Utopia and Religion
Among the core group of siblings, George and Charles leaned towards more inclusive, radical religion, while Lucian was the most conventional of the family. William had an interesting journey, aided by his second wife, Celia, and her own Unitarian thought.
The parents - Rinaldo and Lydia Bradford Burleigh - were stalwarts at the Plainfield Congregational Church. Rinaldo served as a Deacon for many years. The Congregational denomination was still Calvinistic at that time, and the core generation of siblings were raised within those parameters. But they did not remain loyal to Congregationalism or Calvinism. Even Lucian found his denominational home with the Packerville Baptist church, a unit far more evangelical than the mainline Congregationalists.
While the Burleigh siblings were never full-on enthusiasts for the many Utopian experiments of the mid-nineteenth century, they were interested observers of these intentional communities. John and Cyrus paid a brief visit to the Hopedale Community in the fall of 1843, of which Cyrus writes.
John went with me to Hopedale Saturday, but he staid there only a short time. I staid over Sunday. I found some things there I did not like & many things [indecipherable] I did. Upon the [indecipherable] I was much pleased with the aspect of things. I should have looked about a good while had I made their purchase, but that I would have found a more pleasant situation. But after all, it isn’t every day that a water privilege can be found where the scene around is beautiful on extension, & they were anxious to possess themselves of water power. There are some lovely spirits there. I was much delighted with Adin Ballou. Mrs. Price is an intelligent woman & a very true good soul. I stopped most of the time with her. I met with a young man from Philadelphia there. His name is Christopher List. He studied law with Th. Earle & is well acquainted with Charles & all the Philad. Abolitionists. He seems to be a pure minded, benevolent man – altogether too good for a lawyer.
Letter from Cyrus Moses Burleigh to George Shepard Burleigh, October 5, 1843, HA 1227, George Shepard Burleigh Papers, John Hay Library, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
