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Hanover, Grafton, New Hampshire. All are found in the 1850 census for Spring
Grove, Green County, Wisconsin, living in the same household: Amos Tenney,
Farmer (aged 65), “Percivy” Tenney (aged 63), A. D. Tenney (aged 39),
Sarah A. Tenney (aged 34), and Sarah J. Tenney (aged 14), all born in New
Hampshire; Wm. (William) Tenney (aged 11), Catharine Tenney (aged 8) and
Ruth Tenney (aged 6), all born in New York; and Amos Tenney (aged 2), born
in Wisconsin. They are found in the 1840 census for Alden, Erie, New York,
which lists Amos Tinney (aged 50-59) living with a woman aged 50-59, a man
aged 30-39, a woman aged 20-29, and two children, one girl and one boy, both
under 5. These would be Percy, A. D., Anna, Sarah J., and William. In the
1830 census, Amos Tenney (aged 40-49) is listed in Hanover, Grafton, New
Hamsphire with a wife (aged 40-49) and five children. Also listed as heads
of households in Hanover are Elisha Tenney, Sheldon Tenney, David Tenney,
John Tenney, Andrew Tenney, Seth Tenney, and William Tenney.
According to the handwritten account of May Dewey Phillips, my great-
grandmother, the family migration “from Hanover, N.H. across N.Y. State
into Southern Wisconsin” occurred because Dr. A. D. Tenney was “seeking a
salubrious climate for his bronchial ailment.” Sarah Ann Dewey Tenney, his
first wife, died 25 March 1851 at Spring Grove, Green County, Wisconsin
“when Ann Tenney, 5th child of Dr. A. D. & Sarah Tenney was 3 days old.”
On 22 September 1852, Dr. A. D. Tenney married Rachel Shaw Knowles, “a
schoolteacher of 23,” and at Spring Grove “were born Amos and Alice Tenney,
not many years younger than Ann.” A. D. Tenney, “still seeking a milder
climate,” decided to join a communal society “at Harmony Springs, Ark.,
and moved his family there, by covered wagon. This must have been in the
middle 1850’s.” The Superintendent of this group was Dr. James E. Spencer,
a Connecticut physician, the “husband of Aunt Martha,” who was Henry Enoch
Dewey’s “only living relative in the U.S.” Henry also decided to join the
commune, “and it was here that he and our mother met, fell in love, and were
married on May 3, 1860.” The marriage was recorded in the group’s newspaper,
“The Theocrat,” of that date. Their daughter Nell (Nellie) was born at
Harmony Springs on 24 April 1862.
The commune was alternately known as the Harmony Springs Society or the
Harmonial Vegetarian Society. According to historical accounts (one in the
Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, and two in the Rogers, Arkansas
Daily News, c. 29 June 1976) they owned all property in common; all who
joined had to contribute their belongings to the common fund; and children
were considered to be the responsibility of the community rather than of the
individual parents. The group built a large three-story building containing
80 to 90 rooms. Included were residences, a hospital, a large bath house,
machine shop, spring house, saw mill, grist mill, blacksmith shop, general
store, and a printing office, from which was issued their paper, “The
Theocrat,” in which communal living and vegetarian diets were advocated.
The community had its own physicians, teachers, and ministers.
An account published in 1889 by Goodspeed Publishing Company alleged that
the group renounced their marriage vows and selected “inmates” by lot. This
is directly contradicted by the handwritten account of May Dewey Phillips,
the public announcement of Henry and Sarah’s wedding, and by the 1860 census
for Beatie Township, Benton County, Arkansas. Listed in the same household
are 39 individuals, including J. E. Spencer, Physician; Martha Spencer,
Theocrat; Joshua Spencer, their son, Reformed Church; A. D. Tenney, Reformed
Church; Racheal Tenney, Teacher; their seven children, all named Tenney;
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