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Additional resources: The Runyon Family Subscribe to Rootsweb's Runyon List Server - send mail to RUNYON-L-request@rootsweb.com with the single word subscribe in the message subject and body. To join RUNYON-D (digest mode), do the same thing with RUNYON-D-request@rootsweb.com Other Pleasant Hill Families Subscribe to the SHAKER List Server - send mail to LISTSERV@LSV.UKY.EDU with SUBSCRIBE SHAKER Your Name in the message subject and body. Bibliography: Ham, F. Gerald, Pleasant Hill - A Century of Kentucky Shakerism 1805-1910 (Thesis), Lexington, Ky, 1955 Hutton, Daniel Mac-Hir, Old Shakertown and the Shakers, Harrodsburg, Ky, 1982-1987 Kolken, Diana Van, Introducing the Shakers - an explanation and directory, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1985 Morse, Flo, The Shakers and the World's People, New York, 1980 Neal, Julia, The Kentucky Shakers, The University Press of Kentucky, 1982 Clark, Thomas D. and Ham, F. Gerald, Pleasant Hill and Its Shakers, Pleasant Hill Press, 1968, 1983 A Map and Guide to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Shaker Village of Kentucky |
Nancy Reddy is a 5th great granddaughter of Phineas and Charity Runyon (Phineas > Martin > Silas > Absolom > Samuel > Donald > James > Nancy) now living in upstate New York who has had the pleasure of visiting Pleasant Hill twice. She can be reached at reddynj@juno.com Silas Baxter Runyon left the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill at age 15. He remained in Kentucky, married, had at least four sons, became a widower, remarried and in the late 1840's migrated to Dallas County, Texas. There, he had two more sons before his death about 1855. |
Three generations of Runyons were living at Pleasant Hill between the years 1813 and 1834. Silas Baxter Runyon was the first of the younger generation who, three weeks shy of his sixteenth birthday, "went to the world", departing Shaker life for good. In fact, the 1820's were a time of multiple departures at Pleasant Hill, causing concern among the Believers and a more active role in taking in orphans to rebuild their ranks. By 1834, eleven of the twenty younger Runyon family members had given up the Shaker life, some doing so even after signing the Church Covenant. A better than average rate, though, as "the Shakers themselves estimated they only retained 10% of their young" (Clark & Ham, p.66) In contrast, 1834 was the year Polly Runyon Sutton, who had departed the Shakers nine years earlier, brought her two children James and Jane to live with the Shakers. Both Jane and James died as Shakers, although James left the community briefly in 1849-1850. Life among the Shakers may have been a difficult adjustment for some of the younger generation of Runyons, who ranged in age from 4 months to twenty-five years at the time of their arrival. We know that the children of Pleasant Hill were separated from their parents at an early age - often by age four - with boys and girls living apart, supervised by one or two adults assigned the responsibility of caretaker. The children were taught to read and write with boys taking classes during the winter and girls in the summer to coordinate with their other duties. In later years at Pleasant Hill a wider variety of courses were taught than in the early years. Guidance for children came from various Shaker publications beginning in 1823 with the "Juvenile Monitor." "Children thus received are treated with great care and tenderness. The government exercised over them is mild, gentle, and beneficent, which usually excites in them feelings of affection towards one another, and confidence and respect towards their care-takers and teachers, which generally produces a willing obedience in whatever is required of them. The practical exercise of mildness and gentleness of manners is early and sedulously cultivated...Children are early led into the knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, instructed in their history, and practically taught the divine precepts contained in them, particularly those of Jesus Christ and his Apostles. They are brought up to some manual occupation suited to their capacities, by which to be enabled to obtain a livelihood, whether they remain with the Society or not." (Shakers Compendium of the Origin, History, Principles, Rules, and Regulations, Government, and Doctrines of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance, 1859). Departure was not necessarily permanent. Guilford D. Runyon, son of Joseph and Jane, departed the Shakers in 1829 only to return the following year. He was readmitted into the Junior Order and after six years had regained his status in the Church, only to be expelled in 1839 because of his desire to marry. Sadly, his fiancé died before they were wed and Guilford lived, unmarried, in Harrodsburg, seven miles from his former Shaker home. James Sutton, son of Polly Runyon, left for ten months in December 1849 only to return the next Fall. Phineas & Charity, Joseph & Jane, Martin & Patience, Emley & Lydia, thirteen of Phineas' grandchildren, and two of Phineas' great-grandchildren lived out their lives among the Shakers and are thought to be buried in the graveyard at the western extent of the village. Viewing the cemetery today, one may not realize that more than 250 Shakers are likely to be buried here. "...the funeral was marked by simplicity, solemnity, and order. The family deacon laid out the corpse in a plain unadorned coffin while the elders and eldresses directed the funeral...Marching in order, singing a funeral song, the brethren sometime accompanied by the sisters, made the slow trek to the village cemetery, an enclosed knoll west of the community that had been laid out in 1811. Here under the shade of two columns of tall hemlock trees, the Believer's remains were interred" (Ham, p.156). Simple markers with initials are all that identify the Shaker burial sites and many of those are no longer present. "They were content...in merely erecting a slab about 12 inches wide of cedar or some other enduring wood or rough limestone bearing the initial only of the deceased" (Hutton, p.59). Eighteen individuals with the Runyon surname and five members of the Badgett family are believed to be buried in the Pleasant Hill cemetery. This site was created for the descendants of the Runyon family at Pleasant Hill - an estimated 18,800 Americans who can trace their lineage back to Phineas and Charity Runyon. Special thanks to Jerry Young, Jenny Runyon, and Larrie Curry for their many contributions to this effort. |
Our Shaker Heritage Created for descendants of the Runyon family members of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky In memory of Silas Baxter Runyon, one who departed Nancy Runyon Reddy June 2001 Updated February 2002 |
Introduction The early 19th century marked a time of religious revival in Kentucky during which a group of Shaker leaders of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance arrived from New England to preach their beliefs. The group had been given the name "Shakers" because of their exuberant physical style of worship. In 1805, John Meacham, Benjamin S. Youngs, and Issachar Bates were sent as missionaries from the Shaker community at New Lebanon, New York to the converts in the western states. "The great Kentucky Revival in the first five years of the nineteenth century was like an early American Woodstock. It drew thousands of young pioneers families and frontiersmen to mass camp meetings in the forest, where they listened day and night to one impassioned preacher after another" (Morse, p.78). Shaker converts began organizing between Harrodsburg and Lexington along Shawnee Run. "...the soil is rich and fertile. We are situated on a river by the name of Kentucky river which a considerable part of the year is navigable for boats for about one hundred and forty or fifty miles... The Believers' land is bounded by it on the east, our house stands about three quarters of a mile from it" (Neal, p.11). Over time with donations from converts and acquisitions the Shakers would come to own as many as 7,000 acres in this portion of Mercer County. Members of the Runyon family, living in nearby Fayette and Madison Counties, must have listened to these men speak about a life devoted to God characterized by communal living, equality among the sexes, and celibacy. Often, it is assumed that because they believed in a celibate lifestyle, the Shakers have no descendants. Of course this is only true of those who arrived unmarried and remained faithful. All of the Runyon family members who joined as adults were already married with large families. Like the other villages, the buildings of Pleasant Hill were configured according to Shaker rules. Each "Family" - a grouping of people - lived, slept, and ate, in their own building, occupied by both Brothers and Sisters living on opposite sides. The men used the east entrance, stairways, and rooms, the women the west. On the Sabbath the village would join together at the Meeting House in worship. |
Three generations of Runyons were living at Pleasant Hill between the years 1813 and 1834. Silas Baxter Runyon was the first of the younger generation who, three weeks shy of his sixteenth birthday, "went to the world", departing Shaker life for good. In fact, the 1820's were a time of multiple departures at Pleasant Hill, causing concern among the Believers and a more active role in taking in orphans to rebuild their ranks. By 1834, eleven of the twenty younger Runyon family members had given up the Shaker life, some doing so even after signing the Church Covenant. A better than average rate, though, as "the Shakers themselves estimated they only retained 10% of their young" (Clark & Ham, p.66) In contrast, 1834 was the year Polly Runyon Sutton, who had departed the Shakers nine years earlier, brought her two children James and Jane to live with the Shakers. Both Jane and James died as Shakers, although James left the community briefly in 1849-1850. Life among the Shakers may have been a difficult adjustment for some of the younger generation of Runyons, who ranged in age from 4 months to twenty-five years at the time of their arrival. We know that the children of Pleasant Hill were separated from their parents at an early age - often by age four - with boys and girls living apart, supervised by one or two adults assigned the responsibility of caretaker. The children were taught to read and write with boys taking classes during the winter and girls in the summer to coordinate with their other duties. In later years at Pleasant Hill a wider variety of courses were taught than in the early years. Guidance for children came from various Shaker publications beginning in 1823 with the "Juvenile Monitor." "Children thus received are treated with great care and tenderness. The government exercised over them is mild, gentle, and beneficent, which usually excites in them feelings of affection towards one another, and confidence and respect towards their care-takers and teachers, which generally produces a willing obedience in whatever is required of them. The practical exercise of mildness and gentleness of manners is early and sedulously cultivated...Children are early led into the knowledge of the sacred Scriptures, instructed in their history, and practically taught the divine precepts contained in them, particularly those of Jesus Christ and his Apostles. They are brought up to some manual occupation suited to their capacities, by which to be enabled to obtain a livelihood, whether they remain with the Society or not." (Shakers Compendium of the Origin, History, Principles, Rules, and Regulations, Government, and Doctrines of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance, 1859). Departure was not necessarily permanent. Guilford D. Runyon, son of Joseph and Jane, departed the Shakers in 1829 only to return the following year. He was readmitted into the Junior Order and after six years had regained his status in the Church, only to be expelled in 1839 because of his desire to marry. Sadly, his fiancé died before they were wed and Guilford lived, unmarried, in Harrodsburg, seven miles from his former Shaker home. James Sutton, son of Polly Runyon, left for ten months in December 1849 only to return the next Fall. Phineas & Charity, Joseph & Jane, Martin & Patience, Emley & Lydia, thirteen of Phineas' grandchildren, and two of Phineas' great-grandchildren lived out their lives among the Shakers and are thought to be buried in the graveyard at the western extent of the village. Viewing the cemetery today, one may not realize that more than 250 Shakers are likely to be buried here. "...the funeral was marked by simplicity, solemnity, and order. The family deacon laid out the corpse in a plain unadorned coffin while the elders and eldresses directed the funeral...Marching in order, singing a funeral song, the brethren sometime accompanied by the sisters, made the slow trek to the village cemetery, an enclosed knoll west of the community that had been laid out in 1811. Here under the shade of two columns of tall hemlock trees, the Believer's remains were interred" (Ham, p.156). Simple markers with initials are all that identify the Shaker burial sites and many of those are no longer present. "They were content...in merely erecting a slab about 12 inches wide of cedar or some other enduring wood or rough limestone bearing the initial only of the deceased" (Hutton, p.59). Eighteen individuals with the Runyon surname and five members of the Badgett family are believed to be buried in the Pleasant Hill cemetery. This site was created for the descendants of the Runyon family at Pleasant Hill - an estimated 18,800 Americans who can trace their lineage back to Phineas and Charity Runyon. Special thanks to Jerry Young, Jenny Runyon, and Larrie Curry for their many contributions to this effort. |
Children of Phineas Runyon and Charity Coates The following data are derived from the Shaker records of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky and surrounding counties added to prior research from multiple sources. It lists the children of Phineas and Charity Runyon including those four who, like their parents, joined the Shakers as adults, as well as the Sutton, Ryan, and Badgett extended family members. This list includes Phineas and Charity (generation 1) followed by their children (generation 2) and so on to the third generation and, in the case of the great grandchildren of Phineas and Charity who also lived at Pleasant Hill - to the fourth generation. Members of the family who lived as Shakers are highlighted in red. 1 Phineas Runyon b: February 13, 1744 in Kingwood, Hunterdon Co., NJ , arrived Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, Ky Fall 1812, d: January 21, 1831 in Shakertown (Pleasant Hill), Mercer Co., KY, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and June 10, 1830 . +Charity Coates b: December 23, 1744 in Kingwood, NJ m: 1761 in Hunterdon Co., N.J. d: August 9, 1827 in Shakertown (Pleasant Hill), Mercer Co., KY, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 2 John William Runyon b: November 01, 1763 in Hunterdon Co., NJ. d: September 1833 in New Hope,Preble Co., OH or Madison Co.,KY. ... +Patty Bennett b: in Last name might be Barret. m: February 23, 1803 in Rowan Co., NC, buried Old Cem. near New Hope in Jackson Twp. 2 Joseph Runyon - Joseph and his wife Jane joined the Shaker community in 1809. They arrived at Pleasant Hill March 1810 with their ten children, ranging in age from 1 to 25. Six of Joseph's children remained throughout their lives at Pleasant Hill. Joseph died in 1845 at age 80; Jane passed away five years later at age 83. 2 Joseph Runyon b: January 24, 1765 in Kingwood, Hunterdon Co., NJ, Believed in 1809, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: April 28, 1845 in Pleasant Hill, KY, Elder, assistant trustee, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814 and June 10, 1830 ... +Jane (aka Ginny) b: December 12, 1766 in Fairfax Co., VA m: Bef. 1785, Believed February 1810, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: August 24, 1850 in Pleasant Hill, KY, Family Deaconess, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 Charlotte (aka Sally C.) Runyon b: July 25, 1785 in Rowan Co., NC, Believed September 1809, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: April 20, 1879 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: family deaconess, office, trading, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 Nancy Runyon b: May 27, 1787 in Rowan Co., NC, believed in 1810, arrived Shakertown Spring 1815 without her husband, d: July 8, 1852 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 .... +Thomas Ryan m: November 23, 1807, Fayette Co., KY 4 Lawson Ryan b: November 24, 1808 (twin), arrived Shakertown May 1815, departed Shakertown March 28, 1828 4 Wesley Ryan b: November 24, 1808 (twin), arrived Shakertown May 1815, departed Shakertown July 20, 1825 4 Nancy Ryan b: January 12, 1812, arrived Shakertown May 1815, departed Shakertown March 31, 1829 3 Vincent Runyon b: August 16, 1789 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown June 1810, d: March 17, 1846 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, occ: down river trader and Elder, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 Marcy Runyon b: August 21, 1792 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: January 25, 1837 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814 and June 10, 1830, Elder sister 3 George Runyon b: September 13, 1795 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: May 24, 1884 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: farmer, minister, preacher, hymn writer, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and January 1, 1824 3 William Runyon b: July 12, 1799 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: January 13, 1866 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: stone mason, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 Guilford D. Runyon b: January 8, 1802 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, departed Shakertown May 18, 1829 and returned the following June, was expelled from Shakertown February 19, 1839, d: April 6, 1873 at Harrodsburg, Ky, buried at Harrodsburg, occ: shoemaker, signed Church Covenant January 1, 1824 and April 3, 1838 3 Matilda Runyon b: July 27, 1804 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown March 2, 1810, d: May 14, 1873 at Pleasant Hill, KY, occ: nurse, kitchen deaconess, seamstress, signed Church Covenant March 13, 1835 and April 9, 1844 3 Polly Runyon b: August 4, 1807, departed Shakertown June 26, 1825 ... +Isaac Sutton 4 (Mary) Jane Sutton b: February 14, 1832 in Lexington, Fayette Co., KY, brought by her mother to Shakertown June 7, 1834, d: December 29, 1912 at Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant May 10, 1856, occ: seamstress, Trustee 4 James Sutton b: February 14, 1830 in Fayette Co., KY, brought by his mother to Shakertown May 1834, departed Shakertown December 1849 and returned October 29, 1850, d: August 18, 1895 at Shakertown, Pleasant Hill, KY 3 Benjamin Runyon b: May 16, 1809, departed Shakertown May 6, 1828 2 Bafford Runyon - went by the nickname "Barefoot". 2 Bafford Runyon b: June 06, 1767 in NJ called Barefoot. d: March 22, 1844 in Eaton, Preble Co., OH., buried Gard Cem. ... +Nancy Ann Parks b: April 05, 1768 in NC m: 1786 in Rowan Co., NC. d: October 09, 1862 in Preble Co., OH buried Winholt Cem., Dixon Twp, Preble Co., OH 2 Mercy Runyon - Mercy and her husband John Badgett joined the Shaker community in December 1811, arriving at Pleasant Hill with their nine children. John died at Pleasant Hill in 1853 at age 87; Mercy seven years later at age 92. 2 Mercy Runyon b: December 23, 1768 in Kingwood, NJ., arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844, d: February 1, 1860 in Pleasant Hill, KY ...+ John Badgett b. Nov. 23, 1766 in Granville Co., NC, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and April 9, 1844, d. March 2, 1853 at Pleasant Hill, KY, Deacon, farm and public business 3 Charity Badgett b: October 15, 1791 in Rowan Co., NC, arrived Shakertown early 1810, Believed June 1810, d: February 13, 1865 at Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant August 13, 1811, June 2, 1814, July 1, 1830 and April 9, 1844, occ: Deaconess, Offfice 3 Prudence (aka Sally) Badgett b: October 14, 1794 in Rowan Co, NC, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, d: August 27, 1848 at Shakertown, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 William Badgett b: November 15, 1795 in Madison Co., KY, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814 and January 1, 1824, departed Shakertown August 25, 1828 ...+Janie Hover m. October 11, 1828 Mercer Co., (Mercer Co. marriage records) 3 Salome Badgett b: January 14, 1798 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, Believed January 1812, d: February 15, 1826 at Pleasant Hill, Ky, 3 John R. Badgett, Jr. b: April 3, 1800 I Fayette Co., KY, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, departed Shakertown October 20, 1826 ...+ America Bosley (b. abt. 1801 in Lincoln Co. KY, died: abt. 1834, parents: possibly Thomas Berry Bosley and Elizabeth Lucinda Sutton) August 2, 1827. Second wife Amanda Miller Haitt. Died: Abt. 1850 in Washington Co. KY. Children of John R. and America Badgett: 3 Ginny (aka Jinny or Jane) Badgett b: September 13, 1802 in Fayette Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 27, 1811, departed Shakertown December 17, 1827 ... +James C. Hutton m. December 24, 1829 Mercer Co., Ky in 1829 (Marriage Records of Mercer County, Kentucky 1816-1830) 3 Polly Badgett b: November 16, 1805, departed Shakertown February 19, 1824 3 Hardin Badgett b: January 19, 1808, departed Shakertown July 1, 1825 3 Katherine (aka Kitty) Badgett b: June 11, 1811, departed Shakertown March 14, 1831 2 Michael Runyon - b: 1772 in or 1775 in NJ, 1812 to Preble Co., OH, 1829 to Lockeport, Will Co., IL d: June 29, 1856 in Hickory Creek, Will Co., IL ... +Nancy Blackwell m: November 24, 1797 in Madison Co., KY. (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Michael Runyon and Nancy Blackwell filed 24 Nov 1797 and married 30 Nov 1797 with Dysa Blackwell, P? of the Bride giving consent and Nathan Parke as bondsman) d: April 26, 1839 2 Charity Runyon - b: April 14, 1776 in Hunterdon Co., NJ. d: December 04, 1855 in Preble Co, Ohio ... +Samuel Parks b: December 25, 1769 m: November 06, 1792 in Yadkin Co., NC d: September 11, 1848 in they were amoung early settlers of Preble Co., OH 2 Martin Runyon - Martin and Patience joined the Shaker community in 1813. They arrived at Pleasant Hill December 1813 with their eight children, ranging in age from 1 to 14. Two of Martin's children remained at Pleasant Hill. Martin died in 1840 at age 62; Patience passed away seventeen years later at age 75. 2 Martin Runyon b: April 20, 1778 in NJ, Believed March 1813, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, d: September 27, 1840 in Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant after May 1814 and June 10, 1830, Deacon and Trustee ... +Patience Baxter b: September 17, 1782 in Baltimore, MD m: December 18, 1799 in Madison Co. KY (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Martin Runyon and Patience Baxter filed 18 Dec 1799 and married 19 Dec 1799 with no one listed as giving consent and Joseph Fowler as bondsman), arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, Believed January 1814, d: October 20, 1857 in Pleasant Hill, KY, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 John Runyon b: May 7, 1800, Elder, Believed January 1814 3 Betsy (aka Elizabeth?) Runyon b: October 12, 1801 in Madison Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, d: December 14, 1861 in Pleasant Hill, KY, occ: teacher, girls caretaker, signed Church Covenant after May 1815, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 3 Matilda (aka Rebecca) Runyon b: June 24, 1803 in Barren Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, departed Shakertown October 22, 1834 .... +Lewis Gillespie 3 Asa G. Runyon b: June 20, 1805 in Madison Co. KY, departed Shakertown June 14, 1827, d: October 1857 in Teatersville, Garrard Co., KY. .... +Mary F. Arthur m: August 27, 1836 in KY 3 Silas Baxter Runyon b: November 22, 1807 in Madison Co., Ky, departed Shakertown November 3, 1823 d: 1855 migrated to Dallas Co. Tx about 1848 .. + Rebecca Tye b.March 4, 1809 in Knox Co., Ky m: July 18, 1829 in Whitley Co., Ky d: June 8, 1846 ....+ (2nd wife of Silas) Cynthia Ann (aka Sintha) Cornelius b: Abt. 1826 in KY married November 19, 1846 (Source: Garrard Co. records) 3 Charity C. Runyon b: August 2, 1809, departed Shakertown April 25, 1831 .... +Isaac N. Hawkins m: October 25, 1837 in Madison Co., KY. 3 Peggy Runyon b: June 11, 1810, arrived Shakertown December 21, 1813, Believed January 1814, d: September 28, 1829 at Pleasant Hill, Ky 3 Sally Runyon b: August 22, 1813 departed Shakertown (Pleasant Hill, KY) August 6, 1831, d: August 24, 1874 age 63, female, married, housekeeper, died Aug. 24, 1876 of unknown cause. Born in Madison County the daughter of Runyon, Martin and Patience. (Garrard County, KY records) .... +? Philips 2 Absalom Runyon - b: May 09, 1782 in Madison Co., KY. d: March 14, 1867 Buried in the Scudder/Fowler Cemetery overlooking the East Fork of Otter Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. ... +Mary (Polly) Fowler b: September 04, 1783 in Penn m: April 03, 1806 in Madison Co., KY. d: March 26, 1866 (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Absolom Runyon and Polly Fowler filed 1 Apr 1806 and married 3 Apr 1806 with Richard Fowler, Father of the Bride giving consent and as bondsman) 2 Emley (or Embly) Runyon - Emley and Lydia joined the Shaker community in 1812, arriving at Pleasant Hill August 1812 with their three children, ranging in age from 6 months to five years. One of Emley's children remained at Pleasant Hill. Lydia died in 1823 at age 34; Emley died twenty-one years later at age 60. 2 Emley (aka Embly) Runyon b: September 22, 1784 in Rowan Co., NC, Believed August, 1812, arrived Shaketown August 1812, d: October 19, 1844 in Pleasant Hill, KY, Elder and Deacon, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, June 10, 1830 and April 9, 1844 ... + Lydia Burton b: September 12, 1788 in Boonesborough, Ky, m: February 15, 1806 in Madison Co., KY (Source-Madison County Marriages 1786-1822: Emley Runyon and Lydia Burton filed 15 Feb 1806 and married 20 Feb 1806 with Samuel Burton, Father of the Bride giving consent and Nathaniel Oldham as bondsman), Believed August, 1812, arrived Shakertown August 1812, signed Church Covenant June 2, 1814, d: July 19, 1823, church Elder 3 Lawson Runyon b: October 10, 1807 in KY , departed Shakertown August 24, 1829, Moved to Hot Springs, AR bef. 1850 .... +Emily Ross m: May 25, 1845 in Hot Springs, Garland Co., AR d: Aft. 1882 (Native American) 3 Amy Runyon b: August 25, 1809 in Madison Co., Ky, arrived Shakertown August 1812, d: July 13, 1863 at Pleasant Hill, Ky occ: teacher, nurse, childrens caretaker, signed Church Covenant January 20, 1831 and April 9, 1844 3 Robert (Comstock) Runyon b: February 4, 1812, departed Shaketown April 7, 1829 . + Betsy Thompson 4 Lawson Runyon 2 Isaac Runyan - born 1787, Isaac Runyon and Sarah Winn (born about 1796) filed 1 Jun 1812 and married 2 Jun 1812 with John Winn, Father of the Bride giving consent and as bondsman (Madison County Marriages 1786-1822) 2 Mary "Polly" Runyon - Littleberry Hurt and Polly Runyon filed 4 Dec 1805 and married 5 Dec 1805 with Phineas Runyon, Father of the Bride and Little B. Hert [sic], Father of the Groom both giving consent and with Absolom Runyon as bondsman (Madison County Marriages 1786-1822) 2 William Runyon - d: in Ohio ... +Katherine Low m: December 13, 1793 in Rowan Co., NC. 2 Aaron Runyon - died 1795 in North Carolina 2 Robert Runyon - died in North Carolina |
Number of visitors since June 2001 |
Nancy Reddy is a 5th great granddaughter of Phineas and Charity Runyon (Phineas > Martin > Silas > Absolom > Samuel > Donald > James > Nancy) now living in upstate New York who has had the pleasure of visiting Pleasant Hill twice. She can be reached at reddynj@juno.com Silas Baxter Runyon left the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill at age 15. He remained in Kentucky, married, had at least four sons, became a widower, remarried and in the late 1840's migrated to Dallas County, Texas. There, he had two more sons before his death about 1855. |
Records of Pleasant Hill, KY showing biographical information for Charity and Phineas Runyon |
Phineas and Charity Runyon, both born 1744 in New Jersey, are thought to have had at least fourteen children and were grandparents to more than sixty-nine individuals. Phineas and Charity plus four of their adult children, each with their own families, would join the Society at Pleasant Hill. Joseph Runyon was the first to become a Believer, at age 45, and settled permanently at the Shaker village in 1810. Next, his brother Emley (age 28), parents Phineas (age 68) and Charity (also age 68), sister Mercy Runyon who had married John Badgett, and lastly brother Martin (age 35) and his family, who arrived at the end of 1813. Joseph's daughter Nancy Runyon Ryan followed suit, joining the Shakers with her young children, leaving her husband behind. In total, 45 of the Runyon, Badgett, Ryan, and Sutton family members chose this life or were brought to Pleasant Hill as children. Twenty-five of them remained at Pleasant Hill the rest of their lives. Those who left may have felt Shaker life inappropriate for themselves but some recognized its value. Polly Runyon Sutton, daughter of Joseph, departed the Shaker community as a teenager but later sent her two children to live among the Shakers. Her daughter Jane Sutton was one of the last surviving Shakers when Pleasant Hill closed its doors in 1910. We can only speculate what their reasons for joining the Society may have been. Devotion to God, the security of a communal lifestyle, fear of childbirth, the desire to work together for a common cause, the desire to remain part of a family when a spouse chose this lifestyle. Each must have had their own personal reasons. |
Emley Runyon's statement regarding a departed Brother provides some insight: "[he] received me in his arms of love and crowned and clothed me in a robe of righteousness which is more to me than all earth's treasures or carnal enjoyments. And for this very purpose did I freely and voluntarily lay down my carnal life with all its alluring flatteries, yea I gave up and forsook them all while in my youthful days that I might at the close of life be received in the heavens with the pure and holy. I have had many views of heavenly things and had many pretty gifts given me while on earth by inspiration but, my loving friends, I can truly say I never conceived of half the beauty and glory which I now behold the faithful enjoying in the heavens of Eternal happiness and bliss. But on the other hand, dear friends, the torment, misery and awful condition of the unfaithful who have slighted their day and call and lost their privilege with the people of God, is more than I can relate. Their dreadful shrieks, lamentations and doleful cries is more, I say, than I am able to describe to you, it is awful indeed" (Charleston manuscript - Filson Club in Hutton, p.55). |
Additional resources: The Runyon Family Subscribe to Rootsweb's Runyon List Server - send mail to RUNYON-L-request@rootsweb.com with the single word subscribe in the message subject and body. To join RUNYON-D (digest mode), do the same thing with RUNYON-D-request@rootsweb.com Other Pleasant Hill Families Subscribe to the SHAKER List Server - send mail to LISTSERV@LSV.UKY.EDU with SUBSCRIBE SHAKER Your Name in the message subject and body. Bibliography: Ham, F. Gerald, Pleasant Hill - A Century of Kentucky Shakerism 1805-1910 (Thesis), Lexington, Ky, 1955 Hutton, Daniel Mac-Hir, Old Shakertown and the Shakers, Harrodsburg, Ky, 1982-1987 Kolken, Diana Van, Introducing the Shakers - an explanation and directory, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1985 Morse, Flo, The Shakers and the World's People, New York, 1980 Neal, Julia, The Kentucky Shakers, The University Press of Kentucky, 1982 Clark, Thomas D. and Ham, F. Gerald, Pleasant Hill and Its Shakers, Pleasant Hill Press, 1968, 1983 A Map and Guide to Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Shaker Village of Kentucky |
Located twenty-five miles south of Lexington, Kentucky, the Shaker village at Pleasant Hill was one of 18 major Shaker communities. This 1834 map shows "Shaker T." between Harrodsburg and Lexington. Map of the United States compiled from the latest and most accurate surveys by Amos Lay, geographer & map publisher, New York. Library of Congress collection |
Pleasant Hill cemetery where Phineas and Charity Runyon and at least twenty-one of their descendants are thought to be buried (Photo by N. Reddy, 2001) |
Remov'd To Pleasant Hill Article by Jerry Young The power in the power of two provides one of the great revelations when you begin to study your ancestry. Two parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grandparents, 16, 32, 64, 128. Go back just seven generations and by then you've accumulated 254 surnames, and your father's last name is only 1 of them. Less than 0.25 percent of about 250 years worth of stirring the gene pool. If you go back that many generations again, you are up to 65534 of your parents' parent's parents, plenty of room for a few heroes, cowards, geniuses, criminals, curmudgeons, saints, and the inevitable intermarrying cousins who can make your family tree look like a braided ficus. You have to accept that your family name gets crowded out. I inventory the infinite variety of hairs in my beard. Did this bright red one come from my Scottish Crawfords or the French Boutchers? Is this wispy one from the Strangeways or the Bees or the Goldenbotens? At the turn of the 18th century, my American ancestors were about as diverse as white Americans could be, especially regarding religion. Growing up in a family that was at best spiritually ambivalent, it was hard to imagine that religious freedom had not only driven most of my ancestors out of Europe-Puritans, Huguenots, Quakers, and English Catholics. After several generations in America it was a search for religious freedom that funneled about half of my ancestral through northeastern Kentucky and stayed for several generations. A large group of English Catholic ancestors who had colonized Maryland in the 17th century moved en masse to Kentucky left when the state became resentfully Protestant. To escape Virginia's Anglican theocracy, my Virginia Baptist ancestors came to Kentucky as part of what was called the Travelling Church. My view of the present seemed complete, but my view of my own family's past ended with a few names of great-grandparents. Over time, you recognize the losses, which may explain why so many of us take up genealogy in our 40s. Most of my ancestors came though Kentucky. Many were Maryland Catholics and Virginia Baptists looking for religious tolerance denied them by state governments tied to other denominations. Indians killed John and Barbara Leonard near Ruddles Station in the Revolutionary War. John's father Valentine had been murdered by Tories in North Carolina. The Indians kidnapped John's son Valentine, who survived and later brought his large family to Danville, Illinois, where I was born five generations later. Days after finding the Leonards, we discovered Phineas and Charity Runyon. Around 1810, they were the oldest of about 50 Runyons to take a vow of celibacy and join the Shaker commune at Pleasant Hill, KY. Their son Barefoot did not join, and his great-grandson was my great-grandfather. I felt lucky. That week I had dodged massacres and celibacy on the Kentucky frontier. How could such epic family stories of persecutions, massacres and kidnappings been lost in the mists of only a few generations? I am now aware of how important the Cumberland Gap is to me. Why did the Runyons give up property and family ties to join a commune? Maybe by looking through journals and seeing Pleasant Hill, I might spot family traits like the solemn patience of grandpa Oscar who dug a basement under his house with a shovel? AAA shows Route 68 from Harrodsburg to Lexington as a scenic route. Most such roads carry you through Kentucky's yet untamed rocky toughness, but this stretch is like flipping through postcards of the Kentucky Bluegrass region. The Appalachians relax into rolling, tillable hills so gentle you can enjoy the view without struggling with downshifting. Hilltops offer a celestial perspective, reminding you how American primitive paintings resemble maps. Red barns, farmhouses, and pastures are parceled out by Kentucky's famous fences. The white plank fences paint the bucolic prosperity of the horse farms. The miles of limestone stacked by slaves and desperately poor immigrant Irishmen testify that life wasn't liberty and mint juleps for all. Communal but not reclusive, Shakers built Pleasant Hill at a crossroads to attract converts and trade, which spread all the way to New Orleans through their landing on the Kentucky River. Its location makes it one of the Kentucky's most visited historical sites, but it also brought the ebb and flow of the Civil War to its doorstep. Rebel sympathizers resented their rejection of slavery; unionists resented their unwillingness to fight. Both armies exploited their generosity, draining the village's resources and speeding its demise. As it did then, the road winds through Shaker tobacco fields, a habit Kentucky Shakers couldn't break despite official bans. Crops yield to pastures grazed by the breeds of sheep, horses and cattle the Shakers raised. An unending lawn surrounds the village with its Shaker-made pond crowded with domestic and Canadian migrant geese. The road splits from the old turnpike, so we don't get the same effect as 19th-century teamsters and travelers entering this peaceable, affluent village. The driveway cuts through a small orchard. Shakers shunned steeples and crosses, but the apple tree was an abiding symbol then and a marketing logo now. The apple represents original sin, and Shaker founder Ann Lee reminded believers that fallen apples rot. Clinging to the tree meant eternal, heavenly life. A half dozen still cling in Sabbathday Lake, Maine. Bearing federalist traces, the architecture reflects the Shakers' bicameral world where genders are equal but separate. Most buildings used by both sexes, such as the meeting house and center family dwelling, are split down the middle with separate doors and stairways. The costly duplication seems to contradict Shaker efficiency, but here form follows the function of leading believers not unto temptation. Nevertheless, apples often fell in pairs. Shaker trustees' houses were for transacting business and housing guests, a function it still serves at Pleasant Hill. Despite its single door, this red brick building enforces gender segregation in one of the Shakers' most celebrated architectural gestures, twin spiral staircases designed by self-trained Micajah Burnett. Shakers had rules for everything, including using stairs. Walk softly to not disturb others. Stepping right-foot first made no sense, but I complied respectfully. The spiral ascent brings to mind the song "Simple Gifts:" "to turn, turn, shall be our delight, for in turning, turning, we come round right." You join the dance, turning with all who have climbed the steps before. Our spacious third-floor room had signature Shaker furnishings-built-in cabinet, trestle table, and ladder-back chairs and a rocker, along with a TV with rabbit-ear antenna. The original walk-in closet is now a spacious bathroom redone as tastefully as the candle sconces on the peg rails now wired for electricity. Large windows offer an airy, placid view to the center family dwelling and meeting house, where a sweet-voiced woman is singing "Simple Gifts," which is to Pleasant Hill what "It's a Small World After All" is to Disney World. Shaker meetings could be heard for miles. Believers sat on portable benches that were hung from peg rails when worship turned to sacred marching and dancing. Built-in benches along the walls were for worldly visitors. They don't quite meet at the center, preventing men and women guests from sitting together. Horace Greeley, Emerson and Hawthorne attended Shaker services and reported admiringly. Dickens found them grim. Especially in the mid-1800s, Shakers believed otherworldly guests attended-departed Shakers, biblical characters, native Americans, and historical figures who bore phantom gifts-doves, fruit, golden swords, and trumpets. Sometimes the singer hears what sounds like a man is singing with her from the brothers' side, but no one is there. We sidestep the subject of ghosts and talk about tricky acoustics. The meeting house was the scene for much Runyon history. Several Runyon elders had lived upstairs. Phineas' grandson William, who was 11 when the family came, was a singer. A diarist wrote in 1819. "He would beat his hands on the seat where he sat at the same time his feet would beat and it roared like thunder. Then he would be taken upon the floor and would shuffle the marches as complete as he would beat them with his hands. Could be heard across the road by the first family who shoved up their windows and wondered what it was. We would say in true it is a most solemn sight we ever did see." Pleasant Hill is the most extensively restored Shaker western community. The village was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1961, and gradually has restored 33 buildings on the 2700-acre property. A devoted interpretive staff demonstrates Shaker crafts, broom, box, basket, candle, barrel, and rug making, and the entire process of taking wool from "sheep to shawl." The products are for sale in the village gift shops. They were deliberately unfashionable, so people confuse them with the Amish, but Shakers embraces technology and change. They were among the first with electricity, telephones and cars. Many Shaker innovations persist-flat brooms, the circular saw, and tilting feet on chairs-which they saw as inspirations, literally spiritual gifts, a word of great currency in Shaker vocabulary. They would set the plow and spindle aside to receive a gift song or a design for the chairs, boxes, brooms and baskets, the works by which we know them. A first glimpse at a Shaker object reveals much about its maker. Shakers valued "being as you seem." Chairs are ergonomic-custom-tailored to fit like an article of clothing and to be hung from pegs when not used. They were sturdy but so light an elderly sister could carry hers up and down stairs. Seeds and herbs were major industries, but they grew no flowers for their own sake. Roses were for rosewater. Their herb industry diversified into medicinal tonics and syrups. Gail Borden's patented milk condenser was copied from a Shaker design. Sabbathday Lake Shakers still sell culinary herbs over the internet. Shakers ate well, and the inviting aromas from Pleasant Hill's kitchens are powerful advertisements. Oyster plant casserole, a salad with lavender and raspberry dressing, and pie with lemon slices, peel and all were our favorites. They said grace before and after each meal and ate in silence. The New England administration encouraged vegetarianism and issued a pork ban that Kentuckians also ignored. Staff members offer an evening walk. One took us to the cemetery where Shaker graves were marked only with initials. Another took us to the site of the old grist mill on Shawnee Run Creek, later a favorite make-out spot for Harrodsburg teens. One walk took us to Mt. Sinai's Holy Plain, Pleasant Hill's sacred ground. Spirits had directed that each village have an outdoor meeting ground, but when the era of manifestations ended, it was decided that the sites should be covered up. In 1998, soil samples revealed 150 year-old post holes, and the site was quickly restored. It has separate gates for men and women and a "spiritual fountain" roped off at the center, where, according to some, compasses behave erratically. Librarian Larrie Curry set aside family records and the music by George, Charlotte and Embly in Shaker notation. Runyons appear often in journals, which offer glimpses into daily life recording deaths, visitors, building projects and fires, newcomers and defaulters, and morning, noon and night temperatures. The only mention of Phineas and Charity were entries in the roll: "Phineas Runyon-born Kingswood, Hunterdon Co, New Jersey. Believed and removed from Madison CountyDeceased Jan. 21, 1831." We left heading east. Approaching the Kentucky River, the scenery changes from bucolic to breathtaking with steep drops and limestone palisades that threaten to scrape your car if you take your eyes off the road. This is wild Kentucky, inhospitable and magnificent. A footnote from New England: Pleasant Hill shows Shakerism at its mid-19th century height. The numbers shrank, becoming more elderly and female. America's most successful communes came to resemble retirement homes, closing one by one. When it became more practical to buy than build, store-bought replaced Shaker-made. Victorian bric-a-brac and architectural gingerbread are evident at Canterbury and Sabbathday Lake. Earnest craftsmen still make Shaker chairs, but none are Shakers and the real things are so expensive, one doesn't sit on them. By 1911 both Kentucky villages were gone. In 1965, only Sabbathday Lake and Canterbury, NH, remained. Canterbury stopped accepting converts and its last member died in 1992. Brother Arnold Hadd mans the cash box in the gift shop in the Sabbathday Lake trustee's office. In his mid 40s, he joined over 20 years ago. He answers with yeas and nays and records purchases of soaps, herbs, maple fudge, and CDs the old-fashioned way, in a ledger with an ink pen. Is the anachronism for show, or do they not use their computers to track sales? Our conversation is interrupted by brisk sales, so we resume via email. "I had been visiting here for three years so no one was too surprised when I announced I wanted to become a Shaker," Hadd wrote. "Perhaps they were not all thrilled with the idea, but all my friends and relatives have long since recognized that this really is the place for me." Hadd daily confronts the paradoxes of being a Shaker moving into the 21st century anchored by a popular image created in the 19th. "Our history shows that whenever something is no longer useful, we discard it and move on to some else." Celibacy is not to be discarded. "As He was celibate so are we," Hadd wrote. "We recognize that this life is a calling (or vocation) and not meant for all, just for those who feel called to live it." Jerry Young is a descendant of Phineas and Charity Runyon who lives with his wife and son in Austin, Texas. |
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