Moravian Historical Society

MAY LOVE SET YOU TO SPINNING: A SKETCH OF 18 th -CENTURY MORAVIAN TEXTILE

PRODUCTION IN BETHLEHEM AND NAZARETH, PENNSYLVANIA
Author(s): Mark A. Turdo
Source: Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society, Vol. 31 (2000), pp. 63-75
Published by: Moravian Historical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41179484
Accessed: 31-03-2017 01:59 UTC

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 MAY LOVE SET YOU TO SPINNING: A SKETCH
OF 18*-CENTURY MORAVIAN TEXTILE PRODUCTION
IN BETHLEHEM AND NAZARETH, PENNSYLVANIA

curator of the Moravian Historical Society, is based on

This paper by Mark A. Turdo,
research for "Spin and Weave Compelled by Love, " an exhibit which he guest-curated at
the Whitefield House Museum in Nazareth in 1997, and "May Love Set You to Spinning
and Weaving: Early Moravian Textile Production, " a lecture he presented on October
19, 1997, at the Whitefield House.

"Probably the most fascinating of all the industries of the Moravians

was textile manufacture."1 So begins an earlier study of Moravian trades
and industries. Despite this sentiment, little research has been published
on Moravian textile production. This present work is a sketch of the
labor patterns and theological motivations in early Bethlehem and
Nazareth.
A sketch such as this is difficult for two reasons: first, the studies that
have been conducted regarding Moravian spiritual, social and economic
life have tended to focus on larger patterns. That I know of, there have
been no studies following a single trade or manufacture within the con-
text of those larger patterns, with the exception of the Bethlehem oil
mill.2 Secondly, there is the stumbling block of language: certainly there
are lists, inventories and fuller diary descriptions of work patterns and
production, but they are in German script. This work is based on those
translations that currently exist. Many, like the translation of the Nazareth
diary, were done quickly and for a specific purpose. The translators left
out details that they felt were not important.
The existing Moravian sources do, however, provide us with some-
thing lacking for other communities: a record of work. In their work
Cloth and Costume 1750-1800: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania,
the authors review their sources, which tend to be mainly inventories and
probates.3 These sources reflect available tools and production levels,
but they do not cover actual fieldwork. What makes the Moravian records
so extraordinary is that they record tools and production levels in addition
to recording daily labor. Though the translated diaries do reflect what
may have been the basic patterns of textile production within the closed
settlements of Bethlehem and Nazareth, there is certainly more informa-
tion to be gleaned from the volumes of untranslated diaries and other
manuscript materials held in collections.

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 Between the years of 1742 and 1744, the Moravians were experi-
menting with several plans for Bethlehem and Nazareth's organization
and work in America. In 1745 Bethlehem and Nazareth were organized
according to the recently arrived Pennsylvania Plan, which covered ev-
erything from the administration and organization of the settlements to
missions and business practices. The two settlements were organized as
complementary communities. They functioned as one Pilgergemeine,
or closed congregation in support of the missions.4 Though the plan was
created by Count Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf , renewer, patron and
temporal leader of the Moravian church, it was under the direct leader-
ship of Bishop August Gottlieb Spangenberg, who filled in the blanks of
the Pennsylvania Plan's outline. Only a Moravian could reside in a
Pilgergemeine, and all goods and assets, including food, clothing, shelter,
tools and work, were held communally in the name of the church. In
order to accomplish this, a unique communal economy, which has since
been called the General Economy or Oeconomy, was developed. The
function of the Pilgergemeine 's Oeconomy was to concentrate all its
resources on one goal: evangelism. While the Oeconomy is the me-
chanical operations of the Bethlehem-Nazareth settlement, it is only part
of the whole. The Pilgergemeine is the combination of the Oeconomy
and missionary motivation.
The Pennsylvania Plan not only organized Moravian life in the closed
settlements, it also organized, or at least attempted to, the evangelical
work of the Moravians among the American Indians, specifically the
Delaware and Mohican nations. The focus of life for a Moravian living
in the Pilgergemeine became these missions and their sustenance. In
1754 Bishop Spangenberg stated that "at no time should it be forgotten
that Bethlehem-Nazareth was begun for no other purpose, but that the
work of the Saviour might be offered a hand not only in Pennsylvania,
but everywhere in America."5 With the establishment of an industrial
and agricultural base, it was hoped that the Pilgergemeine would be
self-sufficient.

The Pilgergemeine was organized for spiritual and material support

of the missions. The idea was that anyone, including married couples,
could be called into the mission field at any time (single women excepted).
Those working in the mission fields were part of the Pilgergemeine
(missionary congregation; not the same as the overall congregation by
the same name). Those who remained behind in the Moravian settle-
ments were part of the Hausgemeine (home congregation). The
Hausgemeine was to provide, through its labor, all the goods required for

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mission work, including the agricultural produce that provided food and
clothing.6 The two communities of the Pilgergemeine were organized
as complementary communities, with Bethlehem serving as the adminis-
trative and industrial center and Nazareth functioning as the agricultural
center.

Since the focus of Moravian activity in America was mission work, it

has been noted that the Moravians cared to write more about their spiri-
tual harvests than their agricultural ones. Georg Neisser, who was first
the unofficial, and later official, diarist of Moravian work in America,
wrote in 1742 that, "there was complaint of [a lack of] manual laborers
at Bethlehem and Nazareth; the answer was: spiritual work takes pre-
cedence."7 Along with that there was a general preference in the Unity
for trades over agriculture.8 If called into the mission field, a tradesman
could simply leave for extended periods of time. If a farmer were called,
it was more difficult to do so. Agricultural goods could more readily be
procured from neighboring farms than many of the products of the
Pilgergemeine' s trades, which were also more lucrative for the Moravians
and their evangelical economy.
Despite their preferences, the Moravians established Nazareth and its
appended farms, known collectively as the Upper Places, as farming
communities. Each one grew necessary crops and raised livestock, with
Christian Spring (established in 1749 as Albrecht' s Spring) being the most
prosperous.9 There was some farming going on in Bethlehem, but not to
the degree of the Upper Places.
Since both communities of the Pilgergemeine depended upon the pro-
duce of the Upper Places, it is natural that there were workers from both
settlements laboring there. Nazareth farmers worked alongside itinerant
workers from Bethlehem who were not otherwise occupied with a trade.
This was chiefly the Single Sisters' choir. Over a seventeen-year period,
from 1745 to 1762, when the Pilgergemeine was ended, Bethlehem Single
Sisters traveled to Nazareth in order to work in the fields.10 Any sister
not otherwise occupied was able to work in the fields for the good of the
Pilgergemeine. The leaders of the Pilgergemeine recognized that they
had a serviceable work force and utilized it.

Interestingly, there was never supposed to be a Single Sisters' choir in

America.11 A single woman was not considered as useful in the mission
fields as a married woman. As it turned out, they were indeed helpful in
its support.
The sisters would travel to Nazareth in large groups during the sowing
(mid- to late April) and harvesting (mid- July to early August) seasons.

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In between they sent smaller parties to weed the fields and to do any
other miscellaneous work. There is no mention of a body of brothers
traveling to Nazareth.
How much of Nazareth's fields were sown with flax is unknown.
There are only two direct references to acreage in the diary. According
to the Christian Spring diary seven acres of flax were sown on April 14,
1757.12 This may be how much was sown that day, and not a reflection
of the total acreage. One year earlier on August 6, 1756, forty-nine
Single Sisters arrived at Nazareth from Bethlehem to work the thirty-six
acres of flax.13 If the common equation of a quarter acre of flax per
person per year holds true, this is enough flax for only 144 people.14 If
this figure is accurate and typical of their yields, the Pilgergemeine ex-
perienced great shortages of flax (and subsequently linen). According to
the Nazareth Memorabilia for 1756, there were 335 people living in the
Upper Places.15 In Bethlehem there were approximately 600 Moravians
listed just three years later in 1759.16
Flax was not the only crop to come into short supply. By the 1750s
Moravian farms were having difficulty keeping pace with the require-
ments of the two communities. Fewer Moravians wanted to become
farmers and annual yields decreased. Flax may have been one of the
first crops to be displaced, as foodstuffs would have been considered
more important.
In 1753 Spangenberg wrote that "we had neither flax, nor linen, and
everything was worn out . . ." He had to look elsewhere to compensate
for the shortages.17 The day books for the Bethlehem diacony show
large quantities of linen purchased in the early 1760s. There is no record
of what became of the linen. Probably some of it found its way into the
hands of the Pilgergemeine' s workers.
It is interesting to note that there does not appear to be a comparable
wool shortage in this period, at least none of any consequence. Either
the Pilgergemeine produced enough for its own consumption, or it never
attempted to meet its own needs for wool from within.
The processing of flax and wool was similar to that of other Colonial
American settlements. The Moravians did not invent any new methods
or tools. They did, however, utilize a different, more extended, workforce
than was typically available.18 Again itinerant workers, very often the
Single Sisters, did the work of breaking, swingling and heckling the flax.
Along with the sisters we find some American Indian converts process-
ing flax and hemp. Records of their work are to be found in the Bethlehem

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diacony19 day books, as well as the Indian diacony day books. Converts
are used to clear land, weed, and break flax, among other tasks.
Processing wool was less labor-intensive than flax. The sheep were
shorn, and the fleeces were washed and carded as many times as was
deemed necessary to clean them. Once this was completed, the fleece
was ready to be spun into yarn.
But the care and feeding of the Pilgergemeine9 s sheepfolds was not
so easy. Evidently both Nazareth and Bethlehem had their own folds.
During the summer months the sheep remained with each community.
For wintering and shearing they were taken to the Upper Places, where
a shepherd was appointed to watch over the flocks. As early as 1747 a
Single Brother was appointed shepherd.20 Among the shepherd's re-
sponsibilities was the washing of the sheep. Apparently manual washing
got to be a bit tedious, so some rather inventive shepherds ran their charges
through the creek at Friedensthal, reporting that they "succeeded be-
yond expectations very well."21 Again we see the Bethlehem sisters
coming to help with the shearing.
Once the flax and wool were processed, they were ready for spin-
ning. Traditionally spinning has been associated with women. There
were some male spinners working in America at the time, mainly in the
larger cities such as Philadelphia, but they were professional spinners.
While it is true that the bulk of Moravian spinners in the Pilgergemeine
were sisters, many of the brothers, children and Indian sisters also spun.
Spinning has also been associated with family conversation or gossip.
The Moravians used their spinning time in a different way. No matter
who was spinning, that time was often set aside for spiritual conversa-
tion. The records show that some of the spinners engaged in edifying
conversation or read Biblical passages to one another.
Brothers were found spinning on several occasions. In 1745 Nazareth
brothers were asked to spin because "so many can ... ."22 That same
year Bethlehem brothers were set to spinning because the evenings were
getting longer and the brothers needed something to do."23 Later in 1745
thirteen of the Bethlehem brothers were chosen to take up spinning in
the evening so that they could work and listen to readings or participate
in other "elevating discourse."24 Perhaps the brothers were bored or
perhaps the overseers were attempting to prevent the brothers from get-
ting into any mischief. After the 1740s there are no further references to
brothers spinning within the Pilgergemeine.

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 Children learned to spin at an early age as part of their education. In
1761 Hannah Callender, a Quaker, wrote that she observed, "children
between seven and eight years old spinning" at the Nazareth school.25
The Oeconomy did more than simply provide for the extensive Ameri-
can missions, it also utilized the fruits of mission labor to help provide for
the Pilgergemeine' s needs. While they were in close proximity to the
Pilgergemeine, American Indian converts were exposed to and accepted
European clothes, technology and industry, including spinning. The day
books for Bethlehem and the Indian diacony show money owed to the
Indians' accounts for spinning done, as well as for breaking and cleaning
flax. One woman in particular, "Esther the Indian," is mentioned. Evi-
dently she was a proficient spinner because she turns up in several of the
day books and receipts.26
Spinning is another window into an interesting aspect of Moravian life
in the Pilgergemeine: the spiritual work ethic. Daily work became a
fruition of that support, and the missionary spirit became a motivating
force to work. In Nazareth in 1746 some of the young women at the
Moravian institute are "spinning very diligently because they say, they
are spinning for the pilgrims."27 This work ethic, where every task, from
the most menial to the most highly skilled, became a means to celebrate
Christ and extend Christianity, was embedded in the hearts of the
Moravians.

The lovefeast, a simple non-sacramental meal, was a celebration of

this work ethic. Reapers, mowers, spinners, weavers, tailors, shoe-shin-
ers and many of the other trades held their own lovefeasts. Since every
aspect of life in the Pilgergemeine rested on group activity, it is only
natural that those who work and worship together should share a com-
munal meal and a few motivating hymns. On December 21, 1745, a
spinners' lovefeast was held in Nazareth to, "arouse the diligence of the
spinners."28
A translation of another 1745 spinners' lovefeast provides a picture of
work, here the textile arts, as the fruition of God's will (see Appendix to
this article). After the Fall of Man, God commanded that all humans
should be clothed to hide their naked bodies. But the skins of animals
were not enough to accomplish this. Humans turned to spinning, weav-
ing and sewing in order to comply. The spinners (and the accompanying
weavers, etc.) of the Pilgergemeine were simply fulfilling God's wishes,
thus they were aiding Jesus' work (the focus of Moravian theology) in
Creation, a rather beautiful perspective on what can be rather tedious
work.

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 Through original hymns written specifically for the intended partici-
pants (workers), lovefeasts were used to put the laborers in a more mean-
ingful frame of mind, one in line with their religious beliefs. Distinctions
between early Moravian work and worship practices within the
Pilgergemeine were blurred. How else can one make a happy worker
out of a spinner (or shoe-shiner, for that matter)?
Bishop Spangenberg, the mastermind behind the Pilgergemeine, wrote
many of the hymns used at these lovefeasts. While the hymnody of his
superior, Count Zinzendorf , reflected the saving grace of Christ's wounds,
Spangenberg tended to write hymns reflecting labor as an expression of
love for Christ.

Throughout the period of the Oeconomy this relation between work

and worship sustained the laborers working in both kinds of fields. The
relation was symbiotic: it provided the missionaries with their daily needs,
allowing them to concentrate on their flocks, and it motivated the work-
ers of the Hausgemeine to continue diligently in their labors. Because
of that, the joint Pilgergemeine had the illusion of control over itself and
the American missions. While the Unity (the international Moravian
church) was the governing body, the Pilgergemeine appeared to those
living in it to be separate from it.
The end of the Oeconomy, and the Pilgergemeine it supported, was a
direct response to the Moravian patron Zinzendorf s death. Upon his
"going home," as the Moravians called it, the Unity assumed his debts.
In order to repay them, they began to review the cost-effectiveness of
their world- wide settlements. They found that the Pilgergemeine in
America was drawing more capital then it was returning. The Unity
ordered the dismantling of the Pilgergemeine in 1762. Under the
Oeconomy Moravians worked without complaint for all, because the
church was responsible for their daily needs. Individuals did not have to
concern themselves with their own material survival. When the Oeconomy
was reorganized, material survival became the concern of Moravians in
the former Pilgergemeine. This naturally affected work patterns within
the two now distinct communities.

The Oeconomy had held all assets, such as labor, in common. The
sisters gladly came from Bethlehem to help with work in Nazareth. Men
took up spinning in order to provide for the needs of the Pilgergemeine .
Indian converts were utilized to aid in that work (which ultimately aided
them and their missionaries). Individuals worked for the good of the
Pilgergemeine and its mission extensions.

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 Under the reorganization, both settlements were converted into
Ortsgemeine, or settlement congregations. Within an Ortsgemeine,
functioning under the new Lease System economy, the church no longer
provided material support in exchange for labor. Individuals now earned
their own money and paid for their own needs. The church maintained
ownership of the land, a few of the more lucrative trades and the mills
and farms. However, their work force was not retained as a communal
tool. Laborers were now wage earners, to be paid out of the church's
coffers. The focus of American Moravian settlements had changed
since the days of Zinzendorf, when he said "spiritual work takes
precedence."
Almost immediately in 1762 work patterns begin to change. The dia-
ries no longer record the Bethlehem sisters coming from Bethlehem to
work in the fields and flax barns. According to the day books and loose
receipts, there develops a class of day laborers who are paid for their
work by the piece (i.e., how much grain is threshed, how much flax is
broken, how much sowing/harvesting is completed, etc.). These day
laborers are all brothers otherwise not employed in a shop or farm. In
fact the division of labor seems to fall into more traditional gender roles,
with the brothers working the fields and the sisters spinning, weaving and
performing other textile-related pursuits.
By 1771 the re-organization was completed and Bethlehem and
Nazareth were organized as Ortsgemeine. They were still closed to
non-Moravians, but now their citizens owned their own goods (including
trade shops and houses) and earned their own wages, although the church
maintained ownership of the land.
Along with the communities' reorganization was the removal of the
missions from the Pilgergemeine' s control. The Unity assumed the ad-
ministration of the American missions in 1765. The Pilgergemeine was
no longer administering, funding or supplying the missions directly. While
they did continue to support the missionaries with goods that could not be
obtained as readily or inexpensively on the frontier, the bill now went to
the Unity.29
With the removal of the missions from the Pilgergemeine, and
Bethlehem and Nazareth now concerned with their own financial and
material survival, the spiritual motivation was lost. This motivation had
been waning in the last years of the Oeconomy. It is difficult to maintain
such enthusiasm for long periods of time, especially where selfless labor
is involved. As the original "warrior" Moravians were dying, their spiri-
tual zeal was not being passed on to the younger generation replacing

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them. Many of the original "warriors" associated with the Moravians of
their own excited volition, in an attempt to come closer to the Savior.
Their children were raised in that environment, but it was not one of their
own choosing. The reorganization of the Pilgergemeine turned a de
facto situation, the declining spiritual zeal that supported the missions,
into a Unity directive.30
There are fewer congregational records regarding the processing of
flax and wool after the 1760s. Since these processes and the distribution
of their products were no longer the responsibility of the Pilgergemeine,
they did not need to record them. The original intent was for the church
to keep the farms in Bethlehem and Nazareth under their direct control.
The farms proved to be economically fruitless, and all but one (Christian
Spring) were rented out. The church made its agricultural money through
rent.31 With agricultural work moving out of the hands of the church, the
need for records was not as great, at least in the official diaries and
minutes of each of the communities .

The processes described in this study are only a part of textile manu-
facture in the Pilgergemeine and later Bethlehem and Nazareth. The
Moravians established weaving shops, a fulling mill, dye works and tai-
lors' shops. These trades provided for the settlements' needs, both dur-
ing and after the Oeconomy, as well as servicing their non-Moravian
neighbors. During the Pilgergemeine it was found that offering the
services and products of the Moravian trades to non-Moravians brought
more money into the coffers for mission work. Later it helped to main-
tain the two settlements' economies, with Bethlehem serving its Lehigh
Valley neighbors and Nazareth serving its neighbors to the north, in the
Pocono Mountains.

During the Pilgergemeine years it is important to recognize that there

are four interconnected factors at work: Moravian faith, missions, cul-
ture and economic development. The Oeconomy funneled labor, money
and faith into the missionary pursuits. It focused the Pilgergemeine on a
single goal, subordinating the material needs of a few to the spiritual
needs of many. In order to support these missions materially, the
Moravians developed a sound economic base, efficiently using their money
and labor. Once the need for intense support of the missions was re-
moved, so was the motivation to maintain such extensive efficient labor,
at all levels within the settlements.

The patterns of textile manufacture, as with all of the Moravian trades

and industries in early Bethlehem and Nazareth, were dynamic. They
changed as the community changed. Under the Oeconomy Moravians

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mingled their religious life with their industry. In doing so, they altered
the perception of their labor from a means of survival to a daily worship
service that provided them and their missions with spiritual as well as
material necessities. Once the towns were reorganized, this work ethic
declined, but it never fully disappeared. Work continued to be done in
Jesus' honor, if not in service of the missions. But before the changes of
the 1760s, the Moravians living in the Pilgergemeine were able to ex-
press their spirituality and missionary zeal through their efficient use of
labor. The Moravians used these processes to clothe their members both
materially and spiritually.

APPENDIX
First Spinners' Lovefeast in Nazareth
October 27, 1745
by Joseph (August Gottlieb) Spangenberg
from the collection of the Moravian Historical Society

When Adam with his wife to cover thyself with

behind the bush was hiding lest, hearing my voice
and his sinful body thou need not be frightened again.
covered with leaves In this wise it has been brought about
the Lord called where are thou? that they, who have become naked
I have hidden myself. now must keep covered,
Why? Because I am naked. according to the Lord's order.
I have covered myself. Now, when man on the field
Naked? What hast thou done? supported himself toiling,
Who told thee? and mankind on earth
Now thou art done for. powerfully increases,
Thou will be chased refinement was thought of;
out of paradise into the fields hence spinning
there to plague thyself and also weaving
for, if not killed derive their beginning.
it will bear thorns and thistles. Were we content with skins of beasts,
But I have pity on thy misery; there would be no need
and the woman's seed of the trouble of spinning.
shall save thee from death; But where could we get skins enough
This is amen, amen. to clothe all mankind with?

Take meanwhile this little skin, take And I ask, what would be the use

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of flax, of wool and silk?
If the Lord had not
approved of spinning,
he certainly would have
decorated his tabernacle
is a blessed deed. Amen.
Especially when done to benefit
those, who belong to him;
should not such labors honor our dear
Lamb?

differently from what we read in Moses.Does he not also call kind people
For to cover the tabernacle, to eternal life,

mark it well, there must be spinning andwho to the naked gave a garment,
weaving of linen, wool and silk though they belong to, "the world."
and the Lord's own bodyguard also Hence sisters!
the chairs his priests your spinning is a blessed favor,
wear linen and silk done to Jesus Christ,
in honor of their God. and for his sake;
And when God himself became man Lest we have to go naked.
he condescended, For he will so have it,
clothed in such garments, that we shall see nobody naked
to walk about the earth. without bestowing on him a gift;
Spinning, knitting, weaving, sewing, that we shall assist those,
these pursuits are surely good who live for the dear Lamb,

if only our soul lives in Jesus and that we shall be very happy
cleansed by the power of his blood. to do them a favor.

Unto the pure all things are pure;
Why then should not be included
spinning, weaving, sewing?
For whatever we begin,
impelled to good works by grace
in the name of the Lamb
urged on by love of him
May love set you to spinning and
weaving
May love urge you to sewing and
washing
May love fill your souls with
happiness
And impel you to deeds of grace.

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 NOTES

1 . Frank Augustine Banyas, "The Moravians of Colonial Pennsylvania: Their Arts,

Crafts, and Industries" (M.A. Dissertation, Ohio State University, 1940), p. 104.
2. See Carter Litchfield et al, The Bethlehem Oil Mill, 1745-1934: German Technol-
ogy in Early Pennsylvania (Kemblesville, PA: Olearius Editions, 1984).
3. Tandy Hersh and Charles Hersh, Cloth and Costume 1750-1800 Cumberland
County, Pennsylvania (Camp Hill, PA: Plank's Suburban Press, 1995).
4. Joseph Mortimer Levering, A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1740-1892
(Bethlehem: Times Publishing Company, 1903), pp. 178-182.
5. Quoted in Helmuth Erbe, "Bethlehem, Pa.: A Communistic Herrnhut Colony of
the 18th Century," typed translation (Stuttgart, Publications of the German For-
eign Institute, 1929), p. 17.
6. Beverly Prior Smaby, The Transformation of Moravian Bethlehem: From Com-
munal Mission to Family Economy (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania
Press, 1988), pp. 25-30.
7. Georg Neisser, A History of the Beginnings of Moravian Work in America, Will-
iam N. Schwarze and Samuel H. Gapp, translators (Bethlehem, PA: Archives of
the Moravian Church, 1955), p. 48; Erbe, p. 25.
8. Winfred A. Kohls, 'The Function of Hospitality and Economic Enterprise as Re-
flected in Herrnhut's Management of Its Congregation in Russia," Transactions
of the Moravian Historical Society, Vol. 30 (1998), pp. 75-97.
9. See Edwin A. Sawyer, Christian Spring: Noble Experiment in Communal Living
and First Vocational School in Northampton County, (Nazareth: Moravian Hall
Square Museum and Craft Shop, 1988); James Henry, "Christian Spring," Trans-
actions of the Moravian Historical Society, Vol. I, No. 2.
10. See "The Nazareth Diary," translated and typed manuscript, collection of the
Moravian Historical Society, Nazareth, PA. Hereafter "Nazareth Diary."
1 1 . Craig Atwood, "Blood, Sex, and Death: Life and Liturgy in Zinzendorf 's Bethlehem"
(Ph.D. Dissertation, Princeton Theological Seminary, 1995), p. 114, footnote 26;
Beverly Prior Smaby, "Forming the Single Sisters' Choir in Bethlehem," Transac-
tions of the Moravian Historical Society, Vol. 28 (1994), pp. 1-2.
12. "The Christian Spring Diary," typed and translated manuscript, collection of the
Moravian Historical Society, Nazareth, PA, p. 6 (April 26, 1757).
13. "Nazareth Diary," part 2, p. 77 (August 6, 1756).
14. Ellen J. Gehret and Alan G. Keyser, The Homespun Textile Tradition of the Penn-
sylvania Germans, (Harrisburg: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commis-
sion, 1976), introduction.
15. "Nazareth Diary," part 2, p. 87 (Memorabilia, 1758).
16. Smaby, p. 27.
17. Erbe, p. 97.
18. For more on the processing of wool and flax, see: John Wily, A Treatise on the
Propagation of Sheep, The Manufacture of Wool, and the Cultivation and
Manufacture of Flax, with directions for making several Utensils for the Busi-
ness (Williamsburg, VA: J. Royle, 1765), modern reprint by Colonial Williamsburg
Foundation.

1 9. The Moravians used the word "diacony" to refer to the financial organization of the
church, congregation or choir.

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20. "Nazareth Diary," part 1, p. 49(6) (April 16, 1747).
21. Ibid., part. 2, p. 8 (May 14, 1753).
22. Ibid., part 1, p. 31 (December 21, 1745).
23. "Bethlehem Single Brothers' Diary," typed and translated manuscript, collection of
Historic Bethlehem, Inc., p. 79 (October 13, 1745).
24. Ibid., p. 82 (November 11, 1745).
25. Hannah Callender, "Extracts From the Diary of Hannah Callender, ed. George
Vaux, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. XII, #4 (January
1889), p. 450.
26. For more on Indian-Moravian relations, see Daniel B. Thorp, "New Wine in Old
Bottles: Cultural Persistence Among Non- White Converts to the Moravian Church,"
Transactions of the Moravian Historical Society, Vol. 30 (1998), pp. 1-8;
Mark A. Turdo, Common People, Uncommon Community: Lenape Life in
Moravian Missions (Nazareth: Moravian Historical Society, 1998); Amy C. Schutt,
"Forging Identities" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Indiana, 1995).
27. "Nazareth Diary," part 1, p. 44 (March 17, 1746).
28. Ibid., part 1, p. 32 (December 28, 1745).
29. Erbe, p. 132; Turdo, pp. 8-10.
30. Erbe, pp. 120-121, 128.
31. Erbe, p. 124; Smaby, p. 35.

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