Moravian Mornings Moravian Mornings

Casey and Kait discuss early interactions between Moravians and Native Americans in the South, including the complicated story of their efforts to establish a mission in Indian country.

This story begins in the 1730s with the first Moravian missionary efforts in the South and picks up in the 1750s when Moravians first met Cherokees and Native other groups in North Carolina. By 1801, Moravians finally succeeded in establishing the Springplace mission to the Cherokees (in modern-day Georgia)—but the period of 1752–1801 is often overlooked. Bethabara became a major destination for Cherokee leaders, and their interactions with Moravians there were important building blocks in what would later become a close bond. From the Anglo-Cherokee War through the Revolution and beyond, near-constant conflict prevented the Moravians from reaching out to Native people as they had envisioned. With the establishment of Springplace, Moravians in Wachovia were finally able to fulfill some of these goals—though not without further challenges.

Bibliography & Further Reading:

Bethlehem Digital History Project (multiple articles).

Fogleman, Aaron Spencer. Two Troubled Souls: An Eighteenth-Century Couple's Spiritual  Journey in the Atlantic World. University of North Carolina Press, 2013.

Fries, Adelaide L., ed. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volumes 1-8.

McClinton, Rowena. The Moravian Springplace Mission to the Cherokees, Abridged Edition.        Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2010.

Music (freemusicarchive.org):

Allegretto (green pastures) by Dee Yan-Key (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Grand Piano Theme - Echo - Loopable by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

On my Way to Work by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Casey and Kait discuss some of the Moravians’ ideology on race and enslavement during the 1700s and discuss some of the history of enslaved workers and segregation in Wachovia during this time.

The Moravians during this time were primarily concerned with “bringing people to salvation through an awareness of Christ,” and that in the world, there was only the saved and unsaved, “a condition upon which skin had no bearing;” however, Moravians also had “little inclination to challenge the ways race was being used to construct massive social inequalities in the emerging Atlantic world,” because they were not really concerned with race as a worldly concept. They denied race in the spiritual realm but affirmed race in the physical world.

Within a few years of establishing Bethabara, the Moravians in Wachovia began renting and purchasing enslaved labor. During the first years of the establishment of Wachovia, everyone was educated together and worshipped side-by-side. In the last quarter of the 1770s, especially after the American Revolution, many Brethren began seeing land and enslavement “as their ticket to prosperity,” and segregation within the Wachovia community became more prominent in the community in the 1800s.

Bibliography & Further Reading:

Africa, Philip. “Slaveholding in the Salem Community, 1771-1851.” The North Carolina Historical Review 54, no. 3 (July 1997): 271–307.

Sensbach, Jon. A Separate Canaan: The Making of an Afro-Moravian World in North Carolina, 1763-1840. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

Sensbach, Jon. “Race and the Early Moravian Church: A Comparative Perspective.” Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society 31 (2000): 1–10.

Ferguson, Leland. God's Fields: Landscape, Religion, and Race in Moravian Wachovia. 1st ed. Cultural Heritage Studies. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2011.

Fries, Adelaide, ed. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume I: 1752-1771. Vol. I. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1922.

Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume II: 1752-1775. Vol. II. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1925.

Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume III: 1776-1779. Vol. III. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1926.

Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume VII: 1809-1822. Vol. VII. Raleigh, NC: State Department of Archives and History, 1947.

Music (freemusicarchive.org):

Allegretto (green pastures) by Dee Yan-Key (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Grand Piano Theme - Echo - Loopable by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

On my Way to Work by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Casey and Kait talk about Bethabara during the Regulator Movement, a period of intense political conflict in pre-revolutionary North Carolina. Though the Moravians attempted to keep the peace, Bethabara became a major center of activity for the movement.

The “Regulators” organized to regulate corruption in government, which seemed to be steadily increasing in mid-1760s North Carolina. This grassroots reform movement began with debates over land, taxes, and representation, and evolved into a rebellion with the Regulators meeting the Governor in open battle in 1771. The Regulator movement gained a widespread following in the western backcountry, and so the Moravians in Wachovia got caught up in the conflict despite their best efforts to stay out of it. In this episode we’ll cover the visits of Regulators to Bethabara, the Moravians' opinion of the Regulators, the Moravians’ relationship with Governor William Tryon, the collapse of the movement after the Battle of Alamance, and the encampment of Tryon’s militia forces at Bethabara.

Bibliography & Further Reading:

Bassett, John Spencer. The Regulators of North Carolina (1765–1771). Washington: Government Printing Office, 1895.

Fries, Adelaide L., ed. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volumes 1 & 2.

Kars, Marjoleine. Breaking Loose Together: The Regulator Rebellion in Pre-revolutionary North  Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, 2002.

Stewart, Bruce E. Redemption from Tyranny: Herman Husband’s American Revolution Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020.

Troxler, Carole Watterson. Farming Dissenters: The Regulator Movement in Piedmont North         Carolina. Raleigh: North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, 2011.

Music (freemusicarchive.org):

Allegretto (green pastures) by Dee Yan-Key (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Grand Piano Theme - Echo - Loopable by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

On my Way to Work by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Casey and Kait discuss the development and establishment of three other Moravian congregations in Wachovia in the 1700s.

Wachovia went through a great period of growth in the 1750s, 1760s, and 1770s. During this period, three societies in Wachovia were established by those emigrating from the North, especially from Maryland and Pennsylvania. Various issues resulted in populations moving South, and many of these people who came to settle in Wachovia had previous relations with the Moravians. After settling, these societies were established as Moravian congregations.

Friedberg: The beginning of Friedberg can be pointed to Adam Spach, a man who was prompted to move to the area from Maryland in the early 1750s after he heard the Moravians preach. Settling near the southern boundary of Wachovia, this society began to quickly develop in the late 1760s to 1770s, with most of the settling families coming from Pennsylvania. Friedberg was established as a Moravian Brethren’s congregation around 1773.

Friedland: Members of a settlement in Broad Bay, Maine migrated to Wachovia beginning in the late 1760s. Once families arrived in Wachovia, plans quickly developed for the Broad Bay settlers to live on widespread farms a few miles away from Salem on the southeastern boundary of the tract. In 1771, the settlement was officially organized into a society, and the society was established as a congregation around 1780.

Hope: The southwest corner of Wachovia was settled in the 1750s by Irish and Germans who had known Moravians in Maryland. Over the next twenty years, English Moravian families in Maryland moved to the area. Around 1780, Hope was established as a congregation. Hope was the predominantly English-speaking congregation in the area, so most outreach to English-speaking neighbors took place at Hope.

Bibliography & Further Reading:

Crews, C. Daniel, and Richard Starbuck. With Courage for the Future: The Story of the Moravian Church, Southern Province. Winston-Salem, NC: Moravian Church in America, Southern Province, 2002.

Fries, Adelaide, ed. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume I: 1752-1771. Vol. I. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1922.

Reichel, Levin, The Moravians in North Carolina: An Authentic History. Salem, North Carolina: O. A. Keehln, 1857.

Rohrer, S Scott. Hope's Promise: Religion and Acculturation in the Southern Backcountry. 1st ed. Religion and American Culture. University of Alabama, 2005.

Sensbach, Jon. A Separate Canaan: The Making of an Afro-Moravian World in North Carolina, 1763-1840. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1998.

Music (freemusicarchive.org):

Allegretto (green pastures) by Dee Yan-Key (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)

Grand Piano Theme - Echo - Loopable by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

On my Way to Work by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Born on September 5, 1717, in Steinbach, Germany, Christian Reuter was born to a wealthy surgeon, but after he dreamt of wealth being a barrier to God’s true mercy, he and his family fell to an extreme level of poverty. The family traveled often, so as a child, Reuter was not able to attend a formal school. His dad attended his studies, teaching him mathematics. Around the age of 14, the young Reuter became apprenticed to Count Franz, a surveyor. After the death of Count Franz, Reuter became an apprentice to Franz’s brother, also a surveyor. After receiving his certification, he completed various contracts in the field, and at the age of 21, he received a commission as Royal Surveyor of Germany. This work took him near Moravian settlements, and this is how his relationship with the Moravian Church began. He eventually felt the need to join them and was received into the church in 1738. Reuter proved to be invaluable to the Moravian Church as he completed surveying work for them in Germany and took on multiple roles in Wachovia: surveyor, forester, superintendent, teacher of arithmetic and geometrical drawing.


 


Bibliography & Further Reading:


Fries, Adelaide, ed. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume I: 1752-1771. Vol. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1922.


 


Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume II: 1752-1775. Vol. II. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1925. 


 


Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume III: 1776-1779. Vol. III. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1926.


 


Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume VI: 1793-1808. Vol. VI. Raleigh, NC: The North Carolina Historical Commission, 1943.


 


Griffin, Frances, ed. The Three Forks of Muddy Creek. I. Vol. I. Winston-Salem, NC: Old Salem Incorporated, 1974. 



Powell, William, ed. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. 5. Vol. 5. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.


 


Music (Freemusicarchive.org):


Allegretto (green pastures) by Dee Yan-Key (Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)


Grand Piano Theme – Loopable by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)


On my Way to Work by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Born on February 5, 1721, Friedrich Wilhelm von Marschall was raised in a military household with the expectation that he would join the military; however, he instead went on to join the Moravian Church in 1739. Eventually, he began writing his name using the English spelling and became known as Frederic William Marshall. After joining the Moravian Church, he began to travel to Holland and England in service of the church. In England, Marshall first dealt with matters relating to North Carolina. He showed exceptional skills relating to administration, finance, and ministry, which resulted in him being appointed senior civilis in 1761. This same year, he and his family took their first trip to America, where he supervised financial affairs for the Moravian settlements in Pennsylvania. Two years later, Marshall was appointed agent for the Unity in North Carolina and oeconomus of Wachovia. Arriving in Wachovia late in 1764, Marshall selected the location for the new central town of Wachovia and set to work planning the town of Salem.


 


Bibliography & Further Reading:


Fries, Adelaide, ed. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume I: 1752-1771. Vol. I. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1922. 


 


Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume V: 1784-1792. Vol. V. Raleigh, NC: Edwards & Broughton Print Company, 1941. 


 


Fries, Adelaide. Records of the Moravians in North Carolina. Volume VI: 1793-1808. Vol. VI. Raleigh, NC: The North Carolina Historical Commission, 1943.


 



Powell, William, ed. Dictionary of North Carolina Biography. 4. Vol. 4. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1991.


 


Music (Freemusicarchive.org):


Allegretto (green pastures) by Dee Yan-Key (Attribution-NonCommerical-ShareAlike: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)


Grand Piano Theme – Loopable by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)


On my Way to Work by Lobo Loco (Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivatives: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)