Nazareth, PA—The Moravian Historical Society will host a talk by Dr. Scott Paul Gordon on Sunday, January 28, 2024, at 2:00 pm.

Dr. Gordon’s talk, “Even in the Whitefield House: Enslaved Moravians in Nazareth and its Vicinity,” will explore the lives and histories of enslaved Moravians in this region. More than a dozen enslaved men, women, and children lived in the eighteenth-century Moravian congregation at Nazareth and the nearby settlements of Christian’s Spring and Gnadenthal. Some even lived in the Whitefield House. What were their lives like? Did any of these enslaved people, all of whom became members of the Moravian church, gain freedom, and if so, how? As part of the Moravian Historical Society’s Museum Music & Lecture Series, Dr. Gordon’s talk will explore these questions and others about slavery in eighteenth-century Moravian communities.

Scott Paul Gordon is currently the Andrew W. Mellon Chair at Lehigh University. He has served as chair of the Department of English and as chair of the Department of History. In 2018, he published The Letters of Mary Penry: A Single Moravian Woman in Early America, and in 2022, he wrote Tracing the Earliest Moravian Activity in the Mid-Atlantic: A Guide for the Moravian Historical Society. His current research focuses on forms of unfreedom in eighteenth-century Moravian communities.

This event is free to attend, but reservations are encouraged. Please note that the museum galleries, where the talk will take place, are on the second floor of our historic Whitefield House and are accessible only by stairs.

For more information on tickets and additional programs in the Museum Music & Lecture Series, visit www.moravianhistory.org. This series is funded in part by the Northampton County Department of Community and Economic Development through its Hotel Tax Grant.

Founded in 1857, the Moravian Historical Society (MHS) preserves, interprets, and celebrates the rich culture of the Moravians. MHS maintains the 1740–1743 Whitefield House and the 1740 Gray Cottage, the oldest surviving Moravian structure in North America. Recognized widely for its significant collection, the museum offers permanent and changing exhibitions, educational programs, guided tours, and public activities.

The Moravian Historical Society’s Museum is open daily from 1:00 to 4:00 pm and is located at 214 East Center Street, Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

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Information provided to TVL by:
Moravian Historical Society
https://www.moravianhistory.org/

 

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