William C. Reichel Papers

William C. Reichel Papers

2012

This collection is comprised of research notes as well as book manuscripts belonging to Bethlehem teacher, minister, and historian, William Cornelius Reichel (1824-1876). The book manuscripts include a nearly complete draft of his recounting of the Moravian Church's purchase of land from William Penn's family -- titled "The Crown Inn Near Bethlehem, Penna. circa 1745" as well as a manuscript of "A Register of Members of the Moravian Church and of persons attached to said Church in this country and abroad." Also included are extended notes relating to the Walking Purchase of 1737 and another recounting the lives of Native Americans in Pennslyvania and else where. Also in the collection are research notes pertaining to many different topics. These topics include: cemeteries in Bethlehem, the original settlers in Bethlehem, census data from Bethlehem, houses and buildings erected in the early years of Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Fire Department and the Waterworks, banking, finance and industry in Bethlehem.

In addition to his career as a teacher and a minister, Reichel was very active as historian in Bethlehem. He wrote many worked throughout his lifetime, including: "The Crown Inn near Bethlehem Penna. circa 1745," "Memorials of the Moravian Church," "A Register of the Members of the Moravian Church and of persons attached to said Church in this country and abroad," "History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations Who Once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States," "The Old Moravian Sun Inn, Bethlehem, Penna., 1758," "Friedensthal and its stockaded mill : a Moravian chronicle, 1749-1767," and "A history of the rise, progress, and present condition of the Bethlehem Female Seminary. With a catalogue of its pupils, 1785-1858" among others.

William Cornelius Reichel was born on May 9th, 1824 in Salem, North Carolina to Gotthold Benjamin Reichel (1785-1833) and Henriette Friederike Vierling Reichel (1793-1829). In 1834, he moved to Nazareth, Pennsylvania to attend classes at Nazareth Hall. After graduating, he taught both at Nazareth Hall and at the Moravian Female Seminary in Bethlehem. After marrying his first wife, Mary Jane Gray, in 1852, he continued his career as an educator in the Theological Seminary in Bethlehem and at Linden Hall in Lititz, Pennslyvania. After his second marriage with Addy Harkins he returned to Bethlehem and continued teaching at the Moravian Female Seminary. He died on October 25th, 1876 in Bethlehem.

Restrictions

not restricted