Excerpt from Guide to the Old Moravian Cemetery of Bethlehem, Pa., 1742-18971. Nathaniel Seidel, 1718 - 82, a Bishop of the Moravian Church, and for twenty years the President of the American Provincial Board. He was born at Lauban, Silesia, on October 2, 1718, the son of a Bohe mian emigrant, and learned the trade of cloth-weaving. Having found Jesus as his Saviour he joined the Moravian Church at Herrn hut in 1739, and came to Bethlehem in 1742 to engage in evangelistic work. He was appointed itinerant missionary among the Indians and white settlers, and to this end made many journeys, always on foot, laboring with great zeal and success. In 1748 he was ordained a Presbyter. Five years later he was sent on an official visitation to the Danish West Indies, the next year to North Carolina, (where he founded the church at Bethabara, ) and the following year to the mission in Surinam, S. A. In 1758 he was consecrated a Bishop, and after Zinzendorf's death became President of the Provincial Board of Elders in place of Bishop Spangenberg, who returned to Germany. He was married to Anna Joanna Fiesch, a niece of Anna Nitschmann. They left no children. He departed this life on May.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

From the Introduction. Of the interesting and attractive places in historic Bethlehem there is perhaps none which is more sought out by strangers and which we hold in greater veneration than the old Moravian Cemetery, "God's Acre," as our fathers called their burying ground. Its central location, well kept walks, stately shade trees, rustic benches, and elevated position affording a fine view of the Lehigh Mountains, all combine to make it a pleasant resort for old and young. The solemn stillness which pervades the place, in contrast with the noise and commotion of business and travel on the adjoining thoroughfares, invites the passer-by to peaceful rest. The uniform simplicity of more than 2600 graves arranged in parallel rows, with their plain tombstones and concise epitaphs marking the resting places of rich and poor, high and low alike, teaches an impressive lesson as to the common brotherhood of mortal man. Once a year, at the inspiring service held within its gates on Easter morning, towns-people and visitors gather in a vast concourse to give joyful expression to the faith in a blessed resurrection of all those who have died in the Lord. An additional interest attaching to this Cemetery lies in the remarkable mingling of races, the graves of men and women from different nationalities of Europe being interspersed with those of many Indians and Negroes who, through the labors of the Moravian Brethren, found salvation in Christ. The descendants of Bethlehem Moravian families, furthermore, can here trace their pedigree through a number of generations and find all the representative names of the past 155 years of the town's existence. But the greatest attraction of this historic spot lies in the contemplation of the life records made by many of the men and women whose earthly remains have: found, a: resting. place here.. Detailed biographies of all those prominent in the church and community, and a narration of the varied experiences through which they passed, as outlined in the official Record of Interments, would fill several interesting volumes. For our purpose it will be sufficient to give brief abstracts of these biographies....