“David Zeisberger’s diaries are a rich source for Native
American and Moravian history. The 1772–1781 diaries remain
largely untapped by American scholars because they have not been available
in English translation. Publication of this modern scholarly edition,
therefore, will have a major impact on the field of early American
history.” —Daniel K. Richter, University of Pennsylvania
David Zeisberger (1721–1808) was the head of a group of Moravian
missionaries that settled in the Upper Ohio Valley in 1772 to minister
to the Delaware Nation. For the next ten years, Zeisberger lived among
the Delaware, becoming a trusted adviser and involving himself not
only in religious activities but also in political and social affairs.
During this time he kept diaries in which he recorded the full range
of his activities. Published in English for the first time, The
Moravian Mission Diaries of David Zeisberger offers an unparalleled
insider’s view of Indian society during times of both war and
peace.
Zeisberger’s diaries, today housed at the Moravian Archives
in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, present a detailed picture of the effect
of the American Revolution on one Indian nation—not only on
political issues but also in terms of its economy, culture, and demographic
structure. A later portion of the diaries, covering the post–Revolutionary
War years, was translated and published in the nineteenth century,
but the 1772–81 diaries have never been published in English
translation. This translation is based on the full scholarly edition
of the diaries, which Wellenreuther and Wessel published in Germany
in 1995. Publication of this volume will forever change the way we
see the impact of the American Revolution on Indian life and on the
Ohio country.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
The Moravian Mission F\Ciaries of David Zeisberger, 1771–1781
Appendix
Register of Persons
Index of Place and River Names and Other Geographical Terms
Bibliography
Index
Maps of Ohio Region
Hermann
Wellenreuther is Professor of Modern History at the Georg-August-University
in Göttingen and the author of books on early modern German,
English, and North American history. He co-edited, with Hartmut
Lehmann and Renate Wilson, In Search of Peace and Prosperity:
New German Settlements in Eighteenth-Century Europe and America (Penn State, 2000).
Carola Wessel was a scholar at the University Library
in Göttingen and a part-time librarian at the University Library
in Bielefeld at the time of her death in 2004.
