Moravian Journal Relating to Central New York, 1745-1766

The Moravians were a Pietist religious sect that was introduced to North America with the influx of Germanic immigrants in the early eighteenth century. Acting upon their belief in the importance of living out the teachings of Christianity, the Moravians became involved in various missionary enterprises, primarily concerning the Native Americans of the middle and northern states. This volume reprints a number of journals kept by Moravian missionaries describing their experiences with the Onondaga Indians and other tribes of the Five Nations inhabiting Central New York. Practically the Moravians did no Missionary work in this part of New York. They neither preached nor baptized….The whole work was one of preparation, a study of the language and habits of life. Indeed, the presence of the Moravians was so quiet and unobtrusive as to be nearly forgotten by the Onondagas by 1849. Their journals, however, serve as a fascinating cultural study examining tribal social structure, interaction between members of the Five Nations, European cultural biases, and the evolution of economic and political relations with Europeans during the French and Indian War years. These documents have been reproduced in their entirety from the collection of the Moravian Archives at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A new index of full names has been compiled for this edition.