Memoirs
A page from the memoir of Maria Salome Hessler, 1750-1821.
At the heart of the Archives’ family history studies is our large memoir collection. A Moravian memoir, known as a Lebenslauf in German, is an account – often autobiographical in part – of the life of a Gemein, or congregation, member. Important life events are recounted with special attention given to spiritual struggles and progress. Memoirs were encouraged by the founder of the renewed Moravian Church, Count Zinzendorf, as a way to “make the invisible church visible,” and many are preserved in the Archive for inspirational and instructional purposes. Not every memoir is detailed, but many are.
Our collection includes over 14,000 memoirs for individual members of the Moravian Church, Southern Province, from its beginnings in North Carolina to the present day. Several hundred additional memoirs since 2005 are being added, while some 500 18th-century memoirs await translation.
You can browse an index of the memoirs we have housed at the Archives in this table:
You can also access a digitized copy of most of our memoirs on our digital library platform. Click below!
https://moravianarchivesdigital.quartexcollections.com/browse-all-collections/list/collections/2
If you would like to receive a digital copy of a memoir for your files (which will incur a fee – see below), please complete this form:
If fulfilling your requests exceeds 30 minutes of staff time, you will be charged according to our fee schedule for Staff Research On Your Topic. Fulfillment of memoir requests will likely only exceed 30 minutes if you request a significant number of memoirs. If your request incurs other charges, such as for transcription or translation or for reprographic services (see below), and those additional fees are greater than or equal to the staff research fee, you will not be charged the research fee.
Many memoirs in German and/or in hard-to-read cursive handwriting have been translated and/or transcribed. If you request a memoir that has not been translated or transcribed, we will contact you to discuss the best way forward to fulfill your needs. This may include commissioning and funding translations and/or transcriptions, including from Archives staff. Visit the Transcriptions and Translations page for more information.
It is typically Archives policy to not charge for copies of material that has been previously scanned. However, in the case of memoirs, all scanned memoirs are already available online. We recommend that you visit our digital library to access scanned memoires. If you would like a copy of a memoir for your files, that request will fall under the fee schedule for reprographic services to offset the resources needed to provide you with your own copy. This is $0.50 per page.
The Archives retains all rights to memoirs. Reproductions are made for private study and reference only. Permission of Moravian Archives, Winston-Salem is required for uses exceeding this “fair use.” Researchers acknowledge that they are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials they use.