Origins of Canterbury Shaker Village and The New Hampshire Bishopric
The Canterbury site was one of two communities existing in what was known as the New Hampshire Bishopric. The New Hampshire bishopric contained Canterbury village and the Shaker village of Enfield, New Hampshire. A bishopric was composed of two or more communities in the same area or geographical location. They were designed as a way to organize communications and events amongst villages and acted as an administrative unit, which represented the governing body of the United Society of Believers.
In 1782 Israel Chauncey and Ebeneezer Cooley from the Mount Lebanon village of Shakers traveled to Canterbury and converted several prominent figures of the community. These figures included Benjamin and Mary Whitcher and the Wiggin and Sanborn families, who later donated land to house the Canterbury Village community of Shakers. Through a donation of land from local community members, the Canterbury Village was founded in 1792. The village expanded over time and in 1850 the site contained 3,000 acres (12 km2) with a community of 300 housed in 100 buildings.
The Shakers were organized in a hierarchical system of four levels. The first level to which every member of the community was involved in was the family. Above the family were members known as elders and eldresses, deacons and deaconesses. The third level usually consisted of two men and two women who formed a ministry, which governed over the individual communities. Finally, the fourth level was the bishopric, which governed the local communities.
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