No wonder the Savior enjoyed children as he did

"During these days the school children have been told of what the Savior did for us, and what moved him to become a man, that is that He might lead us out of the misery into which sin had brought us; that they might become blessed children.

They listened attentively, and one said of his own free will: 'I will love the dear Savior," to which most of the others agreed."  

-- The Friedberg Diary, December 19, 1784

Kitchen techniques in Colonial Moravian communities

Table-Scape at the 1784 kitchen at the historic tavern in Salem, NC.

The early Moravians in the Colonial period employed a variety of effective food preservation techniques. Interestingly, many of them dating back to former times in human history. 

Smoking, salting and potting were often used for meats. Pickling, drying, and the steady cool temperature of a basement or root cellar for eggs, vegetables, and fruits. 

Straw was used to protect and insulate delicate foods from extreme temperatures.

Passing out of Time

A Moravian Sister Ponders

It is not infrequent that the early Moravians referenced death as "passing out of time." Generally speaking I am not fond of euphemisms concerning death. I do, however, think the words "passing out of time" are beneficially descriptive. 

When it was not desired or appropriate to bury at God's Acre remains may be taken to a private cemetery, that is a non-Moravian cemetery. Such was the case on April 27th, 1784, when a small child, Johannes Miller was buried at the Muller plantation. 

On December 23, 1784 there is another example of a burial. We are told that many passed through the Moravian village of Bethania on December 21st. Among them was a sick man that "passed out of time". "The next day his widow took his remains on in her wagon."  The Diary of Bethania, 1784.

Simplicity

A guiding factor in the life-style of the early Moravians was simplicity. The passport to contentment, overcoming fear, and discovering joy was/is simplicity.   Furthermore the Moravians noted simplicity encourages generosity. 

As an example one notices that Moravians focus on simplicity at the burial ground. It is normative for the burial ground, God's Acre, to use tomb stones that are simple and uniform to emphasize the equality of Moravian brethren and sisters. 

You could be fired - the Hostler

The tavern is the dark building on the left 

In 1791, the year President Washington stayed two nights in the Salem tavern, the hostler (horse boy) at the tavern was an unnamed stranger (i.e. non-Moravian). In that year he was dismissed from service at the tavern because "he is not taking care well enough of the strangers, that he is too slow and negligent in his service."

The early Moravians walked a fine line. They valued hospitality and sought to extend it to "Strangers". On the other hand their life was organized to not be influenced or transformed by the thoughts, actions, and words of the Strangers. Above all the Moravians jealously guarded their spiritual life. 

The 1815/16 Annex of the 1784 Salem Tavern

The Salem Tavern from the rear

Built in 1816, as an annex to the historic 1784 Tavern in Salem, NC. this is now a family operated restaurant. It offers dishes inspired by the Moravian families living in Salem in the 19th century.

The Watch Word of this blog

Jeremiah 6:16

The Bell of Home Moravian Church

"Our bell for Salem, which we had made in Bethlehem (PA), arrived at last during the Passion Week, and immediately after Easter it was set up ..." 

"The bell weighed 275 lbs. and can be heard from one end of the town to the other"

-- From the Salem Diary, April 25, 1772

The Gentlemen's Room - The Best Room

Pictured above is the largest and only single room in the 1784 Salem Tavern. It, back in the day, was referred to as the "Gentlemen's Room" or "The Best Room". 

The prices of accommodations and services of the tavern were set by the county. That is another way of saying that the prices were fixed. All were - except - this room. This bedroom required the wealthy person or family seeking this space to negotiate with the tavern keeper. 

This room was on the ground floor of the Salem tavern. Upstairs were the common rooms with multiple beds, two men to each bed. This Gentlemen's room, for the "Better Sorts" was beyond the reach or imagination of the shop keepers, the "The Middling Sorts", that slept in the common rooms upstairs. 

Because of the location and esthetics of the room many visitors to the tavern today wonder if this was the room in which President Washington slept during his 1791 two day stay. The disappointing reality is that there is no record of the room in which he stayed. We simply do not know. Reasonable arguments may be made for and against this room housing him. 

Note may be taken of the green cover on the bed. This is a "bed rug". This, and several others, were made in Colonial Williamsburg and are gifts to Old Salem. 

Five Girls

Unidentified girls, five in number, walking North near God's Acre in Old Salem, on Cedar Avenue. A light snow has fallen. The fence for God's Acre is to the left of the read. Photo date unknown but is 19th century.

Morning Toilet at the 1784 Tavern in Salem, NC

William Addis of Clerkenald made the first toothbrush - about 1780. He created tooth brushes from cattle bone. Holes were bored in the bone and Boar bristles were placed in the holes. It was until 1938 that boar bristles remained in use. Nylon bristles eventually replaced the earlier natural fiber - animal products. 

From Evangelism to Scalps

"During a brief visit a chief of the Cherokee Nation, called Little Carpenter passed through Bethania. He was asked whether, if a brother should be sent to his Nation to teach them of their Creator, he would be kindly received. To this question the chief replied that if the Brethren came to instruct or teach their children they would be welcome"

-- From the Wachovia Memorabilia, 1775

We met with a Mr. McDonald, who told us that three weeks ago he had met with nine Indians near the home of Col. Sevier. They complained that white people were settling on their land and hunting over it; but Col. Sevier had not been willing to hear them and had acted as though he could not understand them, at which the Indians had become very angry and said that next spring they would find the scalps of the whites.

-- From the Journal of Brother Martin Schneider from Salem. December 24,1784

1784 Census of Bethabara

Historic Bethabara is the site of the earliest Moravian settlement in North Carolina, established in 1753. 

What follows is the Bethabara census of 1784, thirty-one years after its establishment.

32 married people

1 widower

1 widow

2 single brothers

7 single sisters

3 older boys

2 older girls

11 little boys

14 little girls

A total of 73 of whom 42 are communicants.

The Horse Thief

September 25, 1787

"Toward noon 13 or 14 men set out from here (Bethania) following a horse thief who last night stole two horses belonging to George Hauser Sr., from the meadow not far from the mill. They divided into four parties and published the news as they went. Most of them returned at night, but one party went on, having found a trace of him."

September 28 1787

"At twilight George Hauser and Buttner brought back the two horses stolen from George Houser, Sr. They had followed the thief beyond New River, and yesterday, an hour before day break, they surrounded the house where he spent the night, captured him, and put him in irons.

As they had not slept for several nights the thief was able to get the key from the sack, losse his fetters and escape from them." --from the Bethania Diary, 1787.

The Timothy Vogler Gunsmith Shop

Timothy Vogler (1806 - 1896) with his wife Charlotte Hamilton Vogler

The 1831 Timothy Vogler Gunsmith Shop from the rear.

Powder Horns in the gunsmith shop in Old Salem.

The 1831 Timothy Vogler Gunsmith Shop demonstrates the fine artistry of Gunsmithing, including a working forge for metal work, woodworking and tooling. It interprets the important trade of Gunsmithing as it was practiced by several individuals in Salem.

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"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776

Brother Aust's Accident

April 2, 1784  "It was cold and rainy". George Aust had been in Bethabara and on his way home ..."his horse shied and ran into a tree with him, and he was badly injured on his left side; he was suffering great pain, but was entirely conscious and could speak of his spiritual condition and of his material affairs ..." His will was signed in the presence of two brothers. 

April 3, 1784  "During the morning we heard that Aust was still very sick; Brother Stohr was called to bleed him."

April 5, 1784  "Brother Joseph Dixon came from Salem and visited Brother Aust, bringing him some useful remedies.

April 6, 1784  "Brother Lorenz visited Brother Aust; he seemed better today, and the medicine appears to have worked."

April 12, 1784  "Brother Lorenz visited Brother Aust and found him so far recovered that he could hobble about a little in the room, on two crutches."

The Bethabara Saal

Pictured is the Saal in the 1788 Gemeinhaus (“congregation house”) at Bethabara, NC.  The Gemeinhaus Saal was a church and also a meeting place for the first Moravian settlement in North Carolina - Bethabara.

The Moravians and the Eastern Christian Church - and the Coptic Church

Historically, the Moravian Church had interesting intersections and relationships with other Christian traditions.

To illustrate the point - in 1740 the patriarch of Constantinople, Neophytus VI sent a letter that affirmed the orthodoxy of the Moravian Church to all of the metropolitans of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In the view of the patriarch the Moravian Church held firmly to the ancient faith.

The patriarch of the Coptic Church, Mark, commended the Moravian Church for adhering to "the simple doctrine of the Apostles, without minding in the controversies which afterwards arose."

Visitors are welcome - sorta

The 1816 Hagen House (in Old Salem NC). John Hagen, a tailor who had worked as a missionary to the “Northern Indians,” lived here.  One of Hagen’s sons, Francis Hagen, was the composer of the well-known Moravian Christmas hymn “Morning Star.” 
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The Moravians of old took measures to protect their way of life - about which they were jealous. Most especially this applied to the Moravian spiritual life and particularly as it concerned their sons and daughters. There is something for us to lean here. The following is recorded in the Minutes of the Salem Boards, December 9, 1784.

"It is against the rules of the congregation that outsiders (i.e. non-Moravians) are allowed to remain in our town, sometimes for months, and no good can come of it ... (for example,) the bad influence they may have on our young people. 

That a man may have a visit of several days from his friends is permitted, except in doubtful cases, but he must mention it at the proper place"

Makes the heart sad - the "second and third generation problem"

The Single Brother's House - Salem

As years come and go one notes the rise of expulsions from Moravian communities in the Colonies and in Europe. What's up?

As one watches the generations pass by one can accurately notice that the congregational rules and code of conduct seem to be undermined - quietly or not so quietly challenged. 

Elizabeth Summer a student of the early Moravian communities has written on this generational decline. She calls it the "second generation problem." In short the second generation and succeeding generations lose the vision that was the glue of the communities. 

In Salem and elsewhere for Moravians trouble reveals itself especially among the single brothers. Members of the Single Brother's Choir absent themselves from the morning devotions increasingly. Disruption is more frequent. The brothers were arranging secret meetings with the Single Sisters and women outside the community - and more.

The disciplined life of the first generation Moravians was being impaired from without and within. Thus the unhappy spectacle of the growth of expulsions.

-- Adapted from, "Speaking to Body and Soul - Instructions for the Moravian Choir Helpers, 1785 - 1786.

To read more about the "Second and Third" generation problem I offer this excellent article by Dennis Bratcher - (click on title below)

The Third Generation:Nehemiah and The Question of Identity

Salvation by Grace

Moravians teach that - "True faith joyfully accepts what God has done for our salvation, relies on that, and gives ourselves to God in response to God's saving grace." -- This We Most Certainly Believe: Thoughts on Moravian Theology, C. Daniel Crews

Backdoor at the 1788 Gemeinhaus at Bethabara, NC

Recovering the Moravian past is the door to the Moravian future.

Proverbs 15:1

"Discord between Brethren, in which a man does not hesitate to say rude things to another even in the presence of strangers (meaning non-Moravians), and does not apologize for it is ... weighty."

And when members, in spite of such actions, go to the Holy Communion, the Lord will discipline us as happened in Salem some years ago ..."

"Disagreement and hard words may indeed happen, but they should be put away and love reinstated."  -- from Minutes of Salem Boards -- 1784

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"May we live this day 

Compassionate of heart 

Gentle in word 

Gracious in awareness

Courageous in thought 

Generous in love"

Tervetuloa Suomen kansakuntaan

Finland is the forty-fourth nation to join the world-wide family of this blog, The Moravians of Yesteryear 2.0. 

Tervetuloa Suomen kansakuntaan

Contemplation

Home Moravian Church, Salem, NC, Organs

Home Moravian Church has used six pipe organs since its founding in 1771. Four are still in use. To learn more click here. 

What Moravians did and did not like in worship

The Saal (worship and meeting space) at Bethabara. The first Moravian village in North Caroliina. Founded 1753.

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" Unlike Baptist and Methodist evangelicals of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Moravian pastors did not want there hearers to fall into ecstasy, do the jerks, or exhibit other forms of behavior associated with camp meetings that the brethren considered excessive and offensive. Instead, Moravian preachers sought to deliver addresses that would cause people to contemplate maturely and seriously their lost condition without the savior." Hope's Promise, S. Scott Rohrer, page 41.

I don't give a dram

April 23, 1784 - "Congregational Council put an end to the bad practice of giving day-laborers a dram of brandy in addition to their wages, which is not good for our young men who support themselves as day-laborers." -- From the Salem Congregational Diary. 

The definition of a dram is not easily established. A common definition is 1/8th of an ounce. That amount does not seem able to negatively affect a day-laborer. 

The Lebenslauf

On February 15, 1784 it is recorded that in the afternoon ... "memoirs were read of various Brethren and Sisters who have gone home." -- From the Salem Congregation Diary.

The "memoirs" referenced above refer to one of the unique elements of a Moravian funeral that is the reading of the Lebenslauf of the departed. 

The Lebenslauf (German for “life path”) is a short account of the life of the deceased. It is read in the presence of the congregation and seeks to be an encouraging example to those who are left behind.