I ran across this and thought it sounded interesting.

Oneida Society

The Oneida Community was a utopian commune founded by John Humphrey
Noyes in 1848 in Oneida, New York. The community believed that Jesus
Christ had already returned in the year 70, making it possible for
them to bring about Christ's millennial kingdom themselves, and be
free of sin and perfect in this world, not just Heaven (a belief
called Perfectionism).

The Oneida Community practiced Communalism (in the sense of communal
property and possessions), Complex Marriage, Male Continence, Mutual
Criticism and Ascending Fellowship. There were smaller communities in
Wallingford, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Putney, Vermont; and
Cambridge, Vermont. The community's original 87 members grew to 172 by
February 1850, 208 by 1852 and 306 by 1878. With the exception of the
Wallingford community, which remained in operation until devastated by
a tornado in 1878, all the rest of the branches were closed in 1854.
The Oneida Community dissolved in 1881, and eventually became the
silverware giant Oneida Limited.

Facinating reading. Seems that the weak point of the organization was who
got to drive. Pretty standard human nature. :)

rock.com> wrote in message
news:1194911654.624890.34670@v23g2000prn.googlegroups.com...

On Mon, 12 Nov 2007 19:35:02 -0800, "Raishaan" comcast.net>
wrote:

I have an Oneida silverware tea set, a wedding gift to my parents
(1940's) from relatives who lived in the NY Finger Lakes district. I
didn't know the Oneida were so complex. The right of passage or
puberty ritual might be considered a matriarchy .... Christian
matriarchy? It sounds pagan or something It was Queen Victoria who
popularized dedicated marraige between young couples, turned it into a
fad that became the social norm and possibly subverted the communal
tradition.

Thanks for the history. I'll think on that next time I brew a pot of
tea!

On Nov 14, 6:14 am, "David Looser" btinternet.com>
wrote:

Indeed, really??
Am sure marriage has been around longer.

dman, of The Auckland Lair.

www.aklair.com

www.nzlair.com

"dman" mytrashmail.com> wrote in message
news:1195020471.790426.325160@z24g2000prh.googlegroups.com...

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:45:03 -0000, "David Looser"
btinternet.com> wrote:

"monkie" nospam.com> wrote in message
news:473b1de6.226109934@localhost...

So if Victoria was not the "first" to popularise dedicated marriage, it must
have already been popular before, is that what you are now saying?

So you've changed your argument to saying that Victoria popularised the
white wedding dress?

On Wed, 14 Nov 2007 14:30:16 -0000, "David Looser"
btinternet.com> wrote:

On Nov 15, 12:30 pm, Alex nyc.NOSPAM.rr.com> wrote:

On Nov 13, 10:22 am, nos...@nospam.com (monkie) wrote: