Editing Shakers (section)

===Celibacy and children===
Shakers were celibate; [[procreation]] was forbidden after they joined the society (except for women who were already pregnant at admission). Children were added to their communities through indenture, adoption, or conversion. Occasionally a foundling was anonymously left on a Shaker doorstep.<ref>"Shaker Baby", ''Pittsfield Sun'', September 3, 1873, 1.</ref> They welcomed all, often taking in orphans and the homeless. For children, Shaker life was structured, safe and predictable, with no shortage of adults who cared about their young charges.<ref>Edward D. Andrews and Faith Andrews, "The Shaker Children's Order", ''Winterthur Portfolio'' 8 (1973): 201–14. {{JSTOR|1180552}}.</ref>

When Shaker youths, girls and boys, reached the age of 21, they were free to leave or to remain with the Shakers. Unwilling to remain celibate, many chose to leave; today there are thousands of descendants of Shaker-raised seceders.<ref>Glendyne R. Wergland, "Our Shaker Ancestors", ''NEHGS New England Ancestors'', 7.5–6 (2006): 21–27.</ref>