William Cornelius Reichel (born in

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, 9 May 1824; died in

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...

, 15 October 1876) was a Moravian author in the United States who did much to document and examine the early history of the Moravian church in the United States.

Biography

Reichel was the son of Rev. Benjamin Reichel, of Salem Female Academy. He entered

Nazareth Hall Nazareth Hall (1752–1929) was a school in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1754 in hopes that Count Nikolaus Ludwig Zinzendorf would return from Europe and settle permanently in the community; he never came back to America. It is located ...

in 1834, and in 1839 the

Moravian Theological Seminary Moravian University is a private university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The institution traces its founding to 1742 by Moravian Church, Moravians, descendants of followers of the Bohemian Reformation under John Amos Comenius. Founded in 1742, Mo ...

, where he was graduated in 1844. After serving as tutor for four years at Nazareth Hall, he became a professor in the theological seminary. In 1862 he was appointed to the charge of Linden Hall Seminary,

Lititz, Pennsylvania Lititz is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States, north of the city of Lancaster. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 9,370. History Lititz was founded by members of the Moravian Church in 1756 and was named af ...

, which he resigned in 1868. From 1868 until 1876, he filled the duties of professor of Latin and

natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

in the seminary for young ladies at

Bethlehem Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...

. He was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

in June 1862,and a

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as ...

in May 1864.

Works

Reichel did more than any one else to elucidate the early history of the Moravian church in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In addition to articles in ''The Moravian'' and the local press, and a sketch of Northampton County, prepared for William H. Egle's ''History of Pennsylvania'', he wrote: * ''History of Nazareth Hall'' (Philadelphia, 1855; enlarged ed., 1869) * ''History of the Bethlehem Female Seminary, 1785-1858'' (1858) * ''Moravianism in New York and Connecticut'' (1860) * ''Memorials of the Moravian Church'' (1870) * ''Wyalusing, and the Moravian Mission at Friedenshuetten'' (Bethlehem, 1871) * ''Names which the Lenni Lennapé or Delaware Indians gave to Rivers, Streams, and Localities within the States of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, with their Significations'', from a manuscript of

John Heckewelder John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder (March 12, 1743 – January 21, 1823) was an American missionary for the Moravian Church. Biography John Heckewelder was born in Bedford, England and came to Pennsylvania in 1754. After finishing his education, ...

(1872) * ''A Red Rose from the Olden Time, or a Ramble through the Annals of the Rose Inn on the Barony of Nazareth in the Days of the Province'' (Philadelphia, 1872) * ''The Crown Inn, near Bethlehem, Pa., 1745'' (1872) * ''The Old Sun Inn at Bethlehem, Pa., 1758'' (Doylestown, Pa., 1873) * ''A Register of Members of the Moravian Church, 1727 to 1754'' (Bethlehem, 1873) * John Heckewelder, ''History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations who once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neighboring States'', revised edition (Philadelphia, 1876) He left unfinished ''History of Bethlehem'' and ''History of Northampton County''.

Notes

References

* 1824 births 1876 deaths Religious workers of the Moravian Church Writers from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania American historians of religion American male non-fiction writers Historians from Pennsylvania {{christianity-bio-stub