Excerpt from Records of the Moravians in North Carolina, 1752-1771, Vol. 1

In the Opening volume of the researches which Miss Fries is making into the history of the Moravians in North Carolina we are receiving a valuable contribution, not only to the denomination of Christians which she represents, but to the State itself.

The Moravian immigration has always been considered an important element in the settlement of Western Carolina. Along with the Scotch immigrants in the south of the State, the Germans on the Catawba River and in adjacent sections, and the Quakers in neighboring coun ties, the Moravians brought a wholesome moral, social, and religious influence to bear upon the future destinies of our great Commonwealth.

In another way also the Moravian settlement was of importance. Owing to their world-wide connections in the Unitas Fratrum, and the scholarly methods of their leaders, they brought with them the habit of keeping precise records of all current events. Copies of these were communicated to their Brethren in other parts of the world, and the originals were carefully deposited in their Archives, now at Winston Salem. In the later colonial years 'of North Carolina's history the contemporary accounts were sparse and unconnected; there were many breaks and gaps in the story of the State. The Moravian Records are perhaps the only consecutive historical account which North Caro lina possesses for those critical years of her development.

The Moravians were acute and watchful annalists. They recorded not only the doings of their own religious body, but made note of the state of the weather, incidents of travel, prevailing fashions, features of topography. They mentioned the many distinguished men of the State who visited them, and whose descendants are a valuable element in our population to this day. These accounts are given in Moravian Diaries, in Travel Diaries, and in the Memorabilia, as they are called, which are the accounts of the successive years from 1753 to the present time.

Of all this material Miss Fries has made careful and accurate use. The charm and chief value of her work lies in the fact that she allows the Colonial Fathers to speak for themselves. We seem to live in their age of the world, and not in ours. Their trials and difficulties, incident to the Colonial times, their hopes and fears, their pious endeavors, their shrewd observations and estimates of men and things, pass before us in the quaint garb of their own speech.

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