The manuscript autobiography of early western Shaker convert David Spinning includes a valuable description of his conversion during the Great Revival and subsequent involvement in the New Light Presbyterian schism led by Barton Stone and Richard McNemar. Spinning explains how the jerks emerged in southern Ohio during this volatile moment of theological and ecclesiastical tumult and prepared the way for the spread of Shakerism. For a modern edition of Spinning’s “Short Sketch,” see Spinning, “A Short Sketch of the Life of David Spinning: Comprising His Dietetic, His Moral and Religious Experience; Written by Himself,” 1841, in Shaker Autobiographies, Biographies and Testimonies, 1806–1907, ed. Glendyne R. Wergland and Christian Goodwillie, 2 vols. (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2014), 1: 309–346.
I taught school nine months in this neighborhood, during which time, by the assistance of a friend, & the gift of a benefactor I obtained a full set of new latin school books. My Prospects were now pretty fair; and I gave up teaching, returned home and put myself close to the study of the latin. I received instruction from Francis Dunlavy & made considerable proficientcy in the knowledge of the grammar, & was able to read some. But ere long I began to feel a dull heavy pain in the fore part of my head & about my eyes. This I concluded was occasioned by too intense study. Thus the worm began to work at the root of my gourd, and I had to desist for the present. About this time we began to hear of an extraordinary revival of religion in Kentucky. Some of our neighbors had been over and seen the mighty power, and I felt a strong desire both to see and to feel it. Accordingly I set out with John Thompson, his wife & several of the McClure family. I was kindly entertained with them by their relatives, to whom I was an entire stranger. The great meeting which we attended was at the Blue Springs, where thousands of people were collected. There was great engagedness in preaching, singing & praying and many were struck with a power that caused them to fall to the ground. When they arose, some would cry for mercy; others seemed full of comfort and would exort all to come to Christ. Their countenances were both solemn and joyful; their prayers most fervent and affecting, embracing all the human family.
These continued more or less throughout the meeting and many encamped on the ground and continued their exercises more or less through the night. But when I come to describe my own feelings, language fails. My heart seemed as insensible as a stone. I tryed to pray, both in the meeting & away in the woods by myself. I could neither pray nor weep. This state continued 2 or 3 days, growing worse & worse. I felt as if I was alone in the midst of thousands, forsaken of God, and of all creatures, and of all men most miserable! Still I was trying to pray as well as I could, but my prayers did not seem to rise higher than the hairs of my head. I think it was on Monday early I the day, before I experienced any change of feeling for the better. There were then many people present, exercises were going on lively and one of the preachers was exhorting near where I stood. My mind was all absorbed, & for a short time I was insensible to all about me. When I came to myself, I was by the side of a waggon holding fast to it and thus supporting myself. In a short time I felt a prickling sensation in my hands and arms, as if the blood had been stagnated; but this instantly passed off, and every cloud from my mind passed away with it. The goodness of God filled my soul to overflowing; all fear of man was taken away; my tongue was loosed, my mouth was opened; I lacked neither voice nor words. I moved forward in the assembly, praising and extoling the goodness of God, and inviting others to partake. At this time I had a bright view of the great work of God which ere long would commence. I spake of it to those present, as a matter that would surely take place & of which I had no doubt. I know not how long I continued thus to pour out what the Spirit gave me to utter; but this I found, that God could fit me out for a preacher, without the help of latin or greek, or even the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. I had not the least thought of consulting with flesh & blood. There was a light that shown round me, exceeding the brightness of the Sun, and at the same time I saw the same brightness in the State of Ohio, which vision was afterward repeated, to me on my return home, a similar manifestation being given to me when by myself engaged with God in prayer for the commencement of his great work.
I tarried a day or two longer, untill this meeting closed. My feelings continued calm and comfortable, and much the same on the way home & afterward.
We now frequently held meetings; but had no preacher: we were in earnest prayer that God would bless us also. Late in the fall Richard McNemar made us a visit, and preached several times, and was about to return home, there being as yet no stir or movement among us. On the evening before his departure, we held a meeting at Francis Bedell’s. After we had sung and prayed for some time, Richard proposed to pray & dropped on his knees & many others done the same. He prayed very earnestly & while thus engaged the first movement of extraordinary exercise began in the state of Ohio. Aged Polly Bedell was the first that fell under the stroke of power. Some were panic struck and strove to get out of the house, but the room was so full it was difficult for them to make their escape. Some were praying, some exhorting, some had lost the use of themselves, & the meeting continued till a late hour. Some went home, joyfully praising God, while some were sober & others vexed. Richard went home and we had no preacher. Opposition began immediately to pour in upon us: the cry was, we were carrying matters too far. This has ever been & still continues to be the cry wherever God has begun a work of Reformation. We still continued our meetings, and it was not long before we had a more plentiful outpouring.
This the lookers on did not know how to account for: Richard McNemar was not now present; but some said that he had left a box of Powders with David Spinning & John Morris and that they threw them over the people and thus bewitched them and caused them to fall down and act so strangely! The work increased, and many were excited to come and see; sometimes, in such numbers that a common house could not hold. The weather being cold we had to build fires out of doors to keep the people from suffering. My faith and hope thus began to be realized; the work engaged my whole man: I felt wholly given up and wholly devoted. Worldly things were small, the flesh wholly out of sight & out of mind. Our night meetings were very frequent, and often the hour was very late before we could get our meeting broken up, on account of the numbers that had been struck down, so they were unable to travel. Our exercise was singing appropriate hymns, pray[ing] audibly, and with such earnest power that particular voices could be distinguished, half a mile or more. Strains of exhortation, like the praying, were poured forth without fear by the different sexes & all ages. Being of a slender make, these exercises were waring on my constitution; but I continued to press forward & the high hopes of the immediate ushering in of the latter day of Glory supported me.
The next spring Richard McNemar moved in among us and became our stated preacher, and was surely a most able minister of the spirit of the revival. John Thompson also enlisted in the cause & was very powerful: he being located in lower Springfield. John Dunlavy, at Eagle Creek also came forth with great strength to support the cause of the revival. These movements so much alarmed the old orthodox Priests and Elders, that in the fall they summoned Richard to give an account of matters, before the Presbytery then holding a cession in Cincinnati. His account did not satisfy them, and they labored to bring him back, to the old orth[od]ox standard, warning him of his awful danger, and cautioning him to beware! They did not, however, attempt to silence him.
We now had to meet much opposition. There were some preachers sent from Pensylvania, and on hearing one of them preach, I told him after meeting that I could not agree with some of his doctrine. He could not defend it either from scripture or reason; but alleged it was the doctrine of the Church & that President Edwards’ experience proved it to be true. This kind of argument seems to satisfy many to believe as the Church to which they belong believes & as the fathers have believed. If I had acted on this principle I should never have left the Presbyterian ranks, nor could I ever have embraced the present faith. But my mind has been led to act in a very different line. When anything has been presented to me as truth, I have been led to carefully weigh it in just such balances as God had furnished me with. This was my first step and after being fully satisfied where truth laid, I forthwith resolved to follow my convictions. It never seemed to occur to me to ask that question which once seemed of such primary importance, “Have any of the Rulers believed this doctrine?”
But, to return to my narrative of the Revival, it now went on with a great increase of numbers, & extended far and wide. The falling exercise continued; also much severe jirking. There were many now converts added.
The next fall five new Light preachers appeared in the Synod held in Kentucky, and were about to be arraigned and tried for heresy! But they being satisfied they could not have a fair hearing, rather than let the trial go on and be silenced, & thus lose their clerical dignity, had recourse to an adroit turn of human policy. They protested against the proceedings of the Synod and declared themselves no more of that body or subject to its jurisdiction. They immediately held a convention and formed themselves into a Synod, Styled the Springfield Presbytery.
Thus we Revivalists or New Lights as we were called had a new self-created head or Government to the great and growing New Light body. But alas! instead of adding to the power of the Revival work, it was form without power. The minds of the people began to be directed to the new head, and so far lost their dependence on that power which had hitherto supported them, & their cause independent of creeds and systems of human invention. It was not long, however, before this Presbytery again met, and came to this very strange, yet very just conclusion, to wit, that God had no use for such a head to make rules to direct his work or his people! The said presbytery therefore drew up “The Last Will & Testament,” of which the first clause read “We will that this Body die”! &c. Thus they mutually & unanimously agreed and died as a Presbytery, giving the whole power of the government of the several congregations to the people composing the same! This was certainly something “new under the sun”—a transaction that has no parallel on the pages of Eclesiastical History. When we consider the deep and strong passion of the love of power and domination which is common to men, we must recognise in the act of these men who had been in the habit of exercising authority, the mighty controling power of the Spirit [of] God as manifest in this wonderful Revival. The New lights were now a large and rapidly growing body of people, and were generally well pleased to have a “King” to go in & out before them and fight their battles for them. I have considered this act so far above & contrary to the feelings of human nature as full proof of a special interference of Divine Providence, and undeniable evidence of the great honesty & integrity of those excellent men who performed it. We have the record of one man who voluntarily laid down his life for the cause of Truth and these men followed that noble example. They laid down their life of power, their love of rule; no man took it from them. Had they retained their authority & divine right to dictate to the members what they must believe & what [they must] retract under pains & penalties of being excommunicated as heretics, what a pitiable condition we now lights should have been in. If that his been our situation in the spring of 1805 what great hindrances might have been thrown in the way of simple souls who wanted something more than they had yet found in the way of the revival?
To proceed with the history, the different congregations organised into bodies, each member having an equal voice in business, in trying disorderly members &c. Their preacher sat among them on the level. Whatever superior wisdom and experience he had gained, gave his voice much weight & influence, which indeed was right, and is the only righteous power or superiority that can be exercised among the members of Christ who are all brethren. But our meetings for business became very tiresom and deadening. This led to the trial of a new plan, or rather the old play of Presbyterian Church session. The Minister & Elders or chosen members were to meet statedly for business & attend to whatever might come up. This saved time, but some thought it looked too much like going back, & none were altogether suited with it. We did not know what to do next; we thought we must do church business some way, such as licensing preachers, trying offenders &c. &c. At one of these meetings Malcam Worley & David Spinning were licensed to preach—how strange! They had both been preaching several years as they felt the movings of the Spirit; but we must now have a little human authority—must be a little orthodox, and have license from man. Twice after this I attempted [to] preach under this man-license in somewhat or a formal way, but I felt as empty as a gourd and never tried it again. These Session-meetings had many cases of scandal to try, for we must ly under any reproch for the conduct of weak members. We felt very tenacious of the honor of our Church, and not being willing to endure the reproach we had very much to do to keep the scandal wiped off. This manner of going we soon got sick and tired of; we were disappointed and our high hopes & expectations were not answered. We therefore concluded to drop the whole of it and depend on the opperations of the Spirit of God in the heart and conscience of the honest hearted, to guide them in the way of truth and righteousness. We thus left everyone free to believe according to his own convictions, and act according to his own faith, and each one to receive such a measure of union as the manifestation of the Spirit in faith and works would spontaneously caus to flow forth from his brethren. This was a most singular and unheard of state of Church relation. No one claimed any right to control another, or to say to him why do you so? Still those who manifested the most goodness and wisdom were listened to without attention and highly esteemed for their works sake; and surely this is the only true ground of gospel honor and esteem. Everything else is forced & false & is not genuine. Honor may be outwardly given through fear but there is no love in it.
I have dwelt particularly on these things in order to show how we lost the spirit and power of the revival, by adopting the forms invented by men, and turning to the letter & thereby quenching the spirit. Also to show how wonderfully we were prepared to receive the gospel, which was ministered a few months after this time. After this entire state of freedom, above described, had taken place among us, many of the forward members, believed that a true Christian Church should possess their goods in common, and some were strongly inclined that way.
Source
David Spinning, “A Short Sketch of the Life of David Spinning Comprising his dietetic, his Moral & Religious Experience,” September 17, 1841, 4–9, box 2, United Society of Believers (Shakers) Papers, 1808–1904, MSS 119, Ohio History Center, Columbus.
