The constitution and laws of the association was the "Outline of the Rational System of Society" by Robert Owen, slightly altered and made a little more decidedly theological and doctrinally religious.
The following is from the "Regenerator" of Feb 12th 1844.
"In the beginning of last year" etc.
John Brophie.[Transcript of article from "The Regenerator"]
The following is compiled from various sources. The name of the association originated with Dr. Humbert and is derived from scripture.
The association originated in Paterson, N.J. Dr. Humbert, Mr. Harnee, Mr. Scott and Mr. Hudson were some of the prominent names connected with it. They believed present society to be wrongly constructed and that it could be changed by the formation of co-operative communities.
Regular meetings were held and branches formed in Newark, Philadelphia, New York and Brooklyn.
A committee was appointed to select a Domain, and they bought between 600 and 700 acres of wild, but well-timbered land, in Monroe Co. Pa. For this land, the society subscribed and [illegible] five hundred dollars.
From a variety of sources I am informed that Monroe County is a "cold region" and that although, some of the soil is good
yet, it is very rocky and barren.
The committee, it appears, chose the location when the ground was covered with snow.
Enthusiasm drove between thirty and forty persons on the spot and the commenced work under very unfavorable circumstances. The accomodations were very inferior, there being, at first, only one log cabin on the place, and what was worse, there was an insufficiency of food both for men and animals. There was a great deal of self-sacrifice on the part of the members. They cleared forty acres of land and made improvements, and for the number of persons collected there and the length of time spent on the place, the work perfromed is said to have been immense.
As the land was paid for and assistance was being renedered by the various branches of the society, there were great anticipations of success, but it appears that an individual from Philadelphia visited the place, constituted himself a committee, and reported unfavorably of the place to the Philadelphia branch, which
subdued the Philadelphia ardor in the cause. A committee was appointed from the New York branch and theylikewise reported unfavorably of the Domain and thereby speedily caused the dissolution of the society.
The parties located on the Domain reluctantly abandoned it and returned again to the cities. I am informed that one of the members still lives on the place, and probably holds it as his own. Who has got the deeds, it seems difficult to determine.
All accounts prove that those connected with this experiment, acted honestly and did as well as their amount of knowledge permitted them. This failure like many others is ascribed to ignorance. Disagreements offcourse took place, and one between Mr. Hudson and the New York branch caused that gentleman to leave the One-Mentian and purchase a place a few miles distant, where a community had already been experimenting (a mill, some frame houses and other improvements had been made on this property but Mr. H.'s experiment also failed).
Nearly all the persons congre-
-gated on the One-Mentian property, had left better circumstances, but some of them think that if they had persevered still more they would have soon overcome their difficulties and at this day be an example for others to imitate.
The society scarcely existed one year. It had a printed constitution but published no paper.
References.