Mary Esther Crouch

Harvard Shaker (1763-1826)
by Roben Campbell, Shaker researcher

Published in 2016

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Mary Esther Crouch was the daughter of Mary and David Crouch who united with the Harvard Shakers along with the rest of her natural family in 1781.

Mary Esther Crouch was the daughter of Mary and David Crouch who united with the Shakers along with the rest of her natural family in 1781 after Mother Ann and the First Elders arrived in Harvard. Both she and her mother, who shared the same name, are infrequently mentioned in journals. In her later years, she was called Esther. On one occasion her three- day visit to the Shirley village with a few other older Shakers was noted.[1] She died on April 5, 1826, of phthisis[2].

 

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[1] May 20 and May 24, 1822, Joseph Hammond Journals 1820-1826, FM 1.10, Shaker Manuscript Collection, Fruitlands Museum, Harvard, MA 01451.

[2] Ibid., April 7, 1826. Phthisis was an archaic name for either tuberculosis or systemic pulmonary condition.

 

All rights reserved. © Roben Campbell, 2016.