Moravians and Mathematics in the 18th Century

       The 18th-century Moravians who settled in the Lehigh Valley took joy in the world their God created for their personal lives and holy missions.  While their understanding of the universe was largely through the theological interpretations of their holy book, other books on mathematics in their Congregational library helped them understand how the universe worked on a fundamental level.
     One 1757 work, Der Anfangs-Gründe aller mathematischen Wissenschaften, provides the numerical and geometric theories behind shapes and simple machines that could be found even on the margins of Atlantic empire.  Everything from simple pullies to large military fortifications are displayed on intricately-drawn diagrams.  A 1742 volume, Anmerckungen über des herrn geheimden Rath Wolffens, takes a more abstract approach by working through mathematical proofs similar to anything a modern high school student would face.  These are just two examples of many other books with similar objectives.
    The Congregational library also contains books on applied mathematics in a field not usually associated with German pietists in Pennsylvania’s proverbial wilderness: mariners and seamanship.  The Mariner’s Compass Rectified, printed in 1763, contains hundreds of charts helping seamen determine latitude, longitude, declination, and other nautical measurements.  A 1762 volume, The Mariner’s New Calendar, contains not only more charts but also teaches the reader how to understand the basic concepts of geometry with many diagrams of both simple and complex shapes.  While these books are directed toward mariners and seamen, they are, at their base, simply applied geometry.
     In closing, then, while the Moravians certainly attributed the creation of the world to the mysterious grace of their deity, they were also cognizant of the static and inherent rules that governed it.

                                                                        -Andrew Stahlhut

Bethlehem Home Mission Society & Women’s Auxiliary Mission Society Papers

     When I started my final year as an undergraduate student at Lehigh University, a German professor of mine directed me to the Moravian Archives, and I jumped at the opportunity to organize documents, read script, and learn about this city. So far, I’ve been putting missionary society papers in order.
Specifically, I have been organizing the papers of the Bethlehem Home Mission Society (BHMS) and the Women’s Auxiliary Mission Society (WAMS) (which later merged with the Northeastern Moravian Mission Society). The collections are similar, and more or less what one would expect: meetings, fundraisers, donations, and mission accounts. Last week I wrapped up the BHMS collection, and this week, I should finish work on the WAMS.
     The Bethlehem Home Mission Society’s papers seemed familiar—I’ve lived in Bethlehem for about three years now, and the street names I see while walking through the town are the names that appear over and over again, in not only the correspondence and board member lists, but also the work orders for the Locust Street Chapel. And then there are the Chapel Plans. The building may be seemingly old and permanent today, but here its conception and construction are heavily documented.

     The records of the Women’s Mission Society are a bit more complete, with minutes running from 1892 to 1993, and various nonconsecutive logs from 1819 through 1886. I was struck by the other accounts given by early missionaries, presented by their families or descendants. For faith, or possibly adventure, these people traveled far from home at a time when travel was hard and dangerous, and made new lives for themselves in places very unlike Bethlehem. It was strange, though, to read that a missionary was simply sent a new wife after the woman who accompanied him to his mission had died. It’s a bit weird to imagine such a thing happening in American culture today, but it was mentioned without much ado.
     But more on the Society. Particularly interesting is its celebration of Susan Elizabeth Kaske, otherwise known as the first American Foreign Missionary, and member of the congregation of the oldest Women’s Missionary Society in the USA. Her unobtrusive memorial sits upon her grave in Bethlehem, not far from where we work and study today.

                                                                                     -Olivia Sardo

The Desh Family Papers

My role at the Moravian Archives is a bit different than that of our student catalogers. Among my responsibilities, I review the work of the students but generally do not catalog the personal papers. I am, therefore, not able to engage with the material to the same degree as the students, because I am often looking to make sure I's are dotted and T's crossed. I verify that the record is accurate for each individual item.

I am currently reviewing the work undertaken on the Desh Family Papers. The papers consist of material related to five family members- Daniel Desh (1814-1895), Orlando Desh (1843-1932), Ambrose Desh (1845-1911), William Desh (1848-1923), Edward Desh (1850-1879), and Harrison Desh (1854-1932). The collection includes children's school exercises, financial records and transactions, and a series of Civil War letters.  I have assembled a few photographs of their papers-

This was a sketch from Daniel Desh's work book for his mathematical exercises (1835).

This image and the one below are from William Desh's geography work book (1858-1860).  

I very much like finding bits of ephemera pressed between the pages.

Handwriting exercises, the script is beautiful.

And this is perhaps my favorite- two pigs sketched over text.  The words inside the pigs read:  A pig with a curly tail and A short tailed pig.  (Edward Desh)