The South Family was established at Hancock in 1818 to handle the overflow of new members from the East Family. The South Family was called the Young Believers’ Order, for it was where people could come and try out Shaker life before fully committing themselves and their property to the Church. By 1818, three families with seventeen members sought admission. By 1820, census records indicate that three Shaker groups had five more members. The census of 1840 states that 9 members were engaged in agriculture, which makes sense — this family was agricultural, as Gathering Orders tended to be, given the transience and skills of most converts.
By 1849, the South Family was closed because there were too few new members – only 9 — who were sent to live elsewhere in the Village. Not much is known about the South Family and its members, as no manuscripts of any sort seem to have survived from the South Family. When Eldress Catherine Allen of Mount Lebanon and Wallace Cathcart (a prominent bibliophile at the Western Reserve Historical Society) were collecting materials to preserve the history of the Shakers starting in 1910, Hancock was not on the verge of closing and had young members, so there would have been no pressing need or desire to ship records off to Ohio. What Hancock manuscripts survive are in the library at Hancock Shaker Village, established after the community discontinued in 1959.
The closing of the South Family was probably planned for some time. Not enough new families were joining to make the operation of the South Family feasible. In 1848, three people were transferred to other parts of the Village – William Auger, Ruel Auger, and Elenor Jackson – and the South Family was dissolved in 1849. Augur is still a name known in this region.
South Family Trail, a new spur off the Farm & Forest Trail, leads to the archaeological remains of four Shaker building foundations of the South Family. Interpretive signage tells the history of the site, where from 1818-1849 “new believers” lived when they became Shakers. Anchored by two barns, the unearthed South Family foundations serve as reminders that the Hancock Shakers were primarily farmers. Open when the Village is open and included in admission, the South Family Trail is located off the Village’s 1.5-mile Farm & Forest Trail. It is a pleasant ten-minute woodsy walk to the ruins.
The South Family Trail was made possible with principal support from the family of Ruth Mabel Daniels Wood, a long-time volunteer of the Village. Their support was made in her memory and to publicly acknowledge her love for the Shakers. Sustaining support was provided by Berkshire Gas and Avangrid with additional support from an anonymous donor.