Cultures at the Susquehanna Confluence

Located at the confluence of the north and west branches of the Susquehanna River, Shamokin was a significant historical settlement in the region that became Pennsylvania. By the time the Moravians arrived to set up a mission in the 1740s, Shamokin had been a site of intertribal commerce and refuge for the Native peoples of Pennsylvania for several centuries. It served first as a Susquehannock, then a Shawnee, and then a primarily Lenape settlement and trading post, overseen by the Oneida leader and diplomat Shikellamy.

Cultures at the Susquehanna Confluence is an annotated translation of the diaries documenting the Moravian mission to the area. Unlike other missions of the time, the Moravians at Shamokin integrated their work and daily life into the diverse cultures they encountered, demonstrating an unusual compromise between the Church’s missionary impetus and the needs of the Six Nations of the Iroquois. The diaries counter the dominant vision of the area around Shamokin as a sinister place, revealing instead a nexus of vibrant cultural exchange where women and men speaking Lenape, Mohican, English, and German collaborated in the business of survival at a pivotal time.

The Shamokin diaries, which until now existed only in manuscript form in difficult-to-read German script in the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, allow today’s readers to experience the Susquehanna confluence and the rich intercultural exchanges that took place there between Europeans and Native Americans.

“Faull’s volume offers a vital gateway to the hidden historical treasures of the Susquehanna River Valley in the eighteenth century. Addressing a rich tapestry of cultures, this book invites scholars and students of Moravian missions, Native American studies, and Indigenous-European contact history to delve into the intriguing stories of this diverse region.”—Benjamin M. Pietrenka, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

Katherine M. Faull is Professor of German and Humanities at Bucknell University. She is the author or editor of six books and more than forty peer-reviewed articles and chapters. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Moravian History and is a member of the board of directors of the Moravian Archives in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

List of Illustrations

Maps

Acknowledgments

Preface

Native Americans in Shamokin, Circa 1748 David Minderhout

Note on Translation and Editorial Principles

Introduction

1. September 13 – November 10, 1745 Martin Mack

2. May 26 – June 28, 1747 Johannes Hagen

3. June 29 – August 2, 1747 Johannes Hagen

4. September 29 – December 31, 1747 Martin Mack

5. January 4 – April 18, 1748 Joseph Powell

6. April 18 – June 28, 1748 Martin Mack

7. November 30, 1748 – January 31, 1749 David Zeisberger

8. April 3 – July 26, 1749 David Zeisberger

9. January 8 – March 5, 1750 Christian Rauch

10. April 14 – June 2, 1753 Bernhard Grube

11. June 4 – July 31, 1753 Bernhard Grube

12. January 11 – July 2, 1754 David Kliest

13. December 19 – 25, 1754 Heinrich Frey and Gottlieb Roesch

14. April 1 – May 31, 1755 Gottfried Rösler

15. June 1 – July 31, 1755 Gottfried Rösler

16. August 1 – September 30, 1755 Gottfried Rösler

17. September – October 1755 Gottfried Rösler

Appendix A: List of Missionaries and Blacksmiths at Shamokin

Appendix B: Extracts of Letters from Frederick Cammerhof

Glossary of Terms

Notes

Bibliography

Register of Individuals

Register of Place Names

Index

Download a PDF sample chapter here: https://www.psupress.org/sample_chapter/Faull_Introduction.pdf target= blank>Introduction

History

           Eighteenth-century

           Pennsylvania & Mid-Atlantic

Pennsylvania & the Mid-Atlantic

           Religious Studies & Religion

Religious Studies & Religion

           History of Religion