonald and William Owen entertained Hall and his companions for two days. They carefully ex- amined the fields and factories at Harmony, and spent the

10 “The Diaries of Donald Macdonald,” in Indiana Historical So- ciety Publications, XIV, 260-261; “Diary of William Owen,” in ibid, IV, 88-90. 11 “From England to Illinois in 1821: The Journal of William Hall,” in Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (Springfield, Illinois, 1908- ) , XXXIX (1946), 21-67, 208-253, passzm. The quotations are from pages 23 and 24. Flower, Historg of the English Settlement in Edwards County, Illinois, 149, 12“From England to Illinois in 1821: The Journal of William Hall,” in Joumtal of the Illinois State Historical Society, XXXIX, 238. 13 “Diary of William Owen,” in Indiana Historical Society Pub& cations, IV, 85. I78 Indiana Magazine of History evenings in extended discussion of Robert Owen’s plans and theories.” As a result of his inquiries, Hall said that he understood the principles upon which Owen would establish the community at Harmony to be “the united efforts of the whole directed by a Committee of 12 toward the general benefit. This Committee is to be appointed by a majority of votes of the members, 8 by those members who have brot. money into the Concern & 4 by those who have not. The Com- mittee will . . . divide itself into Sub Committees to superin- tendent the different branches of the establishment. The Education of the Children which will commence as early as two years old will be most particularly attended to & is in- tended to be conducted under an entire new system without Praise, or Blame, Reward or Punishment, & thus minds are to be from infancy directed to look with pity on the failings & imperfections of others & to seek their enjoyment not in their individual gratification but in the general happiness of society.”16 But when one compares this exposition of Owen’s ideas with the plan which Hall drew up for his own co-opera- tive enterprise, it is clear that while he was impressed with Owen’s economic ideas, he was reserving judgment on, or even rejecting, Owenite educational theories. Hall’s next contact with New Harmony and Robert Owen came on April 20, 1825, when he and others went to hear Owen outline what came to be called the “Preliminary So- ciety,”l8 and some time in the last part of May, Hall visited again in New Harmony and talked with Robert Owen.” This, so far as Hall’s journal shows, was the last time that Hall and Owen were together. But undoubtedly there was much discussion between Hall and some of his neighbors about plans and possibilities of improving their lot. As noted above, some of the English had joined the community at New Har- mony. Evidently Hall and his associates would not go that

14 “From England to Illinois in 1821: The Journal of William Hall,” in Journal of the Illinois State Hi+xical Society, XXXIX, 239: “Diary of William Owen,” in Indiana Historical Society Publications, IV, 103. 15“From England to Illinois in 1821: The Journal of William Hall,” in Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, XXXIX, 239. ‘EZbid., 242. See also “The Diaries of Donald Macdonald,” in Indiana Historical Society Publzcations, XIV, 292. Although it is not relevant here, it should be noted that there is a discrepancy in the date of this meeting. The New Harmony, Indiana, Gazette, October 1, 1825, and Lockwood, The New Harmony Movement, page 83, give the date as April 27. 17 “From England to Illinois in 1821: The Journal of William Hall,” in Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, XXXIX, 242. An Owenite Society in Illinois 179 far, probably because of Owen’s unorthodox views on religion and education, and so, in Hall’s words, this was the course of action decided upon: “At a meeting held at my House [July 24, 18251 six of us constituted ourselves into a Society to be styled the Wanborough Joint Stock Society. Myself, A: Emmerson, & C: Ayres were appointed to form a Com- mittee & I was appointed Secretary and Treasurer.” Later, on August 20, he records, “It was agreed at a meeting of the Society that myself, A. Emmerson, & Wm. Woodlands should be appointed to value the stock of the members & that at the valuation of either of our own stock A: McWhorter should be called in in place of that one of us whose stock should be under valuation. It was also agreed that the Land under Cultivation shniid [be] valued at $6. & the uninclosed Land at $2 pr. Acre.” These are the only direct references to the “Society” in Hall’s journal, but the following entries indicate that further steps were taken to implement the joint agree- ment: August 22, 1825. “The Wanbro mill was given pos- session of to myself, A : Emmerson, & Chas Ayres by T : Hine. A Valuation of the stock of T: Hine was taken by E: WaIker & B: Dorrettry.” This statement should be read in connec- tion with an earlier one of August 13 : “Went to Village Creek with D: Hearsum & E: Emmerson to assist in taking the Level of a section of the Creek which was said to offer a sufficient fall for a saw mill. Hearsum found the descent was only 8l,4 In: in 130 yards.” Apparently, since there was not enough water power available for the “Society” to erect its own mill, Hall and the others acquired Hine’s Wan- borough Mill for the “Society.’’1e And this is all that is known about the “Wanborough Joint Stock Society.”1B At least, since Hall discontinued his Journalzo and George Flower made no mention of it in his account of the English settlement, there is no documentary evidence that the “Society” continued. It is significant, though, that the Owen-New Harmony influence was extended

18 Zbid., 244-245. 1DIt is probably Hall’s “Society” to which William Pelham refers in a letter to William Pelham, Jr., written from New Harmony on September 9, 1825: “Associations on Mr. Owen’s principles I find are springing up in the various places. Besides the society at Yellow Spring, and the one you mention in Allegany [Sic] Co. Pa. another has been formed at Albion, Illinois . . . of which a favorable acct. has been recd. here.” See “Letters of Vi’illiam Pelham written in 1826 to 1826, in Lindley, Indiana as Seen by Early Travelers, 374. 20The last regular entry is November 13 1825. ‘‘From England to Illinois in 1821: The Journal of William kall,” in Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, XXXIX, 246. 180 Indiana Magazine of History into Illinois. Also it is significant that Hall and his fellows adopted the economic features of Owenism, but none of the social, religious, and moral objects which were equally im- portant in the schemes of Robert Owen. The joint agreement, however, did provide for equality among members in the distribution of profits after expenses were met ; but included among the expenses was the payment of four per cent interest to those who had contributed the capital. In other words, this was a co-operative capitalistic enterprise, not at all social- istic, and was exactly what it was called, a “Joint Stock Society.” If Hall and his associates had wanted to become socialists, they would have gone to New Harmony. Finally, it may be noted that in the statement of advantages to be derived from the “union of Labour and Capital” the signers aimed to overcome some of the hazard and unpleasantness of life on the frontier. It must have seemed to them that the co-operation of the members of the group would accomplish more for each than could individual effort. In the long run, though, the things that William Hall and his associates wanted were secured not through private economic action, but rather through political means as the population of the West grew, and as national, state, and local governments assumed re- sponsibility for the welfare of the members of society. Conditions proposed to be entered into by the undersigned Persons preparatory to the formation of a Society upon the principle of a union of Labour and Capital21 1 A Valuation shall be taken of the Land, Live Stock, Crop[s] & Implements of the several Members which shall henceforth form the Joint Stock of the Society & be the Security for any Debt which may be regularly contracted by the Society in conformity with its Rules & Regulations, but the private property of any individual Member shall not be considered responsible or be in any manner affected by the Acts of the Society in its collective capacity.

21 This is an exact transcript, spelling, capitalization, and punctua- tion being as they are in the original document. It is written on both sides of two 7% by 12% inch sheets. A small part of the first sheet is missing, and, so far as possible, words have been supplied and en- closed in brackets. Concerning the authorship and identification of handwriting and signatures, the following letter to Walter B. Hend- rickson from Miss Margaret Flint, Reference Librarian of the Illinois State Historical Library, dated April 2, 1948, is quoted: “The signa- tures of William Hall, McWhorter, and the names following [the latter] are all in the same handwriting. A comparison of these sig- natures and the document indicate that all were written by the same person. The Hall Journal has been returned to the owners so no actual comparison can be made, but it is assumed that William Hall signed the ‘Conditions,’ and therefore wrote the document.” It is my own opinion that this is not necessarily the only copy of the “Conditions” that was made, but that this copy, at least, was intended as the official one, and that Hall wrote it as a part of his duty as secretary-treasurer, and is thus his own record of those who were members. An Owenite Society in Illinois 181

2 An equal division of the Proceeds of the Labour and Capital of the Society shall annually be made amongst all its Members after the following demands shall have been satisfied in the following order, First, The interest of such Sum or Sums of Money which may have been raised upon the security of the Stock of the Society shall be regularly paid. Secondly, Tradesmens Bills & all the [necessities?] of the Society shall be discharged. Thirdly, Ten pe[r cent shall be?] set apart out of the Sum remaining after payment of [the fore- going?] demands to form a fund for paying of the incumbrances [of the soci?]ety. Fourthly, Four per Cent interest upon the Capital of the [Society?] shall be paid to the Persons entitled to receive it. 3 The Sum remaining after the foregoing demands ha[ve been?] satisfied together with the Wool, Cotton, Flax, Hemp, Lea[ther?] Tallow, & Wheat, which may remain unsold, shall be equally shared amongst all the members of the Society who together with their families shall be regularly supplied with food from the Produce raised by the Society. 4 In the event of the Death of any Member of the Society, his family shall not be disturbed or molested in the occupation of the Premises belonging to the Society which were occupied by him, and they shall be regularly supplied with food by the Society, & continue to be treated in the same manner as they were during his lifetime, while she remains a widow, but they shall not be entitled to any other share of the Produce of the Society unless there be Children in its employ- ment, in which case there shall be allowed one half of a single Mem- bers share to every Young Man between the Ages of 15 and 17 Years and three fourths of a like share to every one between the Ages of 17 and Twenty one Years at which period they shall have the option of becoming Members of this Society if their moral Character does not render them unfit for it. And this provision regarding Sons under Age shall extend to the benefit of any Member who may chuse to avail him- self of it. 5 This Engagement shall be binding upon the Parties who have given up their Property to the Uses of the Society for the term of Fourteen Years after which term if the Sum specified as the Value of their Land in [?I taken at the formation of the Society, be not paid to [?I Months after Notice regularly given, they shall have full [?]el-, & possess the same with all the Buildings & Improvements [that h?]ave been made upon it without paying any Valuation for the [?I they shall have a farther claim upon the Society for the Va-[lue of the?] Stock, Cattle &c, originally given up by them, either in Money [?] valued, or, on Articles of the same description & Va-[lue at the] option of the Society, And also for the arreara of interest which may be due upon their share of the Capital. 6 The Buildings now erected with the Gardens & Offices attached to them, not being included in the Valuation remain the sole Property of the present Possessors their Heirs & Assigns, unless the Society chuse to take them at a fair Valuation at the expiration of the afore- said term of years when they shall have the right of so doing. 7 The Society shall appoint a Committee of Three Persons by whom and by whom only shall be transacted all the Concerns of the 182 Indiana Magazine of History

Society and the Society shall not be held responsible for any Contracts made or any Engagements entered into by any Person or Persons who- ever except the Persons they appoint to form this Committee, and the unanimous Consent & the signature of every Member of it shall be held indispensably necessary to the binding this Society to the fulfilment of any Contract or Engagement of importance. 8 The Committee shall appoint one of their Number to act as Secretary & Treasurer to the Society & empower him to pay and re- ceive Monies & to transact the ordinary business of the Society. He shall keep regular accounts which shall be always open to the inspec- tion of any Member of the Society at proper hours. 9 This Committee may at any time be dissolved and another ap- pointed by a Resolution of a Majority of three fourths of the Members of the Society. 10 These Conditions shall be considered Fundamental & a majority of not less than five sixths of the Members of the Society shall be required to make any alteration in them. The advantages the Members expect to derive from entering into this Association, are 1st They feel convinced that their Land will all be brought into cultivation in much less time and at much less expence than it coud at the present state of things. 2d That by working together with one common interest their Labour will be much less irksome & pass of [sic] more cheerfully and having the advantage of the united experience of the Community it will be better directed & of course much more effective. 3d They hope to secure to their Children the benefits of Education & to themselves & their families the advantage of Medical attendance & to be relieved from that long train of anxieties attendant upon a fit of sickness in the busy Season, And in the event of their death their families will not be left unprovided for. 4th Their Live Stock may be managed to much greater advantages the Young Cattle kept separate & better wintered, A regular Flock established & properly looked after. And many other Advantages secured to them, which they cannot expect to enjoy in their present State. Wm Hall 26 July - 1825 Alan Emmerson 26 July 1825 William Woodland Do John Woodland Do Charles Ayres 27th July 1825 Wm. Hall Junr 26 July 1825 Anderson McWhorter Samuel Prichard 12 Aug 1825 Thomas Prichard 11 Aug 1825 Noah Stapleford 15 Aug 1825 Joseph Mounce 1st Aug- 1825 Samuel McKemie