 The NAEI was part of a movement in the 1840s in which a number of communal living societies were established (one of the more well-known was Brook Farm outside Boston).One of the leaders of the NAEI was George Benson, brother-in-law to abolitionist firebrand William Lloyd Garrison.The organization operated the silk works begun by Whitmarsh, and provided a school, a store, and housing for the community members.