Elisabeth Oesterlein Christ (commonly known Elisabeth Oesterlein; September 12, 1749 – December 3, 1802) was an American educator. She founded

Salem College Salem College is a private women's liberal arts college in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1772 as a primary school, it later became an academy (high school) and ultimately added the college. It is the oldest female educational esta ...

in today's

Old Salem Old Salem is a historic district of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States, which was originally settled by the Moravian community in 1766. It features a living-history museum which interprets the restored Moravian community. The non- ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. She was also the school's first teacher.

Life and career

Oesterlein was born in

Bethlehem Bethlehem is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, located about south of Jerusalem, and the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate. It had a population of people, as of . The city's economy is strongly linked to Tourism in the State of Palesti ...

in the

Province of Pennsylvania The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn, who received the land through a grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania was derived from ...

in 1749. With her fellow

Moravians Moravians ( or Colloquialism, colloquially , outdated ) are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group from the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of Czech language, Czech or Czech language#Common Czech, Common ...

, she relocated to the

Wachovia Tract Wachovia () was the area settled by Moravians in what is now Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. Of the six 18th-century Moravian "villages of the Lord" established in Wachovia, today only the town of Bethania and city of Winston-Sal ...

, in the

Province of North Carolina The Province of North Carolina, originally known as the Albemarle Settlements, was a proprietary colony and later royal colony of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776.(p. 80) It was one of the five Southern col ...

, in 1766, settling initially in

Bethabara Al-Maghtas (, al-Maġṭas, meaning or ), officially known as Baptism Site "Bethany Beyond the Jordan", is an archaeological World Heritage Site in Jordan, on the east bank of the Jordan River, reputed to be the location of the Baptism of Jesu ...

. She and fifteen other girls walked the approximately from Bethlehem, on the

Great Wagon Road The Great Wagon Road, also known as the Philadelphia Wagon Road, is a historic trail in the eastern United States that was first traveled by indigenous tribes, and later explorers, settlers, soldiers, and travelers. It extended from British Penn ...

, setting out on October 2 and arriving on October 31. She moved to

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

, Province in North Carolina, shortly thereafter, where she was elected the first teacher for a "Little Girls' School", which is today known as Salem Academy and College. In 1772, Oesterlein (known as "Sister O") began teaching a class containing three students. The enrollment increased over time, and by the early 19th century over eighty students were being taught. In 1780, Oesterlein married Rudolph Christ, a prominent potter in Bethabara and, later,

. They had five children together: Anna Elizabeth, Benigna Elizabeth, Friedrich Jacob, Johann Rudolph and Anna Sulamith. Each child died very young, with Friedrich living the longest (to the age of 8).

Death

Oesterlein died in 1802, aged 53. She is interred in the God's Acre Moravian Cemetery in Old Salem, alongside her husband, who survived her by 31 years. He remarried the year following her death.

Legacy

Each day, on Founders Day, Salem Academy presents the Elisabeth Oesterlein Award to students who have made notability contributions to the school during their four years. The award was renamed after it was discovered that Oesterlein and her husband purchased an enslaved potter named Peter Oliver.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oesterlein, Elizabeth 1749 births 1802 deaths 18th-century American educators 18th-century American women educators 19th-century American educators 19th-century American women educators People from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania People from Salem, North Carolina Moravian-German people