[1] The couple were perpetual joiners of communal societies, and had previously been members of Brook Farm in Massachusetts;[2] at the time of Minnie's birth they were living at a similar community in Terre Haute, Indiana, which had been financed by Emma.

The arrangement had been intended as temporary, but Minnie was so interested in the community's way of life that she elected to join, a decision which displeased her mother greatly.

[2] In 1908, she was chosen to succeed Eldress Helen Augusta Stone, who had recently died, in the Central Shaker Ministry;[3] it was the first time a member from the ranks had gone directly to that organization.

Consequently she helped to refocus the Ministry's efforts into the area of financial oversight, ensuring that valuable assets were not lost when their owners chose to return to secular life.

[6] In recognition of her preservation efforts, her name and image grace the bookplate used by the Shaker Literature and Manuscript Collection at the Western Reserve Historical Library.