Shaker museum logo on a white background.

Shaker Museum

Stereograph, “Mount Lebanon Shaker School.” Sister Amelia Calver, pictured leaning on the teachers’ desk on the back right of the photograph, was the girls’ teacher from 1867 until 1887.

A photo of a group of women in a classroom.

Book, Everyday Biography. Containing a Collection of Brief Biographies Arranged for Every Day in the Year, as a Book of Reference for the Teacher, Student, Chatauquan and Home Circles. New York: Fowler & Wells Co., [1889].

A blue book with gold lettering on it.

Teachers' Certificate for Sister Amelia Calver, 1866.

A teacher's certificate with an old stamp on it.

Break every yoke: Shakers, gender equality, and women’s suffrage (2017)

Online Exhibition

Sister Amelia Calver (1844-1929)

Amelia Calver was brought to the Shakers at age six by her parents along with eight siblings. The only member of the family to remain with the Shakers, Calver is best remembered as an educator. She became a teacher’s assistant, and then, at age 23, the teacher for the girls’ school. She is the author of Every-day Biographies, a collection of sketches of notable persons, including several leaders of various contemporary reform movements such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Emma Willard. The book was meant as a textbook or aid for teachers, students, Chautauquans, and those participating in “home circles” – self-improvement gatherings. She also managed eight beehives for the Shakers.

A black and white photo of a person smiling.

Shane Rothe

Curatorial Associate

Shane Rothe (they/them) joined Shaker Museum in July 2023, working with independent curator Maggie Taft on an exhibition for the new museum space in Chatham. Shane is an artist as well as a curator and continues to create in the mediums of painting, sculpture, writing, and performance. Shane holds a BFA from CalArts and an MA in art history and curatorial studies from the University of Chicago.