Andrew Jackson Davis,[1] afterward the celebrated Spiritualist, had already begun to astound the public by his remarkable theories of the universe and disease, and by his extraordinary literary feats. The healing of disease by means outside regular channels was commonly reported, and new religious ideas were developing. It was a more prolific period than usual for all sorts of mystery and quackery in New England.
Another influence of these early years, which had an effect upon her later career, may be traced to the sect known as Shakers, which had sprung up in that section of New Hampshire. Their main community was at East Canterbury, N. H., five miles from Tilton, and Mary Baker was familiar with their appearance, their peculiar costume, and their community life. She knew their religious doctrines and spiritual exaltations, and was acquainted with their habits of industry and thrift. In her girlhood there were still living in the neighbourhood people who remembered Ann Lee,[2] the founder of the sect. All through Mary's youth the Shakers were much in the courts because of the scandalous charges brought against them, and on one occasion they were defended by Franklin Pierce, in whose office Albert Baker studied law. Laws directed against their community were constantly presented to the Legislature, and complaints against them were frequently heard. A famous "exposure" of Shaker methods, written by Mary Dyer, who had been a member of the Canterbury community, was published in Concord in 1847; and the Shakers and their doings formed one of the exciting topics of the times.
