David Zeisberger (April 11, 1721 – November 17, 1808) was a Moravian

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

among the Native American tribes who resided in the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

. He established communities of

Munsee The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the Lenape. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the Delaware River, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They were prom ...

(Lenape) converts to Christianity in the valley of the

Muskingum River The Muskingum River ( ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

; and for a time, near modern-day

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Biography

Zeisberger was born in Zauchtenthal,

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

(present day

Suchdol nad Odrou Suchdol nad Odrou () is a market town in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. Administrative division Suchdol nad Odrou consists of two municipal parts (in brackets populatio ...

in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

) and moved with his family to the newly established Moravian Christian community of

Herrnhut Herrnhut (; ; ; Upper Lusatian: ''Harrnhutt'', ''Harrnutt'') is a town of around 6,000 inhabitants in Upper Lusatia, in the district of Görlitz, in eastern Saxony, Germany. The town is mainly known as the place of origin of the community of t ...

, on the estate of Count Nicolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

in 1727. However, when his family migrated to the newly established colony of Georgia, Zeisberger remained in Europe to complete his education. In 1738, he came to Georgia in the Thirteen Colonies, with the assistance of

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

James Edward Oglethorpe Lieutenant-General James Edward Oglethorpe (22 December 1696 – 30 June 1785) was a British Army officer, Tory politician and colonial administrator best known for founding the Province of Georgia in British North America. As a social reform ...

. He later rejoined his family in the Moravian community at

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

. At the time, the United Brethren had begun a settlement, merely for the purpose of preaching the gospel to the

Creek Indians The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek or just Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language; English: ), are a group of related Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsBethlehem, Pennsylvania Bethlehem is a city in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, Northampton and Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Bethle ...

, and was there at its dedication on Christmas Eve 1741. Four years later, at the invitation of

Hendrick Theyanoguin Hendrick Theyanoguin ( – September 8, 1755), whose name had several spelling variations, was a Mohawk leader and member of the Bear Clan. He resided at Canajoharie or the Upper Mohawk Castle in colonial New York. He was a Speaker for the M ...

, he came to live among the Mohawk. He became fluent in the

Onondaga language DUC:dualic PUNC:punctual aspect REP:repetitive SRFL:semireflexive The Onondaga language (, , literally "Onondaga is our language") is the language of the Onondaga First Nation, one of the original five constituent tribes of the League of the ...

and assisted

Conrad Weiser Conrad Weiser (November 2, 1696 – July 13, 1760), born Johann Conrad Weiser, Jr., was a Pennsylvania German pioneer who served as an interpreter and diplomat between the Pennsylvania Colony and Native American nations. Primarily a farmer, ...

in negotiating an alliance between the Thirteen Colonies and the Iroquois in Onondaga (near present-day

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

). Zeisberger also produced dictionaries and religious works in Iroquoian and Algonquian, making him the father of Lenape writing Zeisberger preaching to the Indians LCCN2003663983

Zeisberger preaching to the Indians LCCN2003663983

Zeisberger began as a

to Native American peoples following his ordination as a Moravian minister in 1749. He worked in Kuskusky among the Lenape (Delaware) of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, focusing his efforts on converting as many Indians as possible to Christianity. He was the senior missionary of the United Brethren (as the Moravians sometimes referred to themselves) among the Indians. His relations with the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

took a turn for the worse during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

(as they suspected he was providing aid to the

American patriots Patriots (also known as Revolutionaries, Continentals, Rebels, or Whigs) were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who opposed the Kingdom of Great Britain's control and governance during the colonial era and supported and helped launch the Amer ...

, and in 1781 he was

arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...

ed and detained at

Fort Detroit A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. While he was detained, ninety-six of his Native converts in Gnadenhutten, Ohio were brutally murdered by Pennsylvania militiamen, an event known as the Gnadenhutten Massacre. After Zeisberger was released, violent conflicts with other Native tribes and the expansion of white settlement forced many Moravian Christian settlements to relocate to present-day

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and Ontario. A large group of Munsee moved there in 1782, but Zeisberger later returned to live the rest of his life among the Native converts remaining near the village of Goshen (in present

Goshen Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio Goshen Township is one of the twenty-two townships of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,081 people in the township. Geography Located in the east central part of the county, it borders the following townships: * ...

). Zeisberger spent a period of 62 years, excepting a few short intervals, as a missionary among the Indians. He died on November 17, 1808, at Goshen, Ohio, on the river Tuscarawas, at the age of 87. Zeisberger is buried in Goshen.

Notes

References

* ''American Eagle Newspaper'', February 15, 1809; Vol 2: Page 3: Cumberland, Maryland * Earl P. Olmstead.
Blackcoats Among the Delaware
'. . * Earl P. Olmstead.
David Zeisberger: A Life Among the Indians
'. ). * William Henry Rice.
David Zeisberger and His Brown Brethren
'. * David Zeisberger, Archer Butler Hulbert.
David Zeisberger's History of Northern American Indians
'. * David Zeisberger.
Diary of David Zeisberger
'. * Gail Hamlin-Wilson, Nancy K. Capace, Donald B. Ricky.
Encyclopedia of Ohio Indians
'. ). * David Zeisberger.
Essay of an Onondaga Grammar
'. * James H. O'Donnell.
Ohio's First Peoples
'. ). * Beverley Waugh Bond.
The Foundations of Ohio
'. * Daniel P. Barr.
The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers Along the Frontiers of the Old Northwest Territory
'. ). * Samuel Lieberkühn, David Zeisberger,
The History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
' * Edmund De Schweinitz.
The Life and Times of David Zeisberger
'. * R. Douglas Hurt.
The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest
'. . * David Zeisberger.
Zeisberger's Indian Dictionary
'.

External links

Short Biography
at the Ohio Historical Society
David Zeisberger Historical Mile Marker in PennsylvaniaScenes from the Life of David Zeisberger
Free pdf biographical sketch * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeisberger, David 1721 births 1808 deaths Moravian Church missionaries German people of the Moravian Church American people of the Moravian Church American sermon writers 18th-century Protestant religious leaders German Protestant missionaries American Protestant missionaries American evangelicals German evangelicals Protestant missionaries in the United States Protestant missionaries in Canada People of Michigan in the American Revolution Clergy in the American Revolution American people of Moravian-German descent Czech expatriates in the United States People from Suchdol nad Odrou Pre-Confederation Ontario people Clergy of the Moravian Church